John Lyons has just been named as Arts Achiever of the year in the prestigious WINDRUSH 2003 ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS. The awards, which were at London's Intercontinental Hotel on Saturday 21 June, recognise the wealth of talent among the African, Caribbean, Asian & Oriental communities.

‘Most of these poems are made from the tough materials and the tough language of folklore and custom.’ – Roy Fisher

‘The poems are rich … they dance out of the shadows, tricksy with dub and argot … There is colour and heat and vitality.’ – Linda France, Poetry Review [on Behind The Carnival, Smith/Doorstop, 1994]

In this new collection, his third, John Lyons mines more deeply the rich vein of childhood memories and experiences of Trinidad and Tobago, where he grew up.
The silk-cotton tree has featured in many a jumbie (ghost) story. It is a place of haunting energies, secret lives and experiences of people who have died, a powerhouse of personal histories whispered on the wind.