– ‘Jazz & Poetry on a Stool’ aspiring to NGO status

HAVING gone through quite a few rough patches in life, Jaime Mayers says poetry is what kept him going and what gave him his sanity. With the aim of registering his Poetry group ‘Jazz and Poetry on a Stool (JAPOS), as a non-governmental organisation, Jaime thought of raising awareness and funds, with the hosting of ‘Men of Purpose’ this Sunday.
Jaime, 31, wants to be able to share his poetry and to receive feedback from the audience. “I want to bring awareness to men and to teach them what it means to really be a man,” he told this publication during an interview.

“It’s a family event, so bring out everyone. Come out prepared to share because even though we are going to perform, I like to hear from the audience,” he said.
Having written in excess of 400 poems, Jaime now considers himself a ‘spoken word’ poet, volunteer and mentor.

The show, mainly honouring fathers, will showcase the creative works of JAPOS and will feature other local entertainers like Abel Stokes, Matthew Joseph, Trevaun Selman and other JAPOS artists.

The proceeds from the event (admission is $1,000), which will run from 19:30-hrs to 21:30hrs, will go towards the development of the JAPOS NGO, Jaime disclosed. It is his intention to get it registered before the end of this month.

Through the organisation, Jaime is hoping to be able to help others like himself by means of his poetry, which is mainly inspired by his life experiences. “Poetry is the thing that keeps me; that gives me sanity; the thing that helps me to reflect and gives me an image of myself. Poetry is everything to me. So I just wanted to give someone else a chance,” he expressed.

He recalled that some years back, he thought that if he would just take some time to record his thoughts, he can be able to reflect on them and see how he has grown over time. “Doing this has helped me a great lot and I just want to help someone else.”
Going by the stage name ‘SuRu’ (acronym for Straight Up, Right Up), Jaime said he takes his negative experiences and puts a positive spin to them in his poetry. “My poems are like therapy to me. My first poem was called

Jaime said he started to share his poetry the minute he found an opportunity and then eventually decided to form the NGO. “It’s not about the stage and commanding the lights, it’s about commanding your life,” he said.

He performed a lot back in the days at the Upscale Restaurant in Georgetown, but after its closure, he had nowhere to share his poetry.

Eventually, opportunities came along to work with other young people in Trinidad, Barbados, St. Kitts and a few other Caribbean countries. He also did some work for the Ministry of Social Cohesion and the Ministry of Public Health.