And people were reciting my poems just like how they would be reciting Miss Lou’s poems. In fact there was one report that appeared, I can't remember if it was Barbara Gloudon who had written about that particular incident, where a handcart man, a person pushing a handcart had a copy of Echo in his back pocket. As soon as they got a few copies people would snatch them. The library couldn't keep a copy of the book. My first collection of poems when it first came out it went through three or four editions in no time. I was known the length and breadth of Jamaica for reciting my poetry. I got a message from the organisers that they would like me to perform because by this time nothing like this was happening in Jamaica. How did you get involved in the One Love Peace concert? Did you frequent the arts commune on Oxford Road?

Hence Oku Nagba Ozala Onuora more known as Oku Onuora. So I went back to this gentleman and he wrote out the name for me and I had it changed by deed poll. She didn't even take a last name because we were going to get married and she would take the Onuora. So when we decided to do that because she changed her name to Adugo. Phyllis and I, we were talking about changing names to shed off this identity, taking on new names that were meaningful that we could relate to. This gentleman came up to me and said 'You are Oku Nagba Ozala Onuora' I was like 'Wow! What does that mean?' He said 'Oku Nagba Ozala' means 'the fire that burns in the desert' and 'Onuora' means 'voice of the people' or 'one who is immune from bad talk'. He still teaches at the Jamaica School of Art. And when I came off stage this gentleman came up to me and he said 'You are Oku Nagba Ozala Onuora' and I was like 'What?' He said 'You are Oku Nagba Ozala Onuora'. So the students’ body would have this concert at the Creative Arts Centre and I would perform. I did a performance while I was at the Jamaica School of Drama and every year during the Christmas time they would have some concerts on the campuses like the Creative Arts Centre, Utech, at the time it was called CAST - College of Arts, Science and Technology. The mother of my first set of my children. When I came out I would see her and we became involved.

They had visited the prison and I met her back then. I met while I was in prison, Fort Augusta, because the theatre group that she was involved with was called Jamaica Playhouse and they were very famous. She was a student at the University of the West Indies. I met a very feisty and forward young lady at the time by the English name of Phyllis Ranglin at the time.

In the final part of our exclusive interview with Oku Onuora, he talks about his interactions with fellow poets Michael Smith and Linton Kwesi Johnson, his hiatus and return to performance and his political views…

Oku onuora discografia download