Valerie Bloom is a poet. She was born in Clarendon, Jamaica and came to England in 1979. She attended the University of Kent at Canterbury from 1982 to 1984 and now lives in Kent. She has published several collections, the most recent of which is "Whoop an' Shout!" She writes poetry both in English and Jamaican patois. Many of her performances include a 'crash course' in patois for audience members unfamiliar with the language. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Valerie Bloom. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Bloom