A-hem,
So you are wondering who I am – ah? Well, if you are ever in the same space as I am, I am bound to crack a joke and try to make you laugh. It is in my DNA!   I don’t take myself seriously and quite frankly, I don’t know how to. I do not thrive well in an environment that is “stiff”, toxic and negative.  I love to show off my twenty-three teeth  at all times. So if you are such a person who loves to laugh, I am sure you will relate to me and my work.

I was raised in Kingston, Jamaica and at a very tender age of six, my parents enrolled me in Speech and Drama. My stint in drama school led me to study and admire works written by Louise Bennett, Clive Johnson and Roger Maise, to name a few.  Being in drama school taught me the rhythm of poetry, the use of imagination, the art of story-telling and fostered my love of writing and comedy.

I migrated to the United States several years ago after graduating from high school and since then I have amassed several parodies and sketches that have been viral via email and the Internet. Some of these works include: The Titanic – Jamaican Style, Punchinella – The Jamaican Cinderella Story, If JA Buses were Airlines, American Airlines Flight 331, The East Coast Earth Quake sketch and countless others. (Check out these sketches in the Laugh Corner)

I wrote all these Jamaican sketches to give total strangers something to laugh about amidst all the depressing stories they hear in the news today. In other words, it is my way of “tekking bad ting mek joke.” The folks who watched me grow throughout the years as I accumulated popular sketches, encouraged me to share my talent in a different form of medium – a book. So I gathered up the courage and dug in, conducted research in publishing and wrote and wrote. I gave birth to my company, AckeePod Publishing, and published my first book of sketches entitled, “A Soh Wi Do It”, released in November, 2010.

After the release of my first book, much to my pleasant surprise, I was encouraged by readers, family and friends to press on and continue the journey. I am really grateful to have come this far and to have actually realized a dream. It has been a fun ride since and I don’t intend to stop as long as I have an army of folks who enjoy what I have to offer and enthusiastic to see my books succeed.  I am truly appreciative of all the support I have around me – especially from strangers.

I wrote the follow up to “A Soh Wi Do It!  entitled, “A Soh It Goh!” in 2011. It too received  rave reviews from readers across the globe.  The third in the three-part series, “A Soh Dem Gwaan!“ was released in 2013. Upon request of the Facebook fans and other readers, I  returned three years later with another hilarious comeback, “A Soh Life Goh!”  I promise that these books are extremely hilarious and entertaining, with characters every Jamaican can relate to.

Before I leave, I would like to share a few words of wisdom that I have learned and have served me well along this journey:

• Always maintain a sense of humor… it’s the most important tool you can have for a stress-free and successful approach to life.
• Be grateful for all the smallest things, the pitfalls, the triumphant days, and everyone and everything around you and better things and days will come.
• Spread sunshine whenever possible. There can never be enough positive energy in the world.

One Luv!

Joelle C. Wright