Two Brown Owls are Jaqi Loye Brown and Diana Brown.
Firstly, they’re not related, not that they know of anyway. They simply share the surname Brown, very common in Jamaica. Jaqi’s parents, were both Jamaican, as was Diana’s father...her mother Italian.
They found it strange they hadn’t met before, considering their many similarities. Both live in North Kensington, aka Da Grove/Portobello Rd, home to Notting Hill Carnival and are over 55 (that’s as much as they’ll reveal). Significantly, they were both signed music artists during the early 1990s. They’re into crafting and keen hobbyists, from photography to fashion accessories and also happen to be human parents to small dogs.
Given these coincidences, the Browns were inspired to work together after meeting at a writing workshop facilitated in their neighbourhood by theatre director, Yasmeen Arden, who provided the foreword for this book. At the intersection of show business and life, these self-proclaimed wise owls are here to reclaim their space, this time as authors. Songwriters in another life, theirs is a passion remained undiminished.
They’ve extinguished their imposter syndromes and agreed to put themselves out there once more with intention. They gave themselves permission to extol their vulnerabilities for the greater good and authenticity of this project. Naturally, they’re nervous about it. However, performance poetry and reading are baked in skillsets neither of them will ever lose. They found the whole process an expression of well-being and healing.
