Derek Walcott (1930–2017), born on the island of Saint Lucia, received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. His breakthrough came with his 1962 collection, In a Green Night: Poems 1948–1960. Shifting between patois and English, Walcott celebrated the Caribbean while investigating the legacy of colonialism. Spirituality, the notion of the poem as prayer, also informed his work. Perhaps Walcott’s greatest achievement was the epic poem Omeros, singled out by the Nobel committee. His most recent works include Tiepolo’s Hound; The Prodigal; Selected Poems; White Egrets; and Morning Paramin (2016).
Photograph by Bert Nienhuis.
WORKS THAT HAVE APPEARED IN NARRATIVE:
- Bleecker Street, Summer, poetry, in Fall 2017