Derek Walcott was born in the West Indies. By the time he was nineteen, Walcott self-published two collections of poetry: 25 Poems (1948) and Epitaph for the Young: XII Cantos (1949). He attended the University of the West Indies on a scholarship. Walcott is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and writer. His first collection of essays, What the Twilight Says, was published in 1998. He has published numerous collections of poetry, most recently White Egrets (2010), Selected Poems (2007), The Prodigal: A Poem (2004), and Tiepolo’s Hound (2000).
Other works by Walcott include: his epic poem, Omeros (1990); his books of poetry Poems (1951); In a Green Night: Poems 1948-60 (1962); Selected Poems (1964); The Castaway and Other Poems (1965); Another Life (1973) in addition to many others. His notable plays include The Odyssey: A Stage Version (1992); The Isle is Full of Noises (1982); Remembrance and Pantomime (1980); Three Plays: The Last Carnival; Beef, No Chicken; and A Branch of the Blue Nile (1969). His play Dream on Monkey Mountain was awarded the Obie Award for distinguished foreign play of 1971.
Walcott’s honors include the recipient of the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature, a fellowship by the Rockefeller Foundation, a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award, a Royal Society of Literature Award, and the Queen’s Medal for Poetry. Walcott is also an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He currently spends his time in St. Lucia and in New York City.
“Omeros, Chapter XLVI,” part of his epic poem, appeared in Issue 2.2 Summer 1990.
