Jamaica names Mervyn Morris first poet laureate since independence
Mervyn Morris has been named Jamaica's poet laureate -- the country's first since it gained independence from Britain in 1962. Mr. Morris says that he came slowly to poetry, and that he was first drawn to lampoon and 'witty verse' that he saw in British magazine contests while in school....
Mervyn Morris has been named Jamaica's poet laureate -- the country's first since it gained independence from Britain in 1962. Mr. Morris says that he came slowly to poetry, and that he was first drawn to lampoon and 'witty verse' that he saw in British magazine contests while in school.
It is a big honour, and I am very happy to have been chosen
The poet and Professor Emeritus at the University College of the West Indies says that in Jamaica poetry exists along a continuum rooted in the country's strong tradition of oral story-telling and music-sharing.
Hear Mervyn Morris speak about the honour of being named poet laureate of Jamaica, and hear him read his poem Valley Prince (for Don D).