This succinct account the life of Nobel laureate Derek Walcott focuses on his development as poet, playwright and man of the theatre: director, producer, teacher. Friends and colleagues who figured in his career are recalled. The importance of his native St Lucia and family influences in the shaping of his creativity and his view of the world are highlighted, as these evolved in synergy with his receptivity to the poetry and theatre of the wider world. In this evolution, the tensions and complex nuances of the concept “home” are seen as an informing factor. The story points to Walcott’s seminal contribution to the emergence of Caribbean literature, with his response to the region’s colonial history as a central factor.

EDWARD BAUGH is Professor Emeritus of English, the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. His publications on Walcott include Derek Walcott: Memory as Vision – “Another Life”, Derek Walcott and an annotated edition of Walcott’s Another Life (co-edited with Colbert Nepaulsingh). He is also the author of Frank Collymore: A Biography and the poetry collections A Tale from the Rainforest, It Was the Singing and Black Sand.