Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published Monday, March 22, 2021
By Jean Lowrie-Chin
Olive Senior was on Wednesday appointed the poet laureate of Jamaica at a ceremony of investiture conducted by Governor General Sir Patrick Allen. Senior grew up in rural Jamaica and attended Montego Bay High School. She studied print journalism at Carlton College in Canada, returned to Jamaica to work in media, and later furthered her studies in England.
She has won several awards for her poetry and short stories, including the Institute of Jamaica Centenary Medal for Creative Writing, the Commonwealth Prize for Literature, the Norman Washington Manley Award for Excellence in the field of Preservation of our Cultural Heritage, and the Musgrave Gold Medal from the Institute of Jamaica for her contribution to the field of literature.
The thoughtful Olive Senior will put the practical into poetry by promoting “eco-poetics” to encourage her fellow Jamaicans to celebrate and protect their environment.
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