GOODISON, Lorna

  • Americas
  • Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Caribbean
  • Jamaica

Lorna Goodison (Jamaica/USA, IWP '83) is Poet Laureate of Jamaica and among the most celebrated living Caribbean writers. Her 12 books of poetry include the collections I Am Becoming My Mother (1986, Commonwealth Poetry Prize for the Americas) and Oracabessa (2014, OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature). Goodison is the author of three short story collections; From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her People received the 2007 British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. A recipient of the Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of her contribution to the arts, Goodison is a Professor of English and Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan. 

Happening Now

  • We regret the passing, on April 11, 2024, of the distinguished Romanian author and critic Dan Cristea, who served as the editor in chief of the Luceafărul de Dimineață cultural monthly. In addition to being an alum of the 1985 Fall Residency, Cristea received his PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Iowa.

  • Our congratulations to 1986 Fall Residency writer Kwame Dawes, who has been named the new poet laureate of Jamaica.

  • Congratulations to our colleagues Jennifer Croft and Aron Aji, who are among those serving as judges for the National Book Awards this year, in their case in the category of translated literature.

  • Ranjit Hoskote’s speech at the 2024 Goa Literary Festival addresses the current situation in Gaza.

  • In NY Times, Bina Shah worries about the state of Pakistani—and American—democracy.

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