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

  • 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.

  • “I went to [Ayodhya] to think about what it means to be an Indian and a Hindu... ”  A new essay by critic and novelist Chandrahas Choudhury.

  • In the January 2024 iteration of the French/English non-fiction site Frictions, T J Benson writes about “Riding Afrobeats Across the World.” Also new, a next installment in the bilingual series featuring work by students from Paris VIII’s Creative Writing program and the University of Iowa’s NFW program.

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