Derek Walcott Channel 17 Sunday at 2:00 p.m. September 17, 2000

Photo Credit: Nancy Crampton

Derek Walcott, poet and playwright, was the winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature. He was born in the West Indian island of St. Lucia, and known for his body of work that blends Caribbean, English, and African traditions. In awarding him the Nobel Prize in 1992, the academy praised him for "a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome of a multicultural achievement."

Since publishing his first poems at the age of 18, Walcott has published 17 volumes of poetry including In a Green Night (1962), Another Life (1973), The Star-Apple Kingdom (1979), Collected Poems, 1948-1984 (1986), The Arkansas Testament (1987), and Omeros (1990). Richard Wilbur, former poet laureate of the United States, has called Walcott, "one of the best poets writing in English."

Walcott is also known for his work in theatre. He has written numerous plays including Dream on Monkey Mountain (1970), Ti-Jean and His Brothers (1958), The Last Carnival, and The Odyssey: A Stage Version (1993). He also wrote the story and the lyrics for Paul Simon's musical The Capeman which opened on Broadway January 28, 1998.

Walcott won the prestigious MacArthur Foundation "genius" award in 1981. He currently is a professor in Boston University's English Department.

Derek Walcott visited the NYS Writers Institute on October 8, 1998

In conjunction with the University Art Museum's exhibit Island Light: Recent Watercolors by Derek Walcott & Donald Hinkson October 2 - November 15, 1998 Public Reception Wednesday, October 7 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Art Museum's Main Gallery