The latest collection from Olive Senior, Jamaican Poet Laureate, collects her four books of poetry alongside new work written during the pandemic.
Olive Senior Books
This acclaimed author, who departed Jamaica in 1989, has established herself as one of Canada's most internationally recognized literary voices. Her body of work, encompassing poetry, short stories, and award-winning non-fiction explorations of Caribbean culture, demonstrates a profound engagement with the preservation of cultural heritage. Through her distinctive prose and poetic craft, she delves into the complexities of life and identity, often centering the Caribbean experience. Her distinctive style and thematic depth have garnered significant acclaim, positioning her as a vital contemporary storyteller.
Dying to Better Themselves
- 442 pages
- 16 hours of reading
Focusing on the post-emancipation generation of the 1850s, this narrative explores the migration of West Indians to Panama, driven by the promise of economic opportunity. Olive Senior highlights how this early wave of migration set the stage for a lasting pattern of circular movement that significantly impacted the Caribbean islands' economic, social, and political landscapes, well into the twentieth century. The book provides a fresh perspective on the complexities of West Indian migration, moving beyond the well-trodden stories of the Windrush Generation.
Pandemic Poems
- 91 pages
- 4 hours of reading
Each of Olive Senior's pandemic poems is a riff on a word or phrase trending in the first wave. This accessible A to Z captures the zeitgeist of 2020, providing a timeline of events as the language and preoccupations changed in response to the pandemic.
