A somber bell is being rung for all writers, thespians, and artists to hear. The St. Lucian poet and playwright, Sir Derek Walcott has passed away at the age of 87.
By fourteen, Walcott’s journey as a published poet began and his growth in the art world ascended in leaps and bounds. He had written five plays at sixteen and went on to further publish his first collection of poetry.
His continued dedication to writing over the years produced an extensive body of work earning him awards such as the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature, W.H. Smith Literary Award, T.S. Eliot Prize
and Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.
Some of his famous pieces including the plays Dream on Monkey Mountain; Beef, No Chicken; and The Capeman, and the poems such as The Sea is History, A Far Cry from Africa and Forest of Europe.
“Love After Love
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.”
― Derek Walcott, Collected Poems, 1948-1984
Rest in peace, Sir Derek Walcott…
