Rachel Manley
In the Pantheon of Caribbean Letters, Rachel Manley stands alone. Singular in the versatility and range of her contribution as a poet, biographer, editor, short story writer, novelist, critic, memoirist, and teacher, she is celebrated for the simplicity and depth of her poetry and the elegance and precision of her prose. Winner of Jamaica’s Musgrave Centennial Medal in 1991, her
mastery of the English language was renowned very early in her career. That skill and her keen mind were soon recognised. Books Canada in 1996 noted: “As a poet, Rachel Manley senses the resonances between history and place, between personality and destiny and evokes them with real eloquence”. One year later, she would win the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non- Fiction for Drumblair: Memories of a Jamaican Childhood . As a teacher of creative writing, Ms. Manley is helping to form a new generation of writers. A staunch promoter and defender of Caribbean culture, her scholarship is evident in her thorough and wide-ranging research in the region and the United Kingdom to establish and verify facts, and to gain an understanding of the background and historical aspects of the memoirs. Rachel Manley, as an alumna of The University of the West Indies has brought great honour to the Caribbean region.
77 | The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus
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