Mervyn Morris

Mervyn Morris OM
Born	Mervyn Eustace Morris (1937-02-21) 21 February 1937 (age 87) Kingston, Colony of Jamaica, British Empire
Alma mater	University College of the West Indies St Edmund Hall, Oxford
Occupation(s)	Poet and academic
Known for	Poet Laureate of Jamaica
Awards	Bocas Henry Swanzy Award

Mervyn Eustace Morris OM (born 21 February 1937)^[1] is a poet, writer, editor and professor emeritus at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. His poetry is well respected throughout the Caribbean, which has consistently ranked him among the top West Indian poets. He was also one of the first academics to espouse the importance of nation language in helping to define in verse important aspects of Jamaican culture." Morris was Poet Laureate of Jamaica from 2014 to 2017.^[2]

Biography

Mervyn Morris was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and studied at the University College of the West Indies (UWI) and as a Rhodes Scholar at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. In 1970, he began lecturing at UWI, where he went on to be appointed a Reader in West Indian Literature.^[3] In 1992, he was a UK Arts Council Visiting Writer-in-Residence at the South Bank Centre. He lives in Kingston, Jamaica, where he is Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing & West Indian Literature.^[4]

In 2009, Morris was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit.

In 2014, Morris was appointed the Poet Laureate of Jamaica, the first to be accorded the title since the country's independence (the previous holders being Tom Redcam, who was appointed posthumously in 1933, and John Ebenezer Clare McFarlane, appointed in 1953).^[5][6] The investiture ceremony took place at King's House on 22 May.^[7][8]

In March 2021, Morris was announced as the co-recipient, together with Edward Baugh, of the 2021 Bocas Henry Swanzy Award.^[9]

Works

Morris has published several volumes of poetry, and has edited the works of other Caribbean writers. His collections include The Pond (revised edition, New Beacon Books, 1997), Shadowboxing (New Beacon Books, 1979), Examination Centre (New Beacon Books, 1992) and On Holy Week (a sequence of poems for radio, Dangaroo Press, 1993). He also edited The Faber Book of Contemporary Caribbean Short Stories and published "Is English We Speaking", and other essays. In 2006, Carcanet Press published his I been there, sort of: New and Selected Poems.^[10]

The best known poems by Morris include: "Little Boy Crying", "Family Pictures", "Love Is", "One, Two", "Home", "The Roaches", "The Pond" and "Critic".

Selected bibliography

Poetry

• The Pond – New Beacon Books, 1973. ISBN 978-0901241160 (hb
• On Holy Week – Dangaroo Press, 1976. ISBN 978-1871049671 (pb)
• Shadow Boxing – New Beacon Books, 1979. ISBN 978-0901241344 (pb)
• Examination Centre – New Beacon Books, 1992. ISBN 978-1873201091 (pb)
• I Been There, Sort Of: New and Selected Poems – Carcanet Press, 2006. ISBN 978-1857548297 (pb)

Non-fiction

• "Is English We Speaking", and other essays – Ian Randle Publishers, 1999. ISBN 978-9768123633 (pb)
• Making West Indian Literature – Ian Randle Publishers, 2005. ISBN 976-637-174-1 (pb)
• Miss Lou: Louise Bennett and Jamaican Culture – Signal Books, 2014. ISBN 978-1908493972 (pb)

As editor

• Seven Jamaican Poets - 1971
• The Faber Book of Contemporary Caribbean Short Stories – Faber & Faber, 1990. ISBN 978-0571152995 (pb)
• (with Jimmy Carnegie) Lunch Time Medley: Writings on West Indies Cricket – Ian Randle Publishers, 2008. ISBN 978-9766372828 (pb)
• (with Carolyn Allen) Writing Life: Reflections by West Indian Writers – Ian Randle Publishers, 2008. ISBN 978-9766373290 (pb)

References

1. "Professor The Hon. Mervyn Morris, OM", The Library - University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica.
2. "Poet Laureate of Jamaica | Former Poets Laureate". National Library of Jamaica. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
3. Arifa Akbar (4 May 2017). "An Interview with Mervyn Morris". Wasafiri. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
4. "Mervyn Morris", Carcanet Press.
5. Balford Henry, "Mervyn Morris first Jamaican Poet Laureate since Independence", Jamaica Observer, 16 April 2014.
6. "Prof Mervyn Morris officially invested as Poet Laureate of Jamaica" Archived 23 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Jamaica Observer, 22 May 2014.
7. Andrea Braham, "It's Official for Poet Laureate Professor Mervyn Morris", Jamaica Information Service, 23 May 2014.
8. Rowe, Marcia (2014), "Poet Laureate Morris Honoured At King's House", Jamaica Gleaner, 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
9. "Two Jamaican scholars honoured with Bocas Henry Swanzy Award", Jamaica Observer, 5 March 2021.
10. Carcanet Press - I been there, sort of, Carcanet Press.

Further reading

• Glyne Griffith, Review of I Been There, Sort of: New and Selected Poems, in The Caribbean Review of Books (reprinted at Carcanet).

External links

• "Mervyn Morris", The Poetry Archive.
• Mervyn Morris, "Poet Laureate Remarks at Investiture Ceremony, King's House, 21 May 2014".
• Geoffrey Philp, "An Interview With Mervyn Morris", 7 December 2007.