Una Marson: Selected Poems

Presenting some of the most noteworthy pieces from a remarkably influential West Indian poet, this anthology sheds light on the lesser-known literary accomplishments of Una Marson. Revealing the work of a woman whose writing pioneered the articulation of gender and racial oppression, brought Jamaican vernacular voices alongside a Wordsworth-inspired passion for nature, and ventured to give subjectivity to marginalized subjects, this collection includes, in addition to her well-known poems, previously unpublished work from the 1930s through the 1950s. Striving to answer the question of how one writes as a modern black woman reaching out to the poor and powerless, this extensive selection embodies an exceptionally significant poetic achievement.

Una Marson is widely recognised as ''the earliest female poet of significance to emerge in West Indian literature'', but whilst her role as an early feminist and a ''first woman'' publisher, broadcaster, pan-Africanist and anti-racist features on many web pages, her poetry has received less considered critical attention.

This may be because her work is very diverse, even seemingly contradictory. She is a Jamaican poet who pioneered the articulation of gender and racial oppression, brought Jamaican vernacular voices alongside a Wordsworthian passion for nature, and ventured to give subjectivity to the powerless and marginalised. Author of Afro-blues that draw on both African-American and Jamaican speech, and of folk monologues, she also wrote devotional sonnets and love lyrics within a distinctly un-modernist tradition. Marson''s work as presented here is a complex subject, striving to answer the questions of how to write as a woman; as a black, modern, diasporic subject; for the poor and powerless.

As Donnell''s extensive selection shows, and her introduction argues, Marson''s is a significant poetic achievement.

Una Marson is widely recognised as the earliest female poet of significance to emerge in West Indian literature

• | Author: Una Marson
• | Publisher: Peepal Tree Press Ltd
• | Publication Date: Apr 30, 2011
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781845231682
• | ISBN-10: 1845231686