Derek Walcott Biography

Poetry is a poet’s way of speaking to the world. Poets talk about their beliefs in life and express their feelings on various topics. They write about far off fantasies or modern day war and peace. Some poets express themselves to children. They write to entertain kids, hope to become famous, and be remembered forever. Commonly, poets write about their feelings for others and their way of life. Derek Walcott is a memorable poet that became famous for his beautiful work and breaking the color border in poetry. Walcott was born on January 23, 1930, in the isolated town of Castries, Saint Lucia in the West Indies. His grandparents were both slaves who were brought to the isolated island from their masters. Although he descended from slaves, the

In his freetime, Walcott started to develop theatrical pieces and plays. After working on two specific plays, Walcott premiered them both in Trinidad. They were named “Sea at Dauphin” and “Ione”. A couple years later, Walcott earned Rockefeller Foundation grant “with his play, ‘Drums and Colours’ Walcott moved to New York City with the aim of working with off-Broadway directors. He wanted to learn the skills that would help him to establish a repertory group in Trinidad” (“Derek Walcott Biography”). After his trip to New York, Walcott realized that Broadway musicals and those types of plays were not his genre. Walcott moved back to Trinidad and founded a group, along with his brother Roderick, called the Trinidad Theatre Workshop. Walcott remained the founder and director of the workshop until 1971, when he handed the workshop over to his

Walcott frequently talks about his love for summer and his passion of sunlight. For example, in his poem, “Bleecker Street, Summer”, Walcott talks about winters lack of sunlight and the warmth of summer. He also writes about sunlight and the lack of sunlight in the poem, “Season Of Phantasmal Peace”. He expresses that without the warmth of the sun and the light it gives off, our world would be dead. Walcott also uses free verse poetry to express his feelings. Most of his poems are split into stanza but have no rhyme scheme and lack any form of organization. Although, his poems have a clear theme and express his main idea. Lastly, Walcott commonly uses a theme of romance. He talks about his love of an anonymous woman and how he wish he could spend everyday with her. After his marriage, it was clear that his love poems were directed to his wife, Fay. To conclude, Walcott used many common styles and themes. “Bleecker Street, Summer” greatly reflects to Walcott’s career. “Bleecker Street, Summer” talks about how warm summer days remind him of his home market. He says that the violin and the rose-colored sky in streams of paper remind him of his weekly home market. This poem also talks about Bleecker Street and the music that he is reminded of by it. He remembers the music opening and closing, and the water-cries of the children. Lastly, this poem reminds Walcott of his nights with the balmy feeling of a hot summer and the