Higgins, Charlotte. "T. S. Eliot Prize Goes to Derek Walcott for 'Moving and Technically Flawless Work.'" GUARDIAN January 24, 2010.

In a "bumper year" for English-language poetry, Nobel laureate Derek Walcott, who was embroiled in scandal two years ago, was tonight named winner of the TS Eliot prize for the best new collection of poems published in the UK or Ireland. He took the prize against competition from an eclectic group of poets, including fellow Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, Iraq war veteran Brian Turner and Sam Willetts, whose debut collection came after 10 years lost to addiction to and recovery from heroin. Valerie Eliot, widow of TS Eliot, awarded Walcott £15,000 at a ceremony at the Wallace Collection, London. The winning collection, White Egrets, was described by the chair of judges, poet Anne Stevenson, as "moving and technically flawless.". . .

Read the rest here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/24/ts-eliot-prize-derek-walcott.

Derek Walcott Withdraws from Poetry Post at Oxford.

Updates: May 28, 2009: The poet Derek Walcott’s candidacy for a prestigious post at the University of Oxford drew such bitter criticism this month that the Nobel Prize winner withdrew from consideration. But the University of Alberta had no such second thoughts about appointing him to a three-year term as the university’s first distinguished scholar in residence, a post he will assume this fall. . . . (http://chronicle.com/news/article/6545/u-of-alberta-expects-no-scandal-from-appointing-controversial-poet-derek-walcott) May 25, 2009: Adding another twist to an unusually contentious episode, Ruth Padel announced today that she would not take up the post of professor of poetry at the University of Oxford. . . .(http://chronicle.com/news/article/6525/scandal-over-oxford-poetry-post-takes-new-twist-as-ruth-padel-resigns) Original Post (May 13, 2009): Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott has quit the race to become Oxford Professor of Poetry after becoming embroiled in a sex smear campaign. Walcott, the front-runner for the post, announced today to the Evening Standard his decision to stand down as a candidate. His withdrawal follows a campaign against him before Saturday's election. Documents including an allegation of sexual harassment dating back to 1982 were sent anonymously to Oxford academics who, with graduates, vote on the position. . . . See:

• London Evening Standard: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23689480-details/Nobel+winner+quits+Oxford+poetry+race+over+sex+claims/article.do;
• Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/may/12/walcott-oxford-poetry-professor;
• Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6256746.ece.

Cfp: "Interlocking Basins of a Globe," University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, January 13-15, 2010.

A Conference Honouring Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. Poet, playwright, essayist, critic, dramatist and painter, Derek Walcott, is recognised as one of the world’s greatest living writers. Among his many awards and honours is the Nobel Prize for Literature which he won in 1992. The conference 'Interlocking Basins of a Globe' will explore the multifaceted nature of Walcott’s work. It invites reflections on his evolving thought and analyses of Caribbean civilisation – his beloved Antilles, and the cartography of its origins. His far-ranging poetic imagination gives metaphoric expression to the creative possibilities of the ambivalences that exist within the New World psyche. Its axes of loss and plenitude form the ground of unprecedented possibility, facilitating unique intersections between cultures that enable a leap into the new. Walcott theorises the world of the Americas. Walcott’s vision evolves from a desire to inhabit and be nourished by multiple worlds simultaneously. On the one hand, this response to New World history and sensibility has been, in some measure, shaped by his lifelong dialogue with the work and theories of other Caribbean creators and thinkers; and, on the other, from his acknowledged apprenticeship to literary ancestors and his collaboration with writers from across the globe. These streams have fed debates about the nature of his relationship to the Caribbean, and to Europe, Africa and Asia. His many essays and commentaries often respond to such concerns and the politics of that relation contribute to the complex tapestry of his drama and poetry. Topics: Papers are invited on the following topics: o Literary Ghosts and confrères o Here and Elsewhere: the Politics of Exile and Belonging o The Visual Imagination o Rethinking the Sublime o Time, Landscape and Myth o Walcott’s Cities: A Babel like Heaven o Caribbean Contestations o Walcott as Critic, Commentator and Journalist Presentation Formats: o Formal presentations using any medium (limited to 20 minutes) o Panel discussions – two or three papers encompassing a range of perspectives on an issue o Round Tables – informal presentation settings (limited to 20 minutes) o Workshops – practical, interactive sessions (limited to 2 hours) o Performance – drama, dance, music, oratory, etc. o Exhibitions – art, craft, film, audio recordings, etc. What to Submit: The proposal should identify the issue and/or topic as well as presentation type, and should include information on resources/facilities that will be required. Submit an abstract of not more than 250 words and a short profile (approximately 150 words). Where there are co-presenters, submit a profile for each presenter. Schedule: 15 September 2009: Deadline for submission of Abstracts and Proposals 15 October 2009: Notification of acceptance Send Submissions to: Dr Jean Antoine Jean.Antoine@sta.uwi.edu; ext.3021; Dr Paula Morgan Paula.Morgan@sta.uwi.edu; ext. 3033; Professor Barbara Lalla Barbara.Lalla@sta.uwi.edu; ext. 3768.

Campbell, James. "Derek Walcott: a Life in Writing." GUARDIAN October 4, 2008.

As a poet, Walcott stands in opposition to many of his contemporaries. Whereas the prevailing tone of modern poetry is idiomatic and conversational, he repeatedly returns to traditional forms, risking exotic flights in language (leaving him open to the charge of being airily rhetorical). Few of the younger Caribbean poets have aligned themselves with the Walcott manner; many prefer forms tailored to live performance - rap, dub, narrative. In the 1970s, Walcott came under attack from the Black Power movement on Trinidad, and later, on St Lucia, a group of performance poets staged a protest against his traditional loyalties - which are always in danger of being misread as "English" or "colonial" allegiance. When his name was mentioned in connection with the vacant post of Poet Laureate a decade ago, he did nothing to discount himself. On a visit to St Lucia in 2004, the New Yorker journalist Hilton Als observed that while the central square in Castries, the main town of St Lucia, was renamed Walcott Square after the Nobel award, local bookshops still failed to stock his books. (To date, Walcott has published more than a dozen collections of poetry, including The Castaway, The Star-Apple Kingdom, Another Life and Tiepolo's Hound, illustrated with his own paintings.) In the US, where he taught for many years before retiring recently from Boston University, Walcott was frequently accused of being not black enough. Bruce King, author of the biography Derek Walcott: A Caribbean Life, observes that while Walcott was "much in demand on the Black Studies circuit", he regarded cultural black separatism as "continuing segregation". For his own part, Walcott dismisses the misconception of a white/black dichotomy in the Caribbean, preferring to stress the ethnic variety. "My generation produced some terrific writers, from all over, and the great thing about it is that they were all mixed in race." Harry Ross, the managing director of Manning Camerata, points out that "Derek was very keen that there not be an all-black cast for The Burial at Thebes. . . . Read the rest here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/oct/04/poetry.derekwalcott.

Trilling, Daniel. "Rhyme and Punishment for Naipaul." GUARDIAN June 1, 2008.

Walcott's new poem, "The Mongoose," is a fast-paced, savagely humorous demolition of Naipaul's work and personality that begins with the opening salvo: 'I have been bitten, I must avoid infection/Or else I'll be as dead as Naipaul's fiction.' It was premiered at the Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica. Telling the audience, 'I think you'll recognise Mr Naipaul ... I'm going to be nasty', Walcott launched into The Mongoose amid a hubbub of surprised gasps and nervous laughter from the crowd. . . . Read the rest here: http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2283291,00.html.

Cooke, Mel. "Walcott Broadsides Naipaul." JAMAICA GLEANER May 26, 2008.

Derek Walcott landed a poetic broadside on Trinidadian novelist V.S. Naipaul as he ended his 'Chatterbox' stint at the 2008 Calabash International Literary Festival on Saturday afternoon at Jake's in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth. The Nobel laureate for literature followed an onstage interview with Kwame Dawes with poetry from his upcoming collection, White Egrets, but a lot of the sting was in the tail as he closed with 'The Mongoose'. It was quickly made clear that the beast he was referring to did not run around in literal cane piece. . . . (Thanks for the link to Carl Wade.) Read the rest here: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080526/ent/.

Naipaul, V. S. "Caribbean Odyssey." GUARDIAN August 25, 2007.

When he first read Derek Walcott's poems, VS Naipaul was overwhelmed by the talent of his fellow West Indian, who, at the age of 18, was already a master. The young poet had created a new language to describe both the beauty and the limitations of island life. . . . Read the rest here: http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2155514,00.html.