Jamaican Bookish Heroes: Author Spotlight On Olive Senior
Welcome back to My Jamaican Vignettes. Today I’m celebrating a Jamaican literary hero with a author spotlight on Olive Senior. Monday 16 October 2023 is National Heroes Day in Jamaica (16 October is also my day) so we’re celebrating the heroes early because next week will be all about my wishes for my 36th year.
Author Spotlight Olive Senior
Olive Senior is a Jamaican poet and novelist. Since 2021 she’s been appointed the Jamaica Poet Laureate. She was born in Trelawny and is now based in Toronto.
According to her official author website, Senior’s works have been awarded the Musgrave Medal, OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
My Favourite Olive Senior Works
One of my favourite Olive Senior works is the short story collection The Pain Tree. The collection has 10 short stories and my favourites were Boxed-In, The Country Cousin and Flying.
Earlier this year I also read Pandemic Poems: First Wave by Olive Senior as part of the Read Harder 2023 Challenge by Book Riot. I also enjoyed that poetry collection and recommend you read it if you aren’t triggered by COVID-19. I also especially love this collection because I followed Olive Senior on Twitter during the pandemic years and saw when she posted the first set of pandemic poems.
If you are a Jamaican who studied history or Caribbean studies then you’re likely also familiar with Olive Senior through the Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage.
If you’ve read books by Olive Senior, what’s your favourite poem or short story collection?
Which other Jamaican authors should we shine the author spotlight on?
Happy reading!
Chantel DaCosta
Chantel DaCosta is a storyteller, editor and lifestyle blogger. She is passionate about mental health awareness and Jamaican women's own-voices stories.
