Derek Alton Walcott was born in the Caribbean island paradise of Saint Lucia in the small port city of Castries on January 23, 1930 (Grimes). His work was strongly influenced by this Caribbean setting, the beauty of it, and the historical context of colonialism (Grimes; Campbell). Specifically, he explored themes of cultural chauvinism, political inequity, and ethnicity. He refused to accept the false Black/White dichotomy of race in the Caribbean, centralizing ethnicity in his work, he himself was of African and European descent, in and of itself revealing the complexities of postcolonial life in the Caribbean (Akpan; Campbell). He also understood that though English was deployed as his native tongue, once even having said he received “a very good English education” in his mother country, it was ultimately a tool of imperialism.
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It was only in 1976 that he stayed in the United States for any extended period of time (Campbell). He had little interest in exploring any Westernized country like Britain or the United States (Walcott and Derick 48). In the Caribbean, his mother Alix was a schoolteacher. She introduced him and his twin brother Roderick to literature that would further encourage Derek Walcott towards his future career as a poet and artist. (Akpan; Campbell). As their father, a civil servant, an artist and writer too, before they were born, she mostly raised Derick and Roderick, getting them involved early in a local theatre group (Akpan). Walcott was a prodigy of sorts. By fourteen he had his first poem published in the newspaper (Grimes). By 1949, he self-published a book of his own poetry, called 25 Poems, and sold it on the streets of Castries (Akpan; Campbell). At twenty, he had written two plays, Henri Christopher (1951), and The Price of Mercy
It was only in 1976 that he stayed in the United States for any extended period of time (Campbell). He had little interest in exploring any Westernized country like Britain or the United States (Walcott and Derick 48). In the Caribbean, his mother Alix was a schoolteacher. She introduced him and his twin brother Roderick to literature that would further encourage Derek Walcott towards his future career as a poet and artist. (Akpan; Campbell). As their father, a civil servant, an artist and writer too, before they were born, she mostly raised Derick and Roderick, getting them involved early in a local theatre group (Akpan). Walcott was a prodigy of sorts. By fourteen he had his first poem published in the newspaper (Grimes). By 1949, he self-published a book of his own poetry, called 25 Poems, and sold it on the streets of Castries (Akpan; Campbell). At twenty, he had written two plays, Henri Christopher (1951), and The Price of Mercy