Miss louise bennett biography of martin

The intellectual property rights to the works of the Honourable Louise Bennett-Coverley rest with her estate. Permission to copy, distribute, perform, broadcast, make adaptations or in any way utilise her works must be made with her estate through the National Library of Jamaica. Researchers may also access additional resources at McMaster University , Canada.

This series contains personal and professional correspondences which relate to Louise Bennett and Eric Coverley. A beloved Jamaican poet, folklorist, writer, and educator, Miss Lou pioneered the use of Jamaican Patois in poetry, establishing it as a respected literary language. Through this show, she invited children across Jamaica to celebrate their heritage, sharing folk songs, games, and stories.

Married to Eric Winston Coverley from until his passing in , she had one son, Fabian, as well as several adopted children. Louise Bennett was a Jamaican author, poet, and playwright who used her words to promote the culture and history of her home country. She was fondly known by many as Miss Lou. Her poetry and writing were instrumental in developing a uniquely Jamaican cultural identity, and her work is still celebrated and revered today.

Louise Simone Bennett was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in She grew up in a Jamaica that was still under British rule, and she later credited the oppressive colonial atmosphere with sparking her interest in writing. After the death of her father in , Bennett was raised primarily by her mother. Bennett attended elementary school at Ebenezer and Calabar, continuing to St.

Simon's College and Excelsior College, in Kingston. That same year, her poetry was first published in the Sunday Gleaner. Bennett worked for the Jamaica Social Welfare Commission from to , and taught folklore and drama at the University of the West Indies. Airing until , the show was based on Bennett's belief "that 'de pickney-dem learn de sinting dat belong to dem' that the children learn about their heritage ".

Miss louise bennett biography of martin

In addition to her television appearances, Bennett appeared in various motion pictures, which included Calypso and Club Paradise Bennett wrote several books and poetry in Jamaican Patois, helping to have it recognized as a " nation language " in its own right. Her work influenced many other writers — among them Mutabaruka , Linton Kwesi Johnson and Yasus Afari — to use it in a similar manner.

Bennett was married to Eric Winston Coverley, an early performer and promoter of Jamaican theatre, from 30 May until his death in August Bennett lived in Scarborough , Ontario. She died on 27 July at the Scarborough Grace Hospital after collapsing at her home. A memorial service was held in Toronto on 3 August , after which her body was flown to Jamaica to lie in state at the National Arena on 7 and 8 August.

A funeral was held in Kingston at the Coke Methodist Church at East Parade on 9 August followed by her interment in the cultural icons section of the country's National Heroes Park. Bennett's husband predeceased her. Basil Bryan, Consul General of Jamaica, praised Bennett as an inspiration to Jamaicans as she "proudly presented the Jamaican language and culture to a wider world and today we are the beneficiaries of that audacity.

Bennett's rd birthday was marked with a Google Doodle on 7 September In , photographs, audiovisual recordings, correspondence, awards and other material regarding Bennett were donated to the McMaster University Library by her family with the intention of having selections from the fonds , which date from to , digitized and made available online as part of a digital archive [ 16 ] A selection of Bennett's personal papers are also available at the National Library of Jamaica.

Launched in October , the Miss Lou Archives contains previously unpublished archival material, including photos, audio recording, diaries and correspondence. Bennett received numerous honours and awards for her work in Jamaican literature and theatre. In recognition of her achievements, Harbourfront Centre , a non-profit cultural organisation in Toronto, Ontario , Canada, has a venue named Miss Lou's Room.