Renowned American writer of Barbadian parentage, Paule Marshall, will be honoured during the launch of this year’s Bim Literary Festival and Book Fair on Friday, May 13, at Ilaro Court.
Her son, Evan Marshall, will receive the Writers’ Ink’s Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of his mother, from Prime Minister Freundel Stuart during the ceremony.
Ms. Marshall’s first novel, Brown Girl, Brownstones, published in 1959, celebrates her visits to Barbados as a child, and a dramatised excerpt of the book will be performed on Thursday, May 12, at the National Library Service.
Described as one of America’s finest contemporary black writers, the outstanding writer has an impressive body of prize-winning work, including Soul Clap Hands and Sing (1961), Reena (1962), Some Get Wasted (1964), To Da-Duh: In Memorandum (1967), The Chosen Place, the Timeless People (1969), Praisesong for the Widow (1983), and Daughters (1991).
Early in her career, Ms. Marshall wrote poetry, but later returned to prose. In 2010, the 87-year-old won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. This is an American literary award dedicated to honouring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture.
