Sir Derek Alton Walcott (January 1930- March 2017) was an award-winning poet from Saint Lucia; born to parents who adored poetry and art, Derek and his twin brother Roderick (a playwright) seemed destined to be creative and expressive themselves.
Sadly Derek passed away in March 2017, but he has left an extensive legacy of poetry that gained much recognition through the decades. He wrote his first poem at 14 and, with help from his mother, he self-published his works, and eventually gained a scholarship to the University College of the West Indies.
Derek Walcott remarked how his writing was influenced by T.S Eliot and Ezra Pound, and his friends and contemporaries Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Walcott’s writing was heavily influenced by tensions and cultural themes from his post-colonial Caribbean upbringing, and these meaningful reflections brought him critical acclaim.
Award Winning Poet Derek Walcott’s Achievements:
1969 Cholmondeley Award
1971 Obie Award for Best Foreign Play (for Dream on Monkey Mountain)
1972 Officer of the Order of the British Empire
1981 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (“genius award”)
1988 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry
1990 Arts Council of Wales International Writers Prize
1990 W. H. Smith Literary Award (for poetry Omeros)
1992 Nobel Prize in Literature
2004 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement
2008 Honorary doctorate from the University of Essex
2011 T. S. Eliot Prize (for poetry collection White Egrets)
2011 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature (for White Egrets)
2015 Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry Lifetime Recognition Award
2016 Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia
After teaser trailers, official trailers telling us the release date, and now this final look at what is to come- the newest season is out today, 25th of April 2018.
Check out the video from George Takei below for an insight into what the author behind the original book has to say about the series.
Since that first appearance he’s been back several times, proving a favourite with children and mothers alike. The British heartthrob who’s played characters such as hardman Alfie in Peaky Blinders and the Krays may not seem like the first choice for reading bedtime stories but both him and his dog have been popular additions to the show. Read More
Gnomeo and Juliet was based loosely on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet – the animation was far less tragic and a lot more musical, with songs by Elton John. The British-American collaboration was greeted with mixed reviews but did well in the box office and became the highest-grossing animated feature among those released at the time until it was beaten by The Lego Movie in 2014. Its sequel introduces new characters and a new literary inspiration: Sherlock Holmes… Sherlock Gnomes.
There is a host of famous voices returning for the sequel as well as some new characters. James McAvoy is back as Gnomeo alongside Emily Blunt as Juliet, with Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, and Richard Wilson as their parents. Sherlock Gnomes and his friend Gnome Watson are played by Johnny Depp and Chiwetel Ejiofor, with Mary J. Blige appearing as Sherlock’s ex-girlfriend and general bad girl doll Irene.
Check out the trailer below to see what is in store for the Redbricks and the Blueburys.
A literary iconoclast during his lifetime, Kerouac’s popularity only grew with his premature death and his books are as popular today as they always were, maybe more so considering the number of his works published posthumously. Read More
After testing their knowledge on our Handmaid’s Tale quiz, Reading Addicts can also watch the trailer to see what the second season entails… It looks as darkly atmospheric as last season!
Check out the trailer below.