Queen Elizabeth 11 honours Guyanese-born poet
Queen Elizabeth II meets Grace Nichols at Windsor Castle (Photo credited: The Royal Family facebook page)
Queen Elizabeth II meets Grace Nichols at Windsor Castle (Photo credited: The Royal Family facebook page)

GUYANA-BORN poet, Grace Nichols, was, on Wednesday, presented with the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry 2021 by Her Majesty, at Windsor Castle, in the United Kingdom.

According to the royal website, the Poetry Medal Committee unanimously recommended Grace Nichols as this year’s recipient on the basis of her body of work, in particular her first collection of poetry ‘I Is a Long-Memoried Woman’ (1983), prose and several books for younger readers.

Nichols moved to Britain at the age of 27 and her first collection of poetry ‘I Is a Long-Memoried Woman’ (1983) won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize.

Nichols said she was overwhelmed when she first got the news.
“It was both wonderful and humbling to be recognised in this way. As a poet you write your poems in solitude, never knowing who they’ll reach. I feel so honoured and delighted to be given this award by Her Majesty and the committee, headed by Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage and to join the illustrious company of past winners from across the Commonwealth.

“In my own work I’ve celebrated my Guyanese/Caribbean/South American heritage in relation to the English traditions we inherited as a former British colony. To poetry and the English language that I love, I’ve brought the registers of my own Caribbean tongue. I wish my parents, who used to chide me for straining my eyes, as a small girl reading by torchlight in bed, were around to share in this journey that poetry has blessed me with.”

Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, said that, over the past four decades, Grace has been an original, pioneering voice on the British poetry scene.

“A noted reader and ‘performer’ of her work, she has embraced the tones of her adopted country and yet maintained the cadences of her native tongue. Her poems are alive with characters from the folklore and fables of her Caribbean homeland, and echo with the rhymes and rhythms of her family and ancestors. Song-like or prayer-like on occasion, they exhibit an honesty of feeling and a generosity of spirit. They are also passionate and sensuous at times, being daring in their choice of subject and open-hearted in their outlook.

“Above all, Grace Nichols has been a beacon for black women poets in this country, staying true to her linguistic coordinates and poetic sensibilities, and offering a means of expression that has offered inspiration and encouragement to many. She is a moving elegist, and a poet of conciliation and constructive dialogue between cultures, but also a voice of questioning dissent when the occasion demands.”

Nichols was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1950 and worked as a teacher and journalist before moving to the UK in 1977. On arrival in the UK, Grace’s work touched on racial tensions at a time when immigration was at the centre of political debates under Margaret Thatcher’s government.

Her work was often influenced by the history and culture of her homeland, in particular the oral story-telling tradition of folk tales, the landscape and the history of enslavement. Her first collection of poetry, ‘I Is a Long-Memoried Woman’ (1983) won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize and a subsequent film adaptation of the book was awarded a gold medal at the International Film and Television Festival of New York. Since then, she has published eight more poetry collections as well as prose and several books for younger readers. In 2007 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

The Gold Medal for Poetry was instituted by King George V in 1933 at the suggestion of the then Poet Laureate, John Masefield. The medal is awarded for excellence in poetry, on the basis of either a body of work over several years, or for an outstanding poetry collection issued during the year of the award. The poet is from the United Kingdom or a Commonwealth realm, and the poems will have been published. (royal.uk)

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