Merle Collins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Merle Collins
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| Born | 29 September 1950  Aruba |
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| Occupation | Poet, performing artist, novelist, prose writer, artist, university teacher |
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Merle Collins (born 29 September 1950 in Aruba) is a Grenadian poet, novelist, and short-story writer. She is known for her creative works and her academic career.
Contents
Merle Collins' Early Life and Education
Merle Collins' parents were from Grenada. They moved back to Grenada from Aruba soon after she was born. She attended primary school in St George's, Grenada.
University Studies
Later, she studied at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica. In 1972, she earned degrees in English and Spanish. After that, she taught history and Spanish in Grenada for two years. She also taught in St Lucia.
In 1980, Collins earned a master's degree from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Her studies focused on Latin American topics. She also received a Ph.D. in Government from the London School of Economics.
Involvement in Grenadian Politics
Merle Collins was very involved in the Grenadian Revolution. She worked for the government, helping with research on Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1983, she left Grenada and moved to England.
Merle Collins' Academic Career
From 1984 to 1995, Merle Collins taught at the University of North London. Today, she is a Professor of Comparative Literature and English at the University of Maryland. She was named a Distinguished Scholar Teacher for 2018–2019.
Published Academic Works
Collins has written important academic articles. One of her works is "Themes and Trends in Caribbean Writing Today." It appeared in a book called From My Guy to Sci-Fi: Genre and Women's Writing in the Postmodern World (1989). Another article is "To be Free is Very Sweet," published in Slavery and Abolition (1994).
Merle Collins' Creative Writing
Merle Collins is a talented writer of fiction and poetry. Her works often explore themes of Caribbean life and history.
Poetry Collections
Her first book of poems, Because the Dawn Breaks, came out in 1985. At that time, Collins was part of a group called African Dawn. This group combined poetry, mime, and African music in their performances.
In 1992, her second poetry collection, Rotten Pomerack, was published. These poems look at the experiences of Caribbean people who moved to England. Her 2003 poetry collection, Lady in a Boat, talks about her island and its people. It also explores how they deal with the past and build a future after difficult times.
Novels and Short Stories
While in England, she started writing her first novel, Angel. It was published in 1987. Angel tells the story of Grenadians as they worked for independence. It follows a young woman living through the political changes in Grenada.
In 1990, she released a collection of short stories called Rain Darling. Her second novel, The Colour of Forgetting, was published in 1995. Her most recent collection of stories, The Ladies Are Upstairs, came out in 2011.
Ocean Stirrings: A Recent Novel
Her 2023 novel, Ocean Stirrings, is a tribute to Louise Langdon Norton Little. Louise was a working mother and activist, and the mother of Malcolm X. This novel was nominated for the 2024 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.
The judges praised Collins for blending history and imagination carefully. They noted that she brings together many voices, from old English letters to Black rights speakers. She also honors the Grenadian Creole language, giving it new life in her book. A review in Caribbean Beat said the book is a deeply understanding story about a real person whose story was mostly untold. Ocean Stirrings helps to share her history with readers.
