Una Marson, Selected Poems
Peepal Tree Press

The author of the 1974 anthology West Indian Poetry described Una Marson as “the earliest female poet of significance to emerge in West Indian literature.” She was an advocate for Jamaican literature and the first black woman to be employed by the BBC—she established their “Carribbean Voices” program. Uma Marson’s poetry was clearly political, addressing themes of disarmament, the women’s international movement, and Pan-Africanism. To be analyzed mainly from the point of view of her color was astonishing for her. She expressed it in these four lines: