Lorna Gaye Goodison CD (born 1 August 1947)[1] is a Jamaican poet, essayist and memoirist, a leading West Indian writer, whose career spans four decades.
Oracabessa, described as "a book of risky journeys, mappings and re-mappings through Spain, Portugal, Canada and her homeland of Jamaica as the poet navigates place, history and imagination", won the Poetry category of the 2014 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, when the judges stated: "In Oracabessa the distinctive voice of Lorna Goodison–an elegant, captivating fusion of international English and Jamaican Creole–presents segments of autobiography as a series of travels.
Ben Wilkinson wrote in The Guardian: "Her writing is often a celebration of the spirit and tenacity of women; in various ways, Mother Muse ... extends this feature of her work.
"[24] Goodison has also published three collections of short stories, Baby Mother and the King of Swords (1990), Fool-Fool Rose Is Leaving Labour-in-Vain Savannah (2005), and By Love Possessed (2012).
[28] Lisa Fugard's review in The New York Times concluded: "Goodison's praise songs can be found in her many volumes of poetry and now in this loving memoir.
It's a legacy that can be traced back to her infancy, when Goodison's mother dipped her finger in sugar and rubbed it under her daughter's tongue, ensuring her the gift of sweet speech.
"[29] Goodison has said that during the dozen years it took her to write From Harvey River she drew inspiration from the work of John Keats, whom she first encountered studying the English Romantic poets on her Jamaican school syllabus.
[10][37][38] Poet and literary scholar Edward Baugh says "one of Goodison's achievements is that her poetry inscribes the Jamaican sensibility and culture on the text of the world".
Kei Miller notes: "Primarily a poet, Goodison hasn’t been afraid of crossing the fence into other genres: she has written short stories and a much-celebrated memoir.
[42] Since 2017, Goodison has worked with dub poet and martial arts trainer Cherry Natural (born Marcia Wedderburn) to host a series of summer workshops pairing poetry and self-defence for girls aged from nine to 17, held at the Institute of Jamaica.
[16][19][45] In 2013, Goodison was awarded the Jamaican national honour of the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD), "for outstanding achievements in Literature and Poetry".