GOODISON... is the author of 12 awardwinning books of poetry, three books of shorts stories and the prize-winning memoir From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and her Island
Poet Lorna Goodison has been awarded the Shirley Verrett Award from the Women of Color in the Academy Project (WOCAP), which comes with a US$5,000 prize and entry into the records of United States creative arts.
Goodison, the author of 12 award-winning books of poetry, three books of short stories and the prize-winning memoir From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island, has been the recipient of numerous awards. Her work, which has been translated into many languages, appears in the Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, as well as the Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, and the Harper Collins World Reader.
The Shirley Verrett Award recognises a faculty member at the University of Michigan whose work in the creative fields -- teaching, performance, scholarship, or service -- supports the success of female students or colleagues who come from diverse cultural and racial backgrounds.
The award was established in 2011 by the University of Michigan Office of the Senior Vice Provost in honour of Verrett, and administered by WOCAP at the Center for the Education of Women
An internationally acclaimed opera singer who performed over 40 roles all over the world during the course of her illustrious four-decade career, Verrett was one of the pioneering leaders in the generation of black singers after Marian Anderson's historical Metropolitan Opera debut in 1955.
Lorna Goodison is a member of the noted Goodison family, who are all involved in the creative arts in Jamaica.