Edward Alston Cecil Baugh (10 January 1936 – 9 December 2023) was a Jamaican poet and scholar, recognised as an authority on the work of Derek Walcott,[1] whose Selected Poems (2007) Baugh edited, having in 1978 authored the first book-length study of the Nobel-winning poet's work, Derek Walcott: Memory as Vision.[2][3]
Edward Baugh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 January 1936 |
| Died | 9 December 2023 (aged 87) Kingston, Jamaica |
| Nationality | Jamaican |
| Alma mater | University College of the West Indies; Queen's University, Canada; University of Manchester |
| Occupation(s) | Poet and scholar |
| Notable work | West Indian Poetry 1900–1970: A Study in Cultural Decolonisation (1971); Derek Walcott: Memory as Vision (1978) |
| Awards | Bocas Henry Swanzy Award, 2021 |
Biography edit
Edward Alston Cecil Baugh was born on 10 January 1936 in Port Antonio, Jamaica,[4] the son of Edward Percival Baugh, purchasing agent, and Ethel Maud Duhaney-Baugh.[5] He began writing poetry at Titchfield High School. He won a scholarship to study English literature at the University College of the West Indies and later did postgraduate studies at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, and at the University of Manchester in England, where he earned a PhD in 1964.
Baugh taught at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies from 1965 to 1967, then at the university's Mona campus from 1968 to 2001, eventually being appointed professor of English in 1978 and public orator in 1985.[6] He has also held visiting appointments at the University of California, Dalhousie University, University of Hull, University of Wollongong, Flinders University, Macquarie University, University of Miami and Howard University.[5]
In 2012, he was awarded a Gold Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica.[7]
In March 2021, Baugh was announced as the co-recipient, together with Mervyn Morris, of the Bocas Henry Swanzy Award for Distinguished Service to Caribbean Letters.[8]
Baugh died in Kingston early on 10 December 2023, at the age of 87,[9] survived by his wife Sheila and their daughters Sarah and Katherine.[10]
Scholarly works edit
His scholarly publications include West Indian Poetry 1900–1970: A Study in Cultural Decolonisation (1971); Critics on Caribbean Literature (1978); Derek Walcott: Memory as Vision (1978), the first book-length study of Walcott's work; and an annotated edition of Walcott's Another Life (2004), with Colbert Nepaulsingh. Chancellor, I Present (1998) collects a number of the citations Baugh prepared and delivered as Public Orator of The University of the West Indies, Mona campus, for the presentation of honorary degrees during the annual presentation of graduates ceremony.
Poetry edit
Baugh's poems appeared in various magazines and anthologies years before the publication of his first collection, A Tale from the Rainforest (1988). This was followed by It Was the Singing (2000) and Black Sand: New and Selected Poems (2013).[11]
Selected bibliography edit
- Black Sand: New and Selected Poems (2013)
- It Was the Singing (2000)
- I Was a Teacher Too (1991)
- A Tale from the Rainforest (1988)
- Derek Walcott: Memory as Vision: "Another Life" (1978)
- Critics on Caribbean Literature (1978)
- West Indian Poetry 1900–1970: A Study in Cultural Decolonisation (1971)
References edit
- ^ Cooper, Carolyn (27 November 2012), "6th Edward Baugh Distinguished lecture". Jamaica Woman Tongue.
- ^ "Edward Baugh", The Literary Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Professor Edward Baugh, Jamaican poet and academic, has died", The Loop News, 10 December 2023.
- ^ Grinam-Nicholson, Yvonne (22 July 2001), "Professor Edward Baugh – Living the years", The Jamaica Gleaner. Archived 6 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b "Edward Alston Cecil Baugh", The West Indian Encyclopedia. Archived 6 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Professor Edward Baugh". The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
- ^ "Musgrave Awardees". Institute of Jamaica. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
- ^ "Two Jamaican scholars honoured with Bocas Henry Swanzy Award", Jamaica Observer, 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Jamaica has lost 'literary giant' with passing of Edward Baugh, says Grange". Jamaica Observer. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Mundle, Tanesha (10 December 2023). "Caribbean literary giant Edward Baugh has died". The Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Cooke, Mel (8 December 2013). "Baugh's 'Black Sand' Explores The Overlooked". The Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
External links edit
- "Interview with Jamaican poet, Edward Baugh", Commonwealth Writers. 21 April 2012.
- "Part 3: Guest Speaker Professor Emeritus Edward Baugh, CD" on YouTube.
- Newton Duncan, "Farewell Eddie, my friend", The Gleaner, 28 December 2023.