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Selected Poems of Derek Walcott
Selected Poetry A selection of the poetry of Derek Walcott, winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature. The nature of memory and the creative imagination, the history, politics and landscape of the West Indies, Walcott's loves and marriages and his enduring awareness of time and death, are recurring themes. Full description
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
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About the author
Derek Walcott
180 books499 followersDerek Walcott was a Caribbean poet, playwright, writer and visual artist. Born in Castries, St. Lucia, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 "for a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome of a multicultural commitment."
His work, which developed independently of the schools of magic realism emerging in both South America and Europe at around the time of his birth, is intensely related to the symbolism of myth and its relationship to culture. He was best known for his epic poem Omeros, a reworking of Homeric story and tradition into a journey around the Caribbean and beyond to the American West and London.
Walcott founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop in 1959, which has produced his plays (and others) since that time, and remained active with its Board of Directors until his death. He also founded Boston Playwrights' Theatre at Boston University in 1981. In 2004, Walcott was awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award, and had retired from teaching poetry and drama in the Creative Writing Department at Boston University by 2007. He continued to give readings and lectures throughout the world after retiring. He divided his time between his home in the Caribbean and New York City.
His work, which developed independently of the schools of magic realism emerging in both South America and Europe at around the time of his birth, is intensely related to the symbolism of myth and its relationship to culture. He was best known for his epic poem Omeros, a reworking of Homeric story and tradition into a journey around the Caribbean and beyond to the American West and London.
Walcott founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop in 1959, which has produced his plays (and others) since that time, and remained active with its Board of Directors until his death. He also founded Boston Playwrights' Theatre at Boston University in 1981. In 2004, Walcott was awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award, and had retired from teaching poetry and drama in the Creative Writing Department at Boston University by 2007. He continued to give readings and lectures throughout the world after retiring. He divided his time between his home in the Caribbean and New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 20, 2020
"After that hot gospeller has levelled all but the churched sky,
I wrote the tale by tallow of a city's death by fire;
Under a candle's eye, that smoked in tears, I
Wanted to tell, in more than wax, of faiths that were snapped like wire.
All day I walked abroad among the rubbled tales,
Shocked at each wall that stood on the street like a liar;
Loud was the bird-rocked sky, and all the clouds were bales
Torn open by looting, and white, in spite of the fire.
By the smoking sea, where Christ walked, I asked, why
Should a man wax tears, when his wooden world fails?
In town, leaves were paper, but the hills were a flock of faiths;
To a boy who walked all day, each leaf was a green breath
Rebuilding a love I thought was dead as nails,
Blessing the death and the baptism by fire."
Should we shed tears? Or should we read poetry?
I wrote the tale by tallow of a city's death by fire;
Under a candle's eye, that smoked in tears, I
Wanted to tell, in more than wax, of faiths that were snapped like wire.
All day I walked abroad among the rubbled tales,
Shocked at each wall that stood on the street like a liar;
Loud was the bird-rocked sky, and all the clouds were bales
Torn open by looting, and white, in spite of the fire.
By the smoking sea, where Christ walked, I asked, why
Should a man wax tears, when his wooden world fails?
In town, leaves were paper, but the hills were a flock of faiths;
To a boy who walked all day, each leaf was a green breath
Rebuilding a love I thought was dead as nails,
Blessing the death and the baptism by fire."
Should we shed tears? Or should we read poetry?
December 27, 2022
Half my friends are dead
I will make you new ones, said earth.
No, give them back as they were, instead,
with faults and all, I cried...
but out of what was lost
grows something stronger.
From the poem Sea Caves p118
It is difficult to extrapolate from the poems of the great poet, Derek Walcott. For those limited to English, his fluency with other languages does not translate easily. Even when writing variations on his beloved themes, each poem is so individually loaded with rich associations that the ignorant reader may feel left out. DW surmounts this obstacle with the power of his vision, creating a tapestry that shimmers like the Caribbean that he so brilliantly evokes.
I loved them as poets love the poetry
that kills them, as drowned sailors the sea
From the poem the Schooners Flight
I will make you new ones, said earth.
No, give them back as they were, instead,
with faults and all, I cried...
but out of what was lost
grows something stronger.
From the poem Sea Caves p118
It is difficult to extrapolate from the poems of the great poet, Derek Walcott. For those limited to English, his fluency with other languages does not translate easily. Even when writing variations on his beloved themes, each poem is so individually loaded with rich associations that the ignorant reader may feel left out. DW surmounts this obstacle with the power of his vision, creating a tapestry that shimmers like the Caribbean that he so brilliantly evokes.
I loved them as poets love the poetry
that kills them, as drowned sailors the sea
From the poem the Schooners Flight
June 19, 2024
A great poet, his use of language has a lovely rhythm and flow which carries you through the poetry even if you loose the meaning at times. Re-reading a number of the poems after looking at external references shone a light on the subjects a second time round. I especially enjoyed the extracts from Tiepolo's Hound, he was also an artist and can certainly paint a landscape with words.
https://poets.org/text/derek-walcott-...
https://poets.org/text/derek-walcott-...
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November 2, 2020This is great! Time to visit St Lucia
November 16, 2022
Wonderful book - I went in search of this book to find out more after I read “Love After Love,” found in his Collected Poems: 1948–1984 (found at a public library).
https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/0...
Love after Love ~ Derek Walcott ~
The time will come
When, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror, / and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread.
Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
My fav! :)
https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/0...
Love after Love ~ Derek Walcott ~
The time will come
When, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror, / and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread.
Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
My fav! :)
April 22, 2008
Nice collection of a lifetime of work. Many of Walcott's poems are very long, so excerpts are taken from those. The occasional French was an impediment for me, but the lyrical qualities were nice. Walcott is detailed to a fault and brings color and energy to the scenes he depicts. People who prefer short, sparse poems will be overwhelmed by Walcott's epic lengths, but those who enjoy literary allusions will be in their element.
December 13, 2012
Finished the lions share of these. Derek Walcott is amazing and should stand higher on the literary pedestal then he does. I truly global writer, play-write and poet.
April 12, 2020
I think it's incredible to read this man's life in anthology. Honestly, the best poet to have ever lived in my opinion. We start of with this conflicted Caribbean boy, thinking of himself a Patmos in exile, with no literature from his home to draw from. So he makes it in the classical sense of form and superfluous language. Then the voice changes and matures, likewise, the poems lengthen. He realises how complex the world is. Accordingly, his poetry complicates this topic like the racial injustice of colonialism, poverty on his island etc. As I reader, I felt I aged with him. For soon at the end, I read of death and eternity. It likes he's watching his sun set in his poems. But still the boy in his heart continues to cry out agaisnt the injustice of his world in the island of St Lucia and the wiped out history because of colonialism. Nevertheless, that voice is not central but reminiscent like his essence. This is Walcott. My criticism is the lack of more pivotal poems in his early years and most of all the absence of "love after love". One of his most famous poems. I don't know how it was forgotten in the collection.
April 27, 2021
Derek Walcott is the one of the most famous poets in the postcolonial period. If we look through his history and origin, we will find that he belongs to a mixed race or hybrid race. His series of poetry never backs down presenting this idea of mixed cultural heritage. Walcott also presents how people are originally oppressed by the colonial government and how the history is gradually changing in that course.
May 23, 2022
I am sorry that my rating probably compromises a bit the overall score, but I personally could not relate to the poetry and found it tiring. There is one Derek Walcott poem that I love and it was in fact not included in the collection which was even more disappointing.
March 17, 2023
An absolute master of language.
I find his work very difficult to read and understand, takes a lot of repeating. But so worth the wait.
I find his work very difficult to read and understand, takes a lot of repeating. But so worth the wait.
April 3, 2023
he was good ig idk he liked a lot of women
December 10, 2024
Beautiful poetry capturing St Lucia's beauty, while sometimes swinging via London. Poignant at times, difficult at others, but constantly high quality.
May 6, 2025
kaj half
October 5, 2022
But islands can only exist
If we have loved in them.
— Islands
December 22, 2025
I had to read this for my IB English HL class... initially, I was definitely not excited, and reading "The Almond Trees" first left me a little confused. However, as per usual, talking about it helped me understand it, and now I actually love Derek Walcott. His poetry is amazing, and my HL essay is on him. His writing is amazing.
Read Love After Love. My favorite poem of his!
Read Love After Love. My favorite poem of his!
April 22, 2019
Derek Walcott was never on my bookshelf as a kid. my mom and i collected Caribbean and African writers from Achebe to Lovelace. But we weren't so keen on poetry. Its funny to think Even the lit encyclopedia like my mom runs away from poetry like any other teenagers.
So I decided I would be the one to break in the poetry. And my god Derek Walcott is on a whole different level. Every word, every line feels painstakingly picked. But it doesn't come off forced and tried like other poems. Instead there a sort of philosophical and mystical element to it.
A couple poems like a lesson for this Sunday I did in school. But Ruins of a Great House shook me. I was looking for the typical critique of plantation society but I got something completely different yes I feel the rage but I also felt an attempt to understand. To sympathize
Tales of the Islands Chapter 3 was probably my favourite because i knew women like that old crones who were always in the front row for every sermon, the voice, the presence. The stories. Its a mix of both intrigue and personal tragedy even a tragedy thats not personally the poets it feels very large.
The Whale, His Bulwark is another favourite mostly because it mentions one of the islands of my home. In it its like a quiet reflection, along with a derisive tone. In it Walcott reflect on the ideas of God and Nature. Like the harpooners in the Grenadines, people have stripped away the ideas of the mystical. As humans we have this need to bring down things to our level so we can better face it. But I think the poet wonders in our efforts we might take away the very thing that gave the things beauty in the first place.
In the foreword of this anthology. It claims that a lot of Mr Walcott's work is difficult for students and when reading that is often the case. But I dont think Walcott writes poetry in order to be hard on students. Rather, his writing highly reflects his love for his art and his dedication to his craft. If the Caribbean has lost Shakespeare then maybe this is truly our best substitute.
So I decided I would be the one to break in the poetry. And my god Derek Walcott is on a whole different level. Every word, every line feels painstakingly picked. But it doesn't come off forced and tried like other poems. Instead there a sort of philosophical and mystical element to it.
A couple poems like a lesson for this Sunday I did in school. But Ruins of a Great House shook me. I was looking for the typical critique of plantation society but I got something completely different yes I feel the rage but I also felt an attempt to understand. To sympathize
Tales of the Islands Chapter 3 was probably my favourite because i knew women like that old crones who were always in the front row for every sermon, the voice, the presence. The stories. Its a mix of both intrigue and personal tragedy even a tragedy thats not personally the poets it feels very large.
The Whale, His Bulwark is another favourite mostly because it mentions one of the islands of my home. In it its like a quiet reflection, along with a derisive tone. In it Walcott reflect on the ideas of God and Nature. Like the harpooners in the Grenadines, people have stripped away the ideas of the mystical. As humans we have this need to bring down things to our level so we can better face it. But I think the poet wonders in our efforts we might take away the very thing that gave the things beauty in the first place.
In the foreword of this anthology. It claims that a lot of Mr Walcott's work is difficult for students and when reading that is often the case. But I dont think Walcott writes poetry in order to be hard on students. Rather, his writing highly reflects his love for his art and his dedication to his craft. If the Caribbean has lost Shakespeare then maybe this is truly our best substitute.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2014
I don't know much about poetry, but even I can tell that these are very good.
They are selected from Walcott's work over a lifetime and we can see how his style changed, becoming more accessible and apparently simpler over the years. I suspect that writing a simple, accessible poem requires more skill. He brings many influences into his poems, this is fusion poetry not vernacular, evolving not fixed in some theoretical concept of roots. One quote from Walcott expresses that as,
'Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was whole. The glue that fits the pieces is the sealing of its original shape. It is such a love that reassembles our African and Asiatic fragments, the cracked heirlooms whose restoration shows its white scars.
...And this is the exact process of the making of poetry, or what should be called not its "making" but its remaking, the fragmented memory...'.
I enjoyed them all, especially those that mentioned the sea in some context.
They are selected from Walcott's work over a lifetime and we can see how his style changed, becoming more accessible and apparently simpler over the years. I suspect that writing a simple, accessible poem requires more skill. He brings many influences into his poems, this is fusion poetry not vernacular, evolving not fixed in some theoretical concept of roots. One quote from Walcott expresses that as,
'Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was whole. The glue that fits the pieces is the sealing of its original shape. It is such a love that reassembles our African and Asiatic fragments, the cracked heirlooms whose restoration shows its white scars.
...And this is the exact process of the making of poetry, or what should be called not its "making" but its remaking, the fragmented memory...'.
I enjoyed them all, especially those that mentioned the sea in some context.
August 7, 2015
A beautiful collection of poems spanning over 50 years of Walcott's career. I prefer the early-mid period, and the evocations of his life as a mulatto on the Caribbean. "Omeros," a later work for which he won the Nobel Prize, really didn't do much for me. It was too ponderous, too ready to shit marble in its attempt to symbolize an entire people in the telling of what should have been a simple sea tale. But for 30 years, from "Castaway" through "Midsummer," Walcott really rocks it. Powerful yet accessible, he conveys the joys and the torment of his place on the planet. For better and worse, it made me feel what it must be like to hunker down on an isolated little island in the middle of the sea, and to call that place home.
October 6, 2009
The first poem in this collection is already into Dante, so I'm a big fan of that. I've found that Walcott's poetry is deceptively simple at times. I've had to read, and re-read poems to push beyond my first perception. I'd leave the poem saying yeah, that was the right interpretation wasn't it. Then I'd think about it for a second, and return to the poem and come up with a bit more. The poem would shift under my feet, and I'm pretty sure that Walcott designs them to do that - though I'm not sure how.
July 6, 2009
Walcott's poems are like reading a story; so different than the many short line contemporary poems.
It's a discipline and a wonderful one, allowing the lyrical quality of the poem's form to shine through. It was a bit like reading Shakespeare or Coleridge, the language is a bit "foreign" yet presses comfortably upon the ear and mind like a warm summer breeze.
I definitely want to check this one out again from the library, and to also check out some of Walcott's plays.
It's a discipline and a wonderful one, allowing the lyrical quality of the poem's form to shine through. It was a bit like reading Shakespeare or Coleridge, the language is a bit "foreign" yet presses comfortably upon the ear and mind like a warm summer breeze.
I definitely want to check this one out again from the library, and to also check out some of Walcott's plays.
July 18, 2011
We went to St. Lucia for our honeymoon and Walcott won the nobel prize so I figured I should read his poetry while there. It was nice to go around the island and read the poems about places we were visiting. Also, interesting to note that Lauren is from Fayetville Arkansas and he has a whole series of poems about that.
April 6, 2015
The poetry is pretty good.
It's mixed with Caribbean, European, and American elements that wrap together to give a sense of an author struggling to understand himself and the world around him.
Spends too much time on trying to find what's not really there though, giving a sense of paranoia that is subtle in the poetry. It's not really enjoyable, but tedious.
It's mixed with Caribbean, European, and American elements that wrap together to give a sense of an author struggling to understand himself and the world around him.
Spends too much time on trying to find what's not really there though, giving a sense of paranoia that is subtle in the poetry. It's not really enjoyable, but tedious.
September 16, 2008
simply stunning, in breadth and depth. recommended in a talk by mark strand as almost categorically "the greatest living poet today," and while I admit I haven't read widely enough to share that endorsement, walcott is on my short (short) list.
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July 30, 2011its a combination of some very poweful poems, a nobel prize well deserved and he would have been amazing as oxford professor of poetry, its oxford's loss! some of the poems are so moving, others are unashamedly to the point, brilliant imagery and some nearly made me cry.
June 3, 2014
Like some poems, bored by others, confused by others, hated others. I definitely liked this better than the modern/feminist type poets I studied simultaneously in my other English class fall semester 2013.
Favorites:
A Far Cry from Africa
Sea Grapes
Favorites:
A Far Cry from Africa
Sea Grapes
August 9, 2014
I'm now a fan. Curious that in this collection, Walcott moves from free verse to rhyme as he ages, with more self-awareness and less immediately striking material. And that longform narrative becomes more important in his poetry. I'm converted.
September 11, 2007
It's hard to do a good selected for a poet who loves the epic.
October 24, 2014
I just cannot shake off the negative bias for this collection because it made my Literature life miserable at A'Level.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews