The Life of Una Marson, 1905 - 1965

by Delia Jarrett-Macauley

This is an original, full length biography of Britain’s first twentieth-century black feminist - Una Marson - poet, playwright, and social activist and BBC broadcaster.
 
Una Marson is recognized today as the first major woman poet of the Caribbean and as a significant forerunner of contemporary black writers; her story throws light on the problems facing politicised black artists. In challenging definitions of "race" and "gender" in her political and creative work, she forged a valiant path for later black feminists. Her enormous social and cultural contributions to the Caribbean and Britain have, until now, remained hidden in archives and memoirs around the world.
 
Based on extensive research and oral testimony, this biography embraces postcolonial realities and promise, and is a major contribution to British cultural history.

Genres: Biography

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1998

Reviews

[Sue Chant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poet, playwright and journalist Una Marson was the first Black woman to work for the BBC in the 1930s. I would have liked to hear more about her feminism and social activism but unfortunately apart from some journalism not much was adequately documented at the time, and most of her papers were destroyed after her death. This biography pulls together what is available, plus personal interviews with a few surviving friends and colleagues, but still feels a bit thin.