Derek Walcott, a Nobel prize-winning poet known for capturing the essence of his native Caribbean, died Friday on the island of St. Lucia. He was 87.
“Derek Alton Walcott, poet, playwright, and painter died peacefully today, Friday 17th March, 2017, at his home in Cap Estate, Saint Lucia,” said a family statement. It said the funeral would be held in St. Lucia and details would be announced shortly.
The prolific and versatile poet received the Nobel Prize in literature in 1992. The academy cited the “great luminosity” of his writings including the 1990 “Omeros,” a 64-chapter Caribbean epic that it praised as “majestic.”
“In him, West Indian culture has found its great poet,” the Swedish academy said in awarding the $1.2 million prize to Walcott.
St. Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said flags throughout the island would be lowered to half-staff to honor Walcott, one of the most renowned figures to emerge from the small country.
“It is a great loss to Saint Lucia,” he said. “It is a great loss to the world.”
-AP
