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Olive Senior

オリーヴ・シニア

Olive Senior

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1941-12-23 （Trelawny (Cockpit Country), Colony of Jamaica）
Nationality
Jamaica
Languages
English
Residence History
Trelawny, Jamaica (birth) → Kingston, Jamaica (work) → Cardiff, Wales (Thomson Foundation study), UK → Ottawa, Canada (Carleton University study) → Portugal (residence) → Netherlands (residence) → United Kingdom (residence) → Toronto, Ontario, Canada (long-term residence)

Career

Occupations
poet, novelist, short-story writer, non-fiction writer, journalist, editor
Active Years
1960-2025
Affiliations
The Gleaner (employment), Jamaica Information Service (employment), Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies (editorial work), Institute of Jamaica (editor), St. Lawrence University (Dana Distinguished Professor)
Memberships
Nominations
2012 Commonwealth Book Prize (Canada region) shortlist (Dancing Lessons), 2011 Amazon.ca First Novel Award shortlist (Dancing Lessons), 2005 Governor-General's Literary Award for Poetry shortlist (Over the Roofs of the World)

Education

Montego Bay High School for Girls
Country: Jamaica
Completed secondary education; later entered journalism in Jamaica
Thomson Foundation (journalism)
journalism training
Country: United Kingdom (Wales)
Studied journalism on a scholarship
Carleton University School of Journalism
School of Journalism
Country: Canada
Attended as a Commonwealth scholar

Awards

Commonwealth Writers' Prize (regional)
1987
Work: Summer Lightning (short stories)
Organization: Commonwealth Foundation
Result: 受賞
Musgrave Medal (Silver)
1988
Organization: Institute of Jamaica
Result: 受賞
F. G. Bressani Literary Prize
1995
Work: Gardening in the Tropics
Organization: Italian Cultural Centre (Bressani Prize)
Result: 受賞
Musgrave Medal (Gold)
2004
Work: for contributions to literature
Organization: Institute of Jamaica
Result: 受賞
Matt Cohen Award (Writers' Trust of Canada)
2019
Work: in honour of her career as a writer
Organization: Writers' Trust of Canada
Result: 受賞
OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature (non-fiction)
2015
Work: Dying To Better Themselves: West Indians and the Building of the Panama Canal
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Bocas Lit Fest / OCM Bocas Prize
Result: ノンフィクション部門受賞（短期年度受賞）
OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature (fiction / overall)
2016
Work: The Pain Tree (short stories)
Category: フィクション
Organization: Bocas Lit Fest / OCM Bocas Prize
Result: フィクション部門受賞・総合受賞
Poet Laureate of Jamaica
2021
Category: 国家詩人
Organization: Government of Jamaica (appointment)
Result: 任命（2021–2024）
Royal Society of Literature International Writer
2024
Work: for contribution to literature
Organization: Royal Society of Literature
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Summer Lightning and Other Stories

1986 short story collection

A collection of stories about Jamaican life and relationships; an early landmark work that won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize.

Caribbean identityfamilywomen's experiences
Translations
  • ZigZag (French translation)

Gardening in the Tropics

1994 poetry collection

A poetry collection attentive to nature and everyday detail; won the Bressani Prize in Canada.

naturememoryhome
Translations
  • Arabic translation of Gardening in the Tropics

Over the Roofs of the World

2005 poetry collection

A collection blending lyric and narrative; shortlisted for poetry awards in 2005.

migration and belongingnature and the urban

The Pain Tree

2015 short story collection

A mature collection of stories; won the 2016 OCM Bocas Prize for fiction and overall winner.

memory and painmigration and belonging

Dancing Lessons

2011 novel

Her first novel; shortlisted in the Canada region for the Commonwealth Book Prize.

parent-child relationshipscultural identity

Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage

2004 non-fiction (reference)

A reference work on Jamaican culture, history and heritage; used as an educational resource.

cultural heritagehistory

Dying To Better Themselves: West Indians and the Building of the Panama Canal

2014 non-fiction (history)

A study of West Indian workers in the building of the Panama Canal; won the non-fiction category of the 2015 OCM Bocas Prize.

labor historymigrationcolonial legacies

Bibliography

  • Talking of Trees (poetry)
  • Gardening in the Tropics (poetry)
  • Over the Roofs of the World (poetry)
  • Shell (poetry)
  • Hurricane Watch (new and collected poems)
  • Summer Lightning and Other Stories (short stories)
  • Arrival of the Snake-Woman (short stories)
  • Discerner of Hearts (short stories)
  • The Pain Tree (short stories)
  • Dancing Lessons (novel)
  • Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage (non-fiction)
  • Dying To Better Themselves (non-fiction)

Adaptations

  • Dramatic adaptations and broadcasts by the BBC
  • Broadcasts and radio plays on CBC (e.g., Window)

Translations of Works

  • ZigZag (French)
  • Eclairs de chaleur (French)
  • Zomerweerlicht (Dutch)
  • Das Erscheinen der Schlangenfrau (German)
  • Un Pipirit M'a Dit / A Little Bird Told Me (bilingual English/French)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
colloquial yet lyrical styleblend of narrative and poetic observationinfluence of Caribbean oral traditions
Recurring Motifs
nature (mango trees, local flora)memory and the pastfamily and grandmother figuresmigration and identityeveryday domestic detail

Legacy

Olive Senior is a major voice in Caribbean literature, acclaimed for both poetry and prose. Her work is widely taught and recognized internationally for its exploration of Caribbean identity, women's experience, and labor histories.

Archives

  • National Library of Jamaica (holds related material)

In Popular Culture

  • Included in school and university curricula (e.g., Summer Lightning, Gardening in the Tropics)
  • Broad recognition through BBC and CBC broadcasts of adaptations

Quotes

  • I've had to determine who I am. As part of that process, I decided I was a Jamaican. I represent many different races and I'm not rejecting any of them to please anybody. I'm just who I am and you have to accept me or not.
    Source: Interview (e.g., Jamaica Gleaner) (2004)

Trivia

  • Born the seventh of ten children.
  • Moved to Europe after Hurricane Gilbert (1988), later settled in Toronto.
  • Works adapted and broadcast by BBC and CBC.
  • Official website: www.olivesenior.com