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Vladimir Lucien

ヴラジミール・ルシエン

Vladimir Lucien

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1988-03-16 （Gros Islet, St. Lucia）
Nationality
Saint Lucian
Languages
English
Residence History
Gros Islet, St. Lucia → Castries, St. Lucia → St Augustine campus (University of the West Indies), Trinidad and Tobago → Mona (Jamaica) — Writer-in-Residence

Career

Occupations
Writer, Critic, Actor, Screenwriter
Active Years
2008-
Influenced By
Kamau Brathwaite

Education

St Mary's College
Secondary education (attended)
Period: 1999–2004
Year of Graduation: 2004
Country: St. Lucia
Attended St Mary's College in Castries; began acting career there.
University of the West Indies (St Augustine campus)
Literature and Theatre Arts / Department of Literature and Theatre Arts
Period: 2008–
Country: Trinidad and Tobago
Began writing poetry seriously while at UWI; cites influence from Kamau Brathwaite in his third year.

Awards

Small Axe Prize (poetry category)
2013
Work: Selected poems (entry)
Category: 詩
Organization: Small Axe (journal)
Result: first prize
OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
2015
Work: Sounding Ground
Organization: NGC Bocas Lit Fest (organiser of the OCM Bocas Prize)
Result: winner
Guyana Prize for Caribbean Literature
2015
Work: Sounding Ground
Organization: Guyana Prize committee
Result: shortlisted

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sounding Ground

2014 Poetry

A collection of poems that explores life in St. Lucia, family memories, the legacy of colonialism, and community figures. Combines personal experience and historical memory to excavate local voices.

Legacy of colonialismMemory and familyCommunity and everyday lifeIdentity
Translations
  • Translated into Dutch (published in Tortuca and other outlets)
  • Translated into Italian (published in El Ghibli)
  • Translated into Mandarin (selections translated)

Bibliography

  • Two poems ("Even Here" and "The Nobodies of Never") — The Caribbean Review of Books, 2010
  • Sounding Ground — Peepal Tree Press, 2014
  • Co-editor: Sent Lisi: Poems and Art of St. Lucia — 2014
  • Essay: "Growing Up Under Walcott" — Peepal Tree Press blog, 2017

Adaptations

  • The Merikins (documentary) — Lucien served as screenwriter; premiered at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in 2013

Translations of Works

  • Selected poems from Sounding Ground translated into Dutch (published in Tortuca and other outlets)
  • Selected poems from Sounding Ground translated into Italian (published in El Ghibli)
  • Selected poems from Sounding Ground translated into Mandarin (partial translations)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Grounded, earth-centered voicePoetic narration emphasizing memory and oralitySocial critique through concrete community vignettes
Recurring Motifs
Yards/provision ground and soilSchoolyards and public/community spacesFamily memory and intergenerational inheritance

Legacy

As the youngest winner of the OCM Bocas Prize, he is recognized as an important emerging Caribbean poet. His work, which excavates regional history and everyday voices, has been highly regarded and has positioned him as a prominent voice of Caribbean poetry through translations and international appearances.

Quotes

  • I started writing poetry seriously when I started UWI in 2008. What I was writing before was coming from a very empty place and it was not much anyway.
    Source: ARC Magazine (interview) (2014)
  • "Sounding Ground" is an impressive collection. Lucien persuades us he has known the experience of a range of St Lucians, and that he deeply cares.
    Source: Mervyn Morris (review, The Caribbean Review of Books) (2016)

Trivia

  • Won the OCM Bocas Prize in 2015, becoming the youngest ever winner of the prize.
  • Served as screenwriter for the documentary "The Merikins," which premiered at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in 2013.
  • Some of his poetry has been translated into Dutch, Italian and Mandarin.