Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley or Miss Lou (7 September 1919 – 26 July 2006), was a Jamaican poet,

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

, writer, and educator. Writing and performing her poems in

Jamaican Patois Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English ...

or Creole, Bennett worked to preserve the practice of presenting poetry, folk songs and stories in patois ("

nation language "Nation language" is the term coined by scholar and poet Kamau Brathwaite McArthur, Tom,"Nation language" ''Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language'', 1998. and now commonly preferred to describe the work of writers from the Caribbean and t ...

"), establishing the validity of local languages for literary expression.

Early life

Bennett was born on 7 September 1919 on North Street in Kingston, Jamaica. She was the only child of Augustus Cornelius Bennett, the owner of a bakery in

Spanish Town Spanish Town ( jam, label= Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. T ...

, and Kerene Robinson, a dressmaker. After the death of her father in 1926, Bennett was raised primarily by her mother. She attended elementary school at Ebenezer and Calabar, continuing to St. Simon's College and Excelsior College, in Kingston. In 1943, she enrolled at Friends College in Highgate, St Mary where she studied Jamaican folklore. That same year her poetry was first published in the ''

Sunday Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

''. In 1945, Bennett was the first black student to study at London's

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

(RADA) after being awarded a scholarship from the

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Career

After graduating from RADA, Bennett worked with repertory companies in

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and

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, as well as in intimate revues across

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."Biography of Dr. the Honourable Louise Bennett Coverley", Louise Bennett official website.
/ref> During her time in the country, she hosted two radio programs for the BBC – ''Caribbean Carnival'' (1945–1946) and ''West Indian Night'' (1950). Bennett worked for the Jamaica Social Welfare Commission from 1955 to 1959, and taught folklore and drama at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the ...

. From 1965 to 1982 she produced ''Miss Lou's Views'', a series of radio monologues, and in 1970 started hosting the children's television program ''Ring Ding''. Airing until 1982, the show was based on Bennett's belief "that 'de pickney-dem learn de sinting dat belong to dem' (that the children learn about their heritage)". As part of the program children from across the country were invited to share their artistic talents on-air. In addition to her television appearances, Bennett appeared in various motion pictures including ''Calypso'' (1958) and ''

Club Paradise ''Club Paradise'' is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Robin Williams, Twiggy, Peter O'Toole, and Jimmy Cliff. Set in a fictional Caribbean banana republic, it follows a group of vacationers' attempts to create ...

'' (1986). Bennett wrote several books and poetry in Jamaican Patois, helping to have it recognized as a "

" in its own right. Her work influenced many other writers, including

Mutabaruka Allan Hope (born 1952), better known as Mutabaruka, is a Jamaican Rastafari dub poet, musician, actor, educator, and talk-show host, who developed two of Jamaica's most popular radio programmes, ''The Cutting Edge'' and ''Steppin' Razor''. His ...

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His p ...

and Yasus Afari, to use it in a similar manner. She also released numerous recordings of traditional Jamaican folk music and recordings from her radio and television shows including ''Jamaican Folk Songs'', ''Children's Jamaican Songs and Games'', ''Miss Lou’s Views'' (1967), ''Listen to Louise'' (1968), ''Carifesta Ring Ding'' (1976), and ''The Honorable Miss Lou''. She is credited with giving

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an internati ...

the foundation for his 1956 hit "

Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" is a traditional Jamaican folk song. The song has mento influences, but it is commonly classified as an example of the better known calypso music. It is a call and response work song, from the point of view of ...

" by telling him about the Jamaican folk song "Hill and Gully Rider" (the name also given as "Day Dah Light").

Personal life

Bennett was married to Eric Winston Coverley, an early performer and promoter of Jamaican theater, from 30 May 1954 until his death in August 2002. Together, Bennett and Coverley had a son, Fabian.

Death and funeral

Bennett lived the last decade of her life in Scarborough,

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. She died on 27 July 2006 at the Scarborough Grace Hospital after collapsing at her home. A memorial service was held in

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on 3 August 2006, after which her body was flown to Jamaica to lie in state at the National Arena on 7 and 8 August. A funeral was held in Kingston at the Coke Methodist Church at East Parade on 9 August 2006 followed by her interment in the cultural icons section of the country's National Heroes Park. Bennett's husband preceded her in death.

Cultural significance and legacy

Dr. Basil Bryan, Consul General of Jamaica, praised Bennett as an inspiration to Jamaicans as she "proudly presented the Jamaican language and culture to a wider world and today we are the beneficiaries of that audacity." She was acclaimed by many for her success in establishing the validity of local languages for literary expression. An important aspect of her writing was its setting in public spaces such as trams, schools and churches allowing readers to see themselves, pre- and post-independence, reflected in her work. Her writing has also been credited with providing a unique perspective on the everyday social experiences of working-class women in a postcolonial landscape. Bennett's 103rd birthday was marked with a

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on 7 September 2022.

Awards and honours

Bennett received numerous honours and awards for her work in Jamaican literature and theatre. In recognition of her achievements,

Harbourfront Centre Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at 235 Queens Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the Government of Canada to create a waterfront park, it became ...

, a non-profit cultural organisation in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, has a venue named Miss Lou's Room. The University of Toronto is home to the Louise Bennett Exchange Fellowship in Caribbean Literary Studies for students from the University of West Indies. Her other awards and honours include: *

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1960) * Norman Manley Award for Excellence (1972) *

Order of Jamaica The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system. Membership in the Order can be conferred upon ...

(1974) * Musgrave Medal (1978) * Honorary Doctor of Letters – York University (1998) *

Jamaican Order of Merit The Order of Merit is part of the Jamaican honours system, and it is the fourth-highest honour awarded by the nation of Jamaica. The Order of Merit is conferred upon Jamaicans or distinguished citizens of other countries who have achieved intern ...

(2001)

Select publications

Books

* ''Anancy Stories And Poems In Dialect''. Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner Co. Ltd (1944). * * * *

Recordings

* *

References

External links

Louise Bennett Discography
at

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett-Coverley, Louise 1919 births 2006 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Order of Jamaica Recipients of the Musgrave Medal Recipients of the Order of Merit (Jamaica) 20th-century Jamaican poets People from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican women poets 20th-century Jamaican women writers 20th-century Jamaican women singers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Jamaican expatriates in the United Kingdom