Dennis Scott (16 December 1939 – 21 February 1991) was a

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

(best known for appearances on ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'') and

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. His well-known poem "Marrysong" is used in the

IGCSE The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising ...

syllabus. He was also a theatre director and drama teacher.

Biography

Born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, Scott attended Jamaica College, where he became headboy. He was further educated 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 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

(UWI), Mona, and taught in Jamaica,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

(at Presentation College), and at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. While at UWI he was the assistant editor of ''Caribbean Quarterly''. Thereafter, he went to

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, on a Shubert Playwriting Fellowship (1970–71), and was later awarded a Commonwealth Fellowship to take an education diploma course in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He returned to teach at Jamaica College, and then became director of the School of Drama at the Cultural Training Centre in Kingston. Scott taught at the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

, and was head of the Directing program from 1986 until his death, which occurred in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, at the age of 51.

Poetry and plays

Scott was one of the most significant poets writing in the early post-independence period in Jamaica, and his first published collection, ''Uncle Time'' (1973), for which he won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, is marked by an effective literary use of the vernacular, or " nation language". He has been regarded as one of the main influences for modern Jamaican poetry. His other poetry collections are ''Dreadwalk: Poems 1970–78'' (1982), ''Strategies'' (1989) and ''After-Image'' (2008). His plays include ''Terminus'' (1966), ''Dog'', and ''An Echo in the Bone'' (1974); the latter was published, together with a play by

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott OM (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as ...

and one by Errol Hill, in ''Plays for Today'' (1985), edited by Hill. Scott's dramatic work is acknowledged as a major influence on the direction of Caribbean theatre.Author profile
at Peepal Tree Press website.

Acting

Scott was an original member of the National Dance Theatre Company founded by

Rex Nettleford Ralston Milton "Rex" Nettleford OM FIJ OCC (3 February 1933 – 2 February 2010) was a Jamaican scholar, social critic, choreographer, and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the leading research university in ...

in the 1960s. Scott is also known for his role as Lester Tibedeaux in ''

''.

References

External links

Author page on Peepal Tree Press website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Dennis Jamaican male actors Jamaican dramatists and playwrights Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Jamaican poets Jamaican male poets Jamaican theatre directors 1939 births 1991 deaths Drama teachers University of the West Indies alumni 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Jamaican male actors 20th-century Jamaican male writers People educated at Jamaica College