Erika J. Waters is an

America 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 ...

n editor, academic and critic. She was the founding editor of the literary journal ''

The Caribbean Writer The University of the Virgin Islands (or UVI) is a Public college, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in the United States Virgin Islands. History UVI was founded as the College of the V ...

'' in 1986 and has published critical works on Caribbean literature and on

women's literature The academic discipline of women's writing is a discrete area of literary criticism, literary studies which is based on the notion that the experience of women, historically, has been shaped by their sex, and so women writers by definition are a g ...

, notably on writers including

Caryl Phillips Caryl Phillips (born 13 March 1958) is a Kittitian-British novelist, playwright and essayist. Best known for his novels (for which he has won multiple awards), Phillips is often described as a Black Atlantic writer, since much of his fictional ...

Una Marson Una Maud Victoria Marson (6 February 1905 – 6 May 1965) was a Jamaican feminist, activist and writer, producing poems, plays and radio programmes. She travelled to London in 1932 and became the first black woman to be employed by the BBC, d ...

and

Jean Rhys Jean Rhys, ( ; born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams; 24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) was a novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she resided mainly in England, where she was sent for her educa ...

Life and career

She was born in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, when her mother was working at

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

. Philp, Geoffrey
"A Conversation with Erika J. Waters"
2 November 2007. Waters received her bachelor's and master's degrees in English from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and a Ph.D. in English from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. She began teaching at the

University of the Virgin Islands The University of the Virgin Islands (or UVI) is a public historically black land-grant university in the United States Virgin Islands. History UVI was founded as the College of the Virgin Islands on March 16, 1962. In 1986, it officially becam ...

(St. Croix) in the early 1970s and is professor emeritus of English there, having been studying and writing on Caribbean literature for over 30 years. Her essays, interviews, and reviews have been published in various academic journals, including ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...

'', ''

World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' (''WLT'') is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The magazine's stated goal is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book ...

'' and ''The Women's Review of Books''. Her research on women writers has been funded by the Tulsa Center for the Study of Women's Literature and the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

. She taught part-time at the

University of Southern Maine The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Gorham and Portland, Maine, United States. It is the southernmost university in the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universities, Go ...

for a decade, and was a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Selected bibliography

* ''Critical Issues in West Indian Literature'', co-edited with Roberta Q. Knowles (Caribbean Books, 1984), * ''New Writing from the Caribbean: Selections from The Caribbean Writer'', ed. (Macmillan, 1994) * ''Contemporary Drama of the Caribbean'', co-edited with David Edgecombe (University of the Virgin Islands, 2000) * ''From

Kittery Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States, and the oldest incorporated town in Maine. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of th ...

Bar Harbor Bar Harbor () is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. The town is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory, and MDI Biological Laboratory. ...

: Touring Coastal Maine'' (Arcadia Publishers, 2010) * ''Discovering Old Florida: A Guide to Vintage South and Central Florida'' (Vintage Travel Guides, 2016)

References

External links

''The Caribbean Writer''
website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Erika J. New York University College of Arts & Science alumni University of New Mexico alumni Living people New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni American women academics University of the Virgin Islands faculty People from Alexandria, Virginia University of Southern Maine faculty American women literary critics American literary critics Year of birth missing (living people) American literary editors United States Virgin Islands writers Caribbean studies