Trinidadian and Tobagonian
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 smaller islets. The capital city is Port of Spai ...
academic whose career focused on the linguistic heritage and unique cultural traditions of the
African diaspora
The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...
of the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
. Her area of focus has been to recover the links between African cultures and Caribbean cultures. She has been awarded multiple prizes for her works, including two Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Awards, the Gold Musgrave Medal of the
Institute of Jamaica
The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), founded in 1879, is the country's most significant cultural, artistic and scientific organisation:Tobago
Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...
in the
British West Indies
The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...
to Eleene (née Sampson) and Carlton Whitborne Warner. When she was three, the family moved to
Tunapuna
Tunapuna is a town in the East–West Corridor of the island of Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago.
Town
Tunapuna is located between St. Augustine, Tacarigua and Trincity. Tunapuna is the largest town between San Juan and Arima. It is an import ...
, on
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
, where she was raised along with three siblings. Her father was a pharmacist. Warner graduated from
St. Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain
St. Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain is a government-assisted all-girls Catholic school, Roman Catholic secondary school in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It was founded in 1836 by Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, and is the oldest continuous ...
, an all-girls high school, and in 1962 entered 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) in
Mona, Jamaica
Mona is a neighbourhood in southeastern Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica, Saint Andrew Parish, approximately eight kilometres from Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica. A former sugarcane Sugar plantations in the Caribbean, plantation, it is the sit ...
, on a scholarship programme. As was typical for British education in the Caribbean at the time, Africa was rarely mentioned. "Privilege and correctness were associated with things European", while African traditions were "either ignored, or considered contemptible, or ridiculous". Completing a degree in English literature in 1965, she continued her education with graduate studies at the
University of York
The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
, where she studied linguistics. She focused on
Creole language
A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable form of contact language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form (often a pidgin), and then that form expanding and elaborating into a full-fl ...
s and graduated in 1967 with her master's degree.
Career
Upon completion of her degree, Warner taught briefly in Trinidad, but in 1968, she moved to the Ekiti region of western
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. She taught English and literature at a boarding school, and learned the
Yoruba language
Yoruba (, ; Yor. ) is a Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern and Middle Belt, Central Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. ...
, while learning about the culture. She also traveled to other African nations, like
Benin
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
,
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
, and the
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
. She returned to the Caribbean in 1970 and was hired as
lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...
and English tutor at the University of the West Indies. Along with scholars including
Edward Kamau Brathwaite
Edward Kamau Brathwaite, CHB (; 11 May 1930 – 4 February 2020), was a Barbadian poet and academic, widely considered one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon.Staff (2011)"Kamau Brathwaite." New York University, Department of Co ...
Walter Rodney
Walter Anthony Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a Guyanese historian, political activist and academic. His notable works include '' How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'', first published in 1972. He was assassinated in Georgetown, ...
, she focused on recovering and documenting
Afro-Caribbean
Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...
history. She served as editor of the journal ''Bulletin, African Studies Association of the West Indies''.
In 1973, Warner married Rupert Lewis, also an academic at UWI, and subsequently the couple had a daughter, Yewande, and a son Jide. Warner-Lewis progressed through the ranks at UWI, becoming a Senior Lecturer, Reader and full professor. She completed her PhD in 1984 and the following year was made head of the English Department at UWI.
Warner-Lewis' areas of focus were Afro-Caribbean languages and
oral literature
Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used v ...
. Using linguistic analysis and ethnographic techniques, Warner evaluated cultural traditions, linking them to their ethnic roots. Her Pan-Caribbean approach based in meticulous research uncovered many linguistic links between Africa and the Caribbean in all aspects of culture. Included in her major publications are ''Guinea's Other Suns: The African Dynamic in Trinidad Culture'' (1991), ''Yoruba Songs of Trinidad'' (1994), ''Trinidad Yoruba: From Mother Tongue to Memory'' (1996), and ''African Continuities in the Linguistic Heritage of Jamaica'' (1996). Her book ''Central Africa in the Caribbean: Transcending Time, Transforming Culture'' (2003) evaluated the influence from the Congo throughout the region. It was selected as the "Best Academic Publication of 2003" by the Book Industry Association in Jamaica; the "Best Publication" of UWI's Faculty of Humanities and Education in 2004; and was honoured by the Caribbean Studies Association Conference in 2004 with the Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Award, after having won over 53 other international entries.
The following year, Warner-Lewis became a
professor emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
...
, though she continued to publish and give lectures on Afro-Caribbean traditions. Her book ''Archibald Monteath: Igbo, Jamaican, Moravian'' (2007) told the story of a slave who bought his freedom. Her research on his story took her from Eastern Nigeria to Australia, Scotland, and Jamaica to piece together the history which had been left out of the slave narrative published in 1864. The book garnered Warner-Lewis a second Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Award beating out 33 other submissions for the prize. In 2009, she was awarded the Gold Musgrave Medal of the