Roderick Aldon Walcott, OBE (23 January 19306 March 2000), was a

St Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

n playwright, screenwriter, painter, theatre director, costume and set designer, lyricist and literary editor."Roderick Walcott – A Brief Biography"
''The Voice Online'', 19 November 2011. As a dramatist he "has been recognised as one of the most committed figures in the effort to develop a distinctive Caribbean theatre in the region".Michael Hughes, ''A Companion to West Indian Literature'', Collins, 1979, pp. 130–131. He was the twin brother of Nobel laureate Derek Walcott.

Life and career

Roderick Aldon Walcott was born in

Castries Castries () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous Castries Quarter, district has a population of just under ...

, St Lucia, the son of Alix (Maarlin) and Warwick Walcott. He was educated at St Mary's College there. In 1950, he (together with his brother Derek and friends) was instrumental in founding the St Lucia Arts Guild, to read and perform plays. He wrote, produced and directed plays with the Arts Guild during the 1950s and 1960s, and is regarded as "one of the founders of modern Caribbean theatre", building and fostering a local homegrown audience. In 1968, he moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where he studied Theatre Arts at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

from 1969 to 1973. He returned temporarily to St Lucia in 1977 to become the first Director of Culture (1977–80). He was the author of several plays, many of them published by the Extra-Mural Department of 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 ...

. His play ''The Harrowing of Benjy'' is the most produced play in the English-speaking Caribbean. He also wrote numerous musicals, of which ''The Banjo Man'', a collaboration with the composer Charles Cadet, was successfully staged at Carifesta 1972 in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

and throughout the greater Caribbean. Walcott is also acknowledged as a pioneer of Carnival in St Lucia. Roderick Walcott died at his home in Toronto, Canada, in 2000 at the age of 70, after a long illness. His death is a theme in his brother Derek's 2004 work ''The Prodigal''. In 2009, a collection of Roderick Walcott's works was donated to the University of the West Indies Open Campus in St Lucia."Walcott Collection Finds a New Home"
''The Voice'' (St Lucia), 16 April 2009.

Awards

* 1976 –

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

* 2000 – Joseph Devaux Lifetime Achievement Award, Minvielle and Chastanet Fine Arts Award * 2000 – St. Lucia's Medal of Honour (Gold) for outstanding contribution to Literary and Performing Arts.

Selected works

* ''The Harrowing of Benjy'' (1958), Trinidad: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''The Banjo Man'' (196?), Trinidad: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''The Legend of Tom Fool'' (196?), Trinidad: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''The Expatriates'' (196?), Trinidad: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''The Image of Canga Brown'' (196?), Trinidad: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''A Flight of Sparrows'' (196?), Trinidad: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''The Education of Alfie'' (196?), Trinidad: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''Malfinis'' (196?), Trinidad: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''The Trouble with Albino Joe'' (196?), Kingston: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''Shrove Tuesday March: a play of the Steelband'' (196?), Kingston: UWI Extra-Mural Dept. * ''Chanson Marianne'' (1974) * ''Romiel et Violette'' (1979) * ''The Guitar Man's Song'' * ''The Wonderful World of Brother Rabbit''

References

External links

"Opening Remarks: Roderick Walcott Week of Celebrations"
''The Voice'' (St Lucia), 26 November 2011.
Nominated Documentary Heritage: The Roderick Walcott Collection.
* Jacques Compton

''The Voice'' (St Lucia), 18 April 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Walcott, Roddy 1930 births 2000 deaths 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Castries Saint Lucian dramatists and playwrights Saint Lucian emigrants to Canada Saint Lucian theatre people Saint Lucian twins