Una Marson

Activist

Birthday February 6, 1905

Birth Sign Aquarius

Birthplace Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica

DEATH DATE May 6, 1965 (60)

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About

Jamaican activist who was a feminist, playwright, poet and radio programmer. She is one of the most celebrated activists of the 20th century and was instrumental in the canonization of Caribbean literature. She wrote about the beauty standards of Jamaican black women in the poems "Little Brown Girl," "Black is Fancy" and "Kinky Hair Blues."

Before Fame

She began her life in literature in 1926 when she was appointed to the position of assistant editor at the Jamaican political journal Jamaica Critic. She published her first collection of poems, the Tropic Reveries, in 1930. She wrote her first play, At What a Price, in 1931. 

Trivia

She helped create many of the literary and artistic institutions in Jamaica, including Kingston Readers and Writers Club and the Kingston Drama Club. She also founded the Jamaica Save the Children Fund. 

Family Life

She was born in Santa Cruz, Jamaica to Rev. Solomon Isaac Marson and Ada Wilhelmina Mullins. She was one of six children. 

Associated With

Through her radio program, Caribbean Voices, she got to meet many contemporary writers, including TS Eliot and George Orwell