The Derek Walcott Library, housed at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, St Lucia, has been officially inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Regional Register for Latin America and the Caribbean. The announcement was made during the program’s annual regional meeting held recently in Lima and Cusco, Peru.
The UNESCO site describes: Hunter J. François Library Sir Arthur Lewis Community College – Derek Walcott Personal Home Library (1930-2017)
Sir Derek Walcott, Nobel Laureate for Literature, was born in Saint Lucia and now rests on the grounds of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, where his personal home library is permanently housed. The Derek Walcott Personal Home Library (1930–2017) is an entire, intact library of 3,338 books, an exclusive collection of the actual books and reference materials Derek Walcott collected, read, taught from, annotated and valued throughout nearly seven decades, up until his death.
Caribbean Today wrote:
The Memory of the World Programme safeguards documentary heritage that is at risk of being forgotten, damaged, or lost. The inscription recognises the cultural, historical and literary value of Sir Derek Walcott’s personal collection, which offers a rare, intimate look into the mind and influences of the Nobel Laureate. The Derek Walcott Library brings together Sir Derek’s original bookshelves: works he authored, titles gifted by peers and collaborators, and a broad range of materials that reflect his engagement with Caribbean literature, art, theatre, history and world cultures.
The collection, donated to the College in 2020 by Sigrid Nama, stands as a preserved record of Walcott’s creative world and the wider literary conversations that shaped him.
The Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO also acknowledged Kathy Birch-McDiarmed, Head Librarian of the Hunter J. Francois Library, who now serves as Vice President of the Memory of the World Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean. Her continued work supports the protection and promotion of documentary heritage across the region.
The Commission says the inscription reinforces the importance of preserving the Derek Walcott Library and the literary memory it holds for the Caribbean and beyond. Collections of Walcott’s original drawings, poetry, sketches and notebooks are housed at the University of the West Indies, West Indiana, Alma Jordan Library in Trinidad and at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto, Canada. All are part of the Memory of the World initiative.
For more information, see https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/29-new-inscriptions-unescos-memory-world-regional-register-latin-america-and-caribbean and https://www.caribbeantoday.com/sections/regional/derek-walcott-library-added-to-unesco-world-register https://salcc.edu.lc/news/derek-walcott-library-inscribed-on-mowlac-register.php
@sigridnama
The Derek Walcott Library, housed at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, St Lucia, has been officially inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Regional Register for Latin America and the Caribbean. The announcement was made during the program’s annual regional meeting held recently in Lima and Cusco, Peru. The UNESCO site describes: Hunter
