Sir Derek Rests

I was recently in Saint Lucia celebrating the annual Nobel Laureate Festival. This year’s theme was Celebrating Excellence: Forty Years On which celebrates that one of its Nobel Laureate’s Sir William Arthur Lewis, received his prize for Economics 40 years ago.

Sir Derek Walcott received his prize for Literature in 1992 and together with his family I visited his resting place during the Wreath Laying Ceremony to lay a special wreath.

As Sir Derek’s partner Sigrid Nama, his son and daughters and H.E. Dame Pearlette Louisy sat on what we call, “Derek’s bench,” author and poet, MacDonald Dixon made this remark: “If Derek was here, he’d say, ‘Get off my bench!'” We all laughed because we could see and hear him say that.