The life of Una Marson, 1905–65

This is an original, full length biography of Britain’s first twentieth-century black feminist – Una Marson – poet, playwright, and social activist and BBC broadcaster.

Una Marson is recognised today as the first major woman poet of the Caribbean and as a significant forerunner of contemporary black writers; her story throws light on the problems facing politicised black artists. In challenging definitions of ‘race’ and ‘gender’ in her political and creative work, she forged a valiant path for later black feminists. Her enormous social and cultural contributions to the Caribbean and Britain have, until now, remained hidden in archives and memoirs around the world.

Based on extensive research and oral testimony, this biography embraces postcolonial realities and promise, and is a major contribution to British cultural history.