15 moments

1. Birth in Castries

   1930-01-23 · Castries, Saint Lucia

   Derek Alton Walcott was born in Castries, Saint Lucia; the city remained a formative location in his life and writing.

2. Move to Trinidad after graduation

   1953-01-01 · Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago

   After graduating from the University College of the West Indies, Walcott relocated to Trinidad and worked as a critic, teacher, and journalist. The evidence identifies Trinidad but not a particular settlement; coordinates represent Port of Spain, the island's principal cultural center.

3. Founding the Trinidad Theatre Workshop

   1959-01-01 · Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

   

   Walcott co-founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, an institution central to his development as a Caribbean playwright and theatre director. The source identifies the workshop's present Port of Spain address; the founding-event evidence supports presence in Trinidad, not a precisely documented 1959 venue.

4. Arrival at Boston University

   1981-01-01 · Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

   

   Walcott arrived at Boston University to teach poetry and playwriting, beginning a long academic career in Boston and creating the Boston Playwrights' Theatre.

5. Nobel lecture at the Swedish Academy

   1992-12-07 · Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden

   Walcott delivered his Nobel Prize lecture, “The Antilles: Fragments of Epic Memory,” at the Swedish Academy during Nobel Week.

6. Nobel Prize ceremony

   1992-12-10 · Stockholm Concert Hall, Stockholm, Sweden

   Walcott received the Nobel Prize in Literature from King Carl XVI Gustaf at the Nobel Prize award ceremony.

7. Elias Ghanem Chair in Las Vegas

   2007-01-01 · University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

   

   Walcott held the Elias Ghanem Chair in Creative Writing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The source supports a 2007 appointment at UNLV but does not specify particular dates on campus.

8. Retirement from Boston University

   2007-01-01 · Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

   

   Walcott concluded more than a quarter-century of teaching at Boston University, where he had also founded the Boston Playwrights' Theatre. The source supports his teaching appointment through retirement in 2007; it does not provide a retirement day or month.

9. First Cola Debrot Lecture

   2008-05-20 · University of Amsterdam Aula, Amsterdam, Netherlands

   

   Walcott gave the inaugural Cola Debrot Lecture in the University of Amsterdam's aula, reading from his work as well as addressing the audience. The source is in Dutch; the quoted sentence states that Walcott gave the first Cola Debrot Lecture on Tuesday, 20 May 2008. Coordinates locate the University of Amsterdam aula.

10. Distinguished Scholar in Residence

    2009-01-01 · University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    

    Walcott began a three-year faculty residency at the University of Alberta, teaching intensive poetry and playwriting courses and mentoring students. The source establishes a 2009–2012 faculty appointment; only year precision is used.

11. Visiting Professor of Poetry

    2010-01-01 · University of Essex, Colchester Campus, Colchester, England, United Kingdom

    

    Walcott began his University of Essex appointment, which supported a late period of theatrical work and poetry teaching in Colchester. The appointment is documented as spanning 2010–2013; only year precision is used.

12. Eighty-first birthday in Saint Lucia

    2011-01-24 · Saint Lucia

    

    While the T. S. Eliot Prize ceremony took place in London, Walcott was in Saint Lucia celebrating his eighty-first birthday and learned of the award by telephone. The report was published on 25 January 2011 and describes the preceding night's award ceremony; 24 January is therefore supported for his birthday celebration. Coordinates represent Saint Lucia broadly.

13. Death at home in Cap Estate

    2017-03-17 · Cap Estate, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

    

    Walcott died at his home in Cap Estate, Saint Lucia, ending a life that had remained closely connected to the island of his birth. Coordinates represent Cap Estate; the source does not publish the address of his home.

14. Burial at Morne Fortune

    2017-03-25 · Morne Fortune, Castries, Saint Lucia

    

    After the state funeral, Walcott was buried near the Inniskilling Monument at Morne Fortune. This is a posthumous physical-presence record; coordinates represent the Morne Fortune burial area near the Inniskilling Monument.

15. State funeral in Castries

    2017-03-25 · Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Castries, Saint Lucia

    Following his death, Walcott's body was present for a state funeral at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in the city where he had been raised. This is a posthumous physical-presence record concerning Walcott's body.