Louise Bennett-Coverley

Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley (7 September 1919 – 26 July 2006), known by her pen name Miss Lou, was a Jamaican poet, folklorist, actress, writer and educator. Writing and performing her poems in Jamaican Patois or Creole, Bennett worked to preserve the practice of presenting poetry, folk songs and stories in patois ("nation language"), establishing the validity of local languages for literary expression. She was the only child of Augustus Cornelius Bennett, the owner of a bakery in Spanish Town, and Kerene Robinson, a dressmaker. After the death of her father in 1926, Bennett was raised primarily by her mother. Bennett attended elementary school at Ebenezer and Calabar, continuing to St. Simon's College and Excelsior College, in Kingston. In 1943, she enrolled at Friends College in Highgate, St Mary, where she studied Jamaican folklore. That same year, her poetry was first published in the Sunday Gleaner. In 1945, Bennett was the first black student to study at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), after being awarded a scholarship from the British Council.

Career On graduating from RADA, Bennett worked with repertory companies in Coventry, Huddersfield and Amersham, as well as in intimate revues across England. During her time in the country, she hosted two radio programmes for the BBC: Caribbean Carnival (1945–1946) and West Indian Night (1950). From 1965 to 1982, she produced Miss Lou's Views, a series of radio monologues, and in 1970 started hosting the children's television programme Ring Ding. Airing until 1982, the show was based on Bennett's belief "that 'de pickney-dem learn de sinting dat belong to dem' (that the children learn about their heritage)". As part of the programme, children from across the country were invited to share their artistic talents on-air. In addition to her television appearances, Bennett appeared in various motion pictures, which included Calypso (1958), Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure (1981) and Club Paradise (1986). She also released numerous recordings of traditional Jamaican folk music and recordings from her radio and television shows, including Jamaican Folk Songs, Children's Jamaican Songs and Games, Miss Lou’s Views (1967), Listen to Louise (1968), Carifesta Ring Ding (1976), and The Honorable Miss Lou. She is credited with giving Harry Belafonte the foundation for his 1956 hit "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" by telling him about the Jamaican folk song "Hill and Gully Rider" (the name also given as "Day Dah Light").

Personal life Bennett was married to Eric Winston Coverley, an early performer and promoter of Jamaican theatre, from 30 May 1954 until his death in August 2002. Together, Bennett and Coverley had a son, Fabian.

Cultural significance and legacy Dr. Basil Bryan, Consul General of Jamaica, praised Bennett as an inspiration to Jamaicans as she "proudly presented the Jamaican language and culture to a wider world and today we are the beneficiaries of that audacity." She was acclaimed by many for her success in establishing the validity of local languages for literary expression. Her writing has also been credited with providing a unique perspective on the everyday social experiences of working-class women in a postcolonial landscape.

Bennett's 103rd birthday was marked with a Google Doodle on 7 September 2022.

Archives In 2011, photographs, audiovisual recordings, correspondence, awards and other material regarding Bennett were donated to the McMaster University Library by her family with the intention of having selections from the fonds, which date from 1941 to 2008, digitized and made available online as part of a digital archive A selection of Bennett's personal papers are also available at the National Library of Jamaica. Launched in October 2016, the Miss Lou Archives contains previously unpublished archival material, including photos, audio recording, diaries and correspondence. The holdings of the Miss Lou Archives were donated to the Library by Bennett as she prepared to take up residence in Canada.

Awards and honours Bennett received numerous honours and awards for her work in Jamaican literature and theatre. In recognition of her achievements, Harbourfront Centre, a non-profit cultural organisation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has a venue named Miss Lou's Room. The University of Toronto is home to the Louise Bennett Exchange Fellowship in Caribbean Literary Studies for students from the University of West Indies. Her other awards and honours include:

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (1960) Norman Manley Award for Excellence (1972) Order of Jamaica (1974) Jamaican Order of Merit (2001)

Select publications Books Anancy Stories And Poems In Dialect. Kingston, Jamaica: The Gleaner Co. Ltd (1944).

Recordings

Filmography Year Title Role 1958 Calypso Martha 1965 A High Wind in Jamaica Mamie 1981 Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure Mama 1986 Club Paradise Portia 2001 Resistance