Yvonne Weekes

Yvonne Weekes is a British-born Montserratian writer, theater director, and educator. She was Montserrat's first director of culture before being forced to move to Barbados during the eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano in the 1990s. Her work deals with issues of displacement and isolation due to environmental and cultural forces beyond our control.

Early life and education Weekes was born in London, England, to parents from Montserrat. She grew up between the two countries, moving back to Montserrat in 1967. In 1973, she returned to the U.K. She attended university there, graduating with a degree in drama and English from Middlesex University in 1980.

Career After college, Weekes became a drama and English teacher in England. She also began working in theater and filmmaking, including with the Black Audio Film Collective on its project Handsworth Songs.

In 1995, Montserrat's central Soufrière Hills volcano began to erupt, setting off a period of activity that would continue for several years. As ash fell across the island, Weekes, who lived in the village of Cork Hill at the time, held out for as long as she could. In 1996, she fled to Barbados with her son, Nathan.

In Barbados, Weekes began studying at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, where she eventually obtained a Ph.D. in 2016. It won her the Frank Collymore Literary Arts Endowment Award. The verses in the collection deal with displacement throughout her life as she shifted between England, Barbados, and Montserrat, which she describes as the place she feels most at home.

Selected works

Volcano (2006) Blue Soap in Emancipation Moments (2010) Nomad (House of Nehesi Publishers, 2019) Disaster Matters: Disasters Matter, Editors Yvonne Weekes, Wendy McMahon (House of Nehesi Publishers, 2021) Voices: Monologues & Dramatic Text for Caribbean Actors, Editor (House of Nehesi Publishers, 2022)