Anne Walmsley (born 1931) is a British-born editor, scholar, critic and author, notable as a specialist in Caribbean art and literature, whose career spans five decades. She is widely recognised for her work as

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

's Caribbean publisher, and for Caribbean books that she authored and edited. Her pioneering school anthology, ''The Sun's Eye: West Indian Writing for Young Readers'' (1968), drew on her use of local literary material while teaching in Jamaica. A participant in and chronicler of the

Caribbean Artists Movement The Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) was an influential cultural initiative, begun in London, England, in 1966 and active until about 1972,Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, and an MA in African Studies from

Sussex University , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

Eddie Chambers Edward Chambers (born March 29, 1982) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for a unified world heavyweight title in 2010. He was ranked as the fourth best heavyweight in the world by '' The Ring'' at the conclusion of 200 ...

''Black Artists in British Art: A History from 1950 to the Present''
I.B.Tauris, 2014, Note 35, pp. 214–215. In the late 1950s, she worked for four years as a secretary at

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...

,"Why publish independently?"

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

."About the author (1989)"
''The Sun's Eye: West Indian Writing for Young Readers''. On returning to London she was employed for a while with the

BBC Schools BBC Schools, also known as BBC for Schools and Colleges, is the educational programming strand set up by the BBC in 1957, broadcasting a range of educational programmes for children aged 5–16. From launch until June 1983, programming was based o ...

television service, before joining the publisher

in 1967 as their first editor for the Caribbean focused on providing local educational material, in which role she travelled throughout the region for nine years. Her experience teaching in Jamaica between 1959 and 1963 informed her compilation of the anthology ''The Sun's Eye'', which drew on Caribbean literary material; published in 1968, the anthology went on to secure an ongoing presence on school syllabuses. Caribbean writers published at Longman's on Walmsley's watch include

Roy Heath Roy Aubrey Kelvin Heath (13 August 1926 – 14 May 2008) was a Guyanese writer who settled in the UK, where he lived for five decades, working as a schoolteacher as well as writing. His 1978 novel '' The Murderer'' won the ''Guardian'' Fictio ...

(whose first novel, ''A Man Come Home'', she took on in 1974),

George Lamming George William Lamming OCC (8 June 19274 June 2022) was a Barbadian novelist, essayist, and poet. He first won critical acclaim for '' In the Castle of My Skin'', his 1953 debut novel. He also held academic posts, including as a distinguished ...

Samuel Selvon Samuel Selvon (20 May 1923 – 16 April 1994)"Samuel Selvon"
Encyclopædia Brit ...

and

Ismith Khan Mohamed Ismith Khan (March 16, 1925 – April 24, 2002), better known as Ismith Khan, was a Trinidad and Tobago-born American author and educator. He is best known for his novel ''The Jumbie Bird'', a semi-autobiographical work which blends Indi ...

. During this time Walmsley participated in the

Caribbean Artists Movement The Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM) was an influential cultural initiative, begun in London, England, in 1966 and active until about 1972,Kamau Brathwaite The Honourable Edward Kamau Brathwaite, CHB (; 11 May 1930 – 4 February 2020), was a Barbadian poet and academic, widely considered one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon.Staff (2011)"Kamau Brathwaite." New York University, D ...

(then L. Edward Brathwaite),

John La Rose John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and

Andrew Salkey Andrew Salkey (30 January 1928 – 28 April 1995) was a Jamaican novelist, poet, children's books writer and journalist of Jamaicans, Jamaican and Panamanian origin. He was born in Panama but raised in Jamaica, moving to Britain in the 1952 to pu ...

. After 10 years as Longman's Caribbean publisher, she spent two years in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

as Publishing Manager for Longman Kenya, and on her return to the UK she took an MA in African Studies at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. She subsequently worked as a freelance editor and consultant, and was also active with

ATCAL The Association for the Teaching of Caribbean, African, Asian and Associated Literatures, or ATCAL, was founded with the aim of familiarizing British teachers with the range of "Black" writing that was available for school use. In the 1980s ATCAL wa ...

(the Association for the Teaching of Caribbean and Africa Literature, founded in the late 1970s). In 1985 she began research into CAM, funded by a Leverhulme Fellowship. Another landmark anthology, ''Facing the Sea'' (1986), co-edited by Walmsley (with Nick Caistor), introduced writing from the Dutch, French and Spanish Caribbean to secondary school students of the Anglophone Caribbean, its regional span prompted by discussion of such writing in CAM. In 1992 she was awarded a PhD from the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

for her thesis on CAM. That same year it was published as a book by New Beacon Books, entitled ''The Caribbean Artists Movement: A Literary and Cultural History, 1966–1971'', and is considered to be a "groundbreaking study". In addition she taught part of an MA course, "Aspects of Caribbean Art", at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 2000."Anne Walmsley"
Diaspora Artists. Walmsley's articles have appeared in many journals and literary magazines over the years, among them ''

BIM ''Bim'' is a 1974 Trinidad and Tobago film written by Raoul Pantin and directed by Hugh A. Robertson. It was described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago and... one of the classics of Ca ...

'', ''

Wasafiri ''Wasafiri'' is a quarterly British literary magazine covering international contemporary writing. Founded in 1984, the magazine derives its name from a Swahili word meaning "travellers" that is etymologically linked with the Arabic word "safari" ...

'', ''South'', ''

BOMB A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

'', ''ArtsEtc'', and elsewhere. She has also contributed essays to exhibition catalogues and has produced critical writings on Caribbean visual artists, especially

Aubrey Williams Aubrey Williams (8 May 1926 – 17 April 1990) was a Guyanese artist. He was best known for his large, oil-on-canvas paintings, which combine elements of abstract expressionism with forms, images and symbols inspired by the pre-Columbian art o ...

. Her 1990 book ''Guyana Dreaming'', which Williams saw in manuscript 10 days before his death, was the first significant publication on the artist's work. She co-edited ''Art in the Caribbean: an Introduction'' with

Stanley Greaves Stanley Greaves (born 1934)Rupert Roopnarine"Master Maker: Stanley Greaves" ''Caribbean Beat'', Issue 72 (March/April 2005). is a Guyanese painter and writer who is one of the Caribbean's most distinguished artists. Writing in 1995 at the tim ...

, in collaboration with Christopher Cozier, launching the volume at the

October Gallery The October Gallery is an art gallery in central London, established in 1979.October Gallery Alma Jordan Library The Alma Jordan Library at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad and Tobago, was named after UWI librarian Dr. Alma Jordan in 2012. The four-storied library is located on the St. Augustine Campus of the UWI. It is the largest of the ...

at the University of the West Indies,

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

."Literature Matters: The Anne Walmsley Collection"
''UWI Today'', University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, May 2017. Earlier she had donated her CAM research material to the

George Padmore Institute The George Padmore Institute (GPI), founded in 1991 in Stroud Green Road, North London, by John La Rose (1927–2006) and a group of political and cultural activists connected to New Beacon Books,University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

, and her library of Caribbean literature to the University of Newcastle. Later in 2018, Anne Walmsley donated material t
Newcastle University Robinson Library Special Collections and Archives
as part of th
Walmsley (Anne) Archive

Awards

Walmsley was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

, Mona campus, Jamaica, in 2009. The citation stated: "Dr. Anne Walmsley has long crossed over from being a distant enthusiast or detached observer of the still flowering Caribbean literary and artistic tradition: rather we can comfortably recognize her as an integral and active component of the Caribbean Artists Movement." At the

NGC Bocas Lit Fest The NGC Bocas Lit Fest is the Trinidad and Tobago literary festival that takes place annually during the last weekend of April in Port of Spain. Inaugurated in 2011, it is the first major literary festival in the southern Caribbean and largest lit ...

in 2018 Walmsley was named as the recipient of the Henry Swanzy Award in recognition of her distinguished service to Caribbean letters."Anne Walmsley to receive Bocas Swanzy Award"
''Repeating Islands'', 21 March 2018. In the words of the '' Trinidad and Tobago Guardian'', reporting the award: "One of the most avid supporters and facilitators of Caribbean literature for many decades, Anne Walmsley shepherded key writers into print during her time at Longman, and her school anthologies exposed generations of Caribbean children to the literature of their home region.""The biggest literary event in Anglophone Caribbean in T&T"
''Trinidad and Tobago Guardian'', 24 March 2018.

Selected bibliography

* Editor, ''The Sun's Eye: West Indian Writing for Young Readers'', Longman, 1968; new edition 1989, * With

Nick Caistor Nick Caistor (born 15 July 1946) is a British translator and journalist, best known for his translations of Spanish and Portuguese literature. He is a past winner of the Valle-Inclán Prize for translation. He is a regular contributor to BBC Rad ...

, ''Facing the Sea: a new anthology from the Caribbean region for secondary schools'' (illustrated by

Errol Lloyd Errol Lloyd (born 1943)"Errol Lloyd. Born 1943 in Jamaica"

; preface by Edward Kamau Brathwaite), Heinemann, 1986, * ''Guyana Dreaming: The Art of Aubrey Williams'', Dangaroo Press, 1990, * ''The Caribbean Artists Movement: A Literary and Cultural History, 1966–1971'', London and Port of Spain: New Beacon Books, 1992, * ''Art of the Caribbean: A Postcard Pack for Schools'', Upton, Oxfordshire: Goodwill Art Service, 2003 * With
Stanley Greaves Stanley Greaves (born 1934)Rupert Roopnarine"Master Maker: Stanley Greaves" ''Caribbean Beat'', Issue 72 (March/April 2005). is a Guyanese painter and writer who is one of the Caribbean's most distinguished artists. Writing in 1995 at the tim ...
, ''Art in the Caribbean: an Introduction'', New Beacon Books, 2010,

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walmsley, Anne 1931 births Living people British book editors British publishers (people) Alumni of the University of Sussex British art historians 20th-century British women writers Women anthologists Alumni of the University of Kent Women art historians British women historians Caribbean Artists Movement people Alumni of St Mary's College, Durham

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