Christine Craig (born 24 June 1943) is a

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 ...

n writer living in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. She has published collections of poetry and short stories, as well as children's fiction and several non-fiction works.

Biography

Christine Craig was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in rural Saint Elizabeth. She received a BA 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 ...

. In 1970, she published her first work, ''Emanuel and His Parrot'', a children's book. She began publishing poetry in the late 1970s and published her first poetry collection, ''Quadrille for Tigers'', in 1984. In 1993, Craig published a collection of short stories entitled ''Mint Tea''. She also researched, wrote and presented a series of stories on Jamaican history for children's television.Biographical note, Craig tutored English literature at the

and was adjunct professor at

Barry University Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Miami ...

in Florida. In 1989, she took part in the

International Writing Program The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the IWP has hosted o ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. She was editor in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

for ''

The Jamaica Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'' from 1990 to 1998. She later moved to

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, Florida.

Selected works

* ''Emanuel and His Parrot'' (Oxford University Press, 1970) * ''Emanuel Goes to Market'', children's fiction (Oxford University Press, 1971) * ''Sunday in the lane'' * ''Quadrille for Tigers'', poetry (Mina Press, 1984) * ''The Bird Gang'', children's fiction (Heinemann Caribbean, 1990) * ''Guyana at the Crossroads'', non-fiction (University of Miami, 1992), with Denis Watson * ''Jamaica's National Report to the World Conference on the Environment'' (1992), co-editor * ''Mint Tea and Other Stories'' (Heinemann, 1993, ) * ''Poems All Things Bright & Quadrille for Tigers'' (Peepal Tree Press, 2010, )

References

1943 births Living people 20th-century Jamaican poets 20th-century Jamaican women writers 20th-century short story writers International Writing Program alumni Jamaican children's writers Jamaican short story writers Jamaican women children's writers Jamaican women poets Jamaican women short story writers Writers from Kingston, Jamaica {{Jamaica-writer-stub