Hazel Simmons-McDonald (born 1947) is a St. Lucian writer and linguist. She is known for her work as a professor and administrator at the University of the West Indies, as well as her poetry, which has been published in periodicals, anthologies, and the 2004 collection ''Silk Cotton and Other Trees''.

Early life and education

Hazel Simmons-McDonald was born in

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

in 1947. Her uncle was

Harold Simmons Harold Clark Simmons (May 13, 1931 – December 29, 2013) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist whose banking expertise helped him develop the acquisition concept known as the leveraged buyout (LBO) to acquire various corporat ...

, often referred to as the father of modern St. Lucian arts and culture. She studied at 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 Jamaica, graduating in 1972 with a degree in education, with a special focus on

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. She then attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in the United States, where in the 1980s she obtained two master's degrees, in international development of education and linguistics, followed by a Ph.D. in applied linguistics.

Career

Academia

After graduating from Stanford, Simmons-McDonald taught linguistics there before heading to the

University of the West Indies at Cave Hill University of the West Indies at Cave Hill is a public research university in Cave Hill, Barbados. It is one of five general campuses in the University of the West Indies system. It was the third campus to be established by the UWI System, follow ...

in Barbados in 1991. She served as both a professor and an administrator at the university, eventually becoming head of the linguistics department and then dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education. From 2006 to 2008, she led the Society for Caribbean Linguistics as president of the organization. In 2007, Simmons-McDonald became pro-vice chancellor and principal of the

University of the West Indies Open Campus The University of the West Indies Open Campus (UWIOC) is a public and distance only, research university headquartered Cave Hill, Barbados. It is one of 5 general autonomous units of the University of the West Indies system. Its main campus is ...

. She retired from her work at the university in 2014. Her work included research on Creole languages in education and writing instructional texts for native speakers of

Antillean Creole Antillean Creole (Antillean French Creole, Kreyol, Kwéyòl, Patois) is a French-based creole that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of Carib, English, and African languages. Antillean Creol ...

. She also co-edited the university's literary magazine, ''Poui, the Cave Hill Literary Annual.'' As an emeritus professor, she has helped oversee and review the exams given by the

Caribbean Examinations Council The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) is an examination board in the Caribbean. It was established in 1972 under agreement by the participating governments in the Caribbean Community to conduct such examinations as it may think appropriate an ...

Writing

Simmons-McDonald has written both academic works on linguistics in education and works of poetry. She has published both poems and fiction in periodicals including ''

The Malahat Review ''The Malahat Review'' is a Canadian quarterly literary magazine established in 1967. It features contemporary Canadian and international works of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction as well as reviews of recently published Canadian litera ...

'', ''

The Literary Review ''The Literary Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1957. The biannual magazine is published internationally by Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey. In addition to the publication of short stories, poems, and ...

'', ''Poui'', ''Calabash'', and ''

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 ...

.'' She co-edited the educational anthologies ''A World of Poetry'' and ''A World of Prose'' with

Mark McWatt Mark McWatt (born 29 September 1947) is a Guyanese writer and former professor of English at University of the West Indies. Biography McWatt was born in Guyana, attending many schools throughout the country due to his father's position as a dis ...

in 1994 and for subsequent editions. Her first collection of poems, titled ''Silk Cotton and Other Trees'', was published in 2004. Her poem "Parasite" appeared in the ''Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse'' the following year. Simmons-McDonald's poetry is sometimes characterized by

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

themes.

Recognition

In 2011, Simmons-McDonald was named an officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for "services to education and educational leadership."

Selected works

Education

* ''A World of Poetry'' (1994) * ''A World of Prose'' (1994) * ''Writing in English : A Coursebook for Caribbean Students'' (1997) * ''Exploring the Boundaries of Caribbean Creole Languages'' (2006) * ''Education Issues in Creole and Creole-Influenced Vernacular Contexts'' (2014)

Poetry

* ''Silk Cotton and Other Trees'' (2004)

References

1947 births Saint Lucian women writers Saint Lucian women poets Saint Lucian educators Women linguists University of the West Indies alumni Stanford University alumni Academic staff of the University of the West Indies Living people {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons-McDonald, Hazel