Una Marson

-
UM was a pioneering Jamaican poet, dramatist, journalist, and broadcaster whose most prolific period was the 1930s, during which she divided her time between Kingston, Jamaica, and London, England. Her writing consistently reflects her commitment to local and global feminism. Her interest in racial and national politics became increasingly apparent in her life and her writings, most notably in The Moth and the Star (1937), a poetry collection infused with blues sounds exploring the complexities of black female identity, and in Pocomania (1938), a play about the controversial African-based religious cult of that name in Jamaica.

Milestones

6 February 1905

UM was born at the Sharon Mission House in rural Jamaica.
Jarrett-Macauley, Delia. The Life of Una Marson, 1905-65. Manchester University Press.
1
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

January-March 1928

While working as an assistant editor for the Jamaica Critic in Kingston, UM published her first articles on feminine subjects, such as The Language of Flowers and Friendship.
Jarrett-Macauley, Delia. The Life of Una Marson, 1905-65. Manchester University Press.
26

11 June 1932

UM 's first play, At What a Price, about a stenographer from rural Jamaica, was first performed at the Ward Theatre in Kingston.
Jarrett-Macauley, Delia. The Life of Una Marson, 1905-65. Manchester University Press.
43

23 November 1933

UM mounted a production of her own play, At What a Price, at the YWCA hostel in Great Russell Street, London, using members of the League of Coloured Peoples as performers.
Jarrett-Macauley, Delia. The Life of Una Marson, 1905-65. Manchester University Press.
53

15-17 January 1934

UM 's At What a Price ran for three nights at the Scala Theatre , where it became the first black colonial production in London's West End.
Jarrett-Macauley, Delia. The Life of Una Marson, 1905-65. Manchester University Press.
53-4

8 January 1938

The Kingston Dramatic Club 's production of UM 's Pocomania, a play exploring the appeal of the Afro-Christian folk religion gaining popularity in Jamaica, opened at the Ward Theatre in Kingston.
Rosenberg, Leah. “Una Marson’s <span data-tei-ns-tag="tei_title" data-tei-title-lvl=‘u’>Pocomania</span> (1938): Class, Gender, and the Pitfalls of Cultural Nationalism”. Essays in Theatre, Vol.
20
, No. 1, pp. 27-42.
27
Jarrett-Macauley, Delia. The Life of Una Marson, 1905-65. Manchester University Press.
129-30
OCLC WorldCat. http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/worldcat/. Accessed 1999.

2 August 1964

One of UM 's last articles, Women Poets of Jamaica, appeared in Kingston's Daily Gleaner.
Jarrett-Macauley, Delia. The Life of Una Marson, 1905-65. Manchester University Press.
213, 214n16

6 May 1965

UM died of a heart attack in Kingston, Jamaica.
Jarrett-Macauley, Delia. The Life of Una Marson, 1905-65. Manchester University Press.
224
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

Biography

Birth

6 February 1905

UM was born at the Sharon Mission House in rural Jamaica.
Jarrett-Macauley, Delia. The Life of Una Marson, 1905-65. Manchester University Press.
1
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.