This is the first collection of essays and critical writings by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature of 1992 and the Caribbean's greatest poet. Derek Walcott has long held a unique position in the world of Caribbean letters and - beyond that - in the literary consciousness of Great Britain, the United States and the rest of the world. He is one of the most accomplished poets of his generation and a profound thinker on the artistic and political questions which impinge on his mind - and ours. Among the subjects which come under his consideration in this collection are the examples of his poetic mentors and confrères, Robert Lowell, Joseph Brodsky and Seamus Heaney, and the political issues raised by the writings of his fellow-Caribbeans V.S. Naipaul and Patrick Chamoiseau. The intellectual passion and metaphorical vigour which heighten Derek Walcott's poetry are plainly apparent in his prose as well.