Miss Lou, also known as Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley, was a poet, folklorist, author, and educator from Jamaica. She passed away on July 26, 2006 in Toronto, Canada. She was born on September 7, 1919 in Kingston, Jamaica. She completed her elementary education at Ebenezer and Calabar before moving on to Kingston’s St. Simon’s College and Excelsior College.
She began studying Jamaican folklore in 1943 at Friends College in Highgate, St. Mary. Her poems was initially published in the Sunday Gleaner in the same year. She was the first black student to enroll in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London in 1945 thanks to a British Council scholarship.
For her contributions to Jamaican literature and theater, she was honored and recognized with various prizes. Miss Lou’s Room is a location that Harbourfront Centre, a non-profit cultural organization in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has named in honor of her accomplishments. The family of Miss Lou donated photographs, audiovisual recordings, correspondence, awards, and other materials in 2011.
The goal of this was of having some of the fonds, which span from 1941 to 2008, digitized and made accessible online as part of a digital archive. The National Library of Jamaica also has a selection of Bennett’s personal papers. The Miss Lou Archives, which were established in October 2016, are home to never-before-seen photographs, audio recordings, journals, and correspondence.
Louise Bennett-Coverley Parents: Meet Kerene Robinson and Augustus Bennett
Louise Bennett-Coverley was born to Kerene Robinson, a dressmaker and Augustus Bennett, a Baker. Her dad died early so Miss Lou, was taken care of by her mom, Kerene.
