Can a person be a hidden gem? If so, Una Marson is one. A Jamaican writer and producer, Marson was the first black woman to be employed by the BBC. Her radio program, Caribbean Voices, was broadcasted from London straight to the ears of West Indian listeners.
Caribbean Voices provided one of the first spaces for West Indian writers to share their works with a global audience. Through the weekly feature, first known as Calling the West Indies then changed to Caribbean Voices, Marson and fellow hosts highlighted poems and short stories by then-unknown Caribbean writers. Who were these writers you ask? Think Sylvia Wynter of Jamaica, V.S Naipaul of Trinidad and Tobago, and Edward Kamau Brathwaite of Barbados, just to name a few.
Up against racism and biting critics, the BBC cut Marson’s airtime short—a historical tragedy if there ever was one. Imagine what other enriching programs Marson would have produced if the BBC had not stifled and silenced her.
I have scoured the internet looking for clips and recordings of Caribbean Voices, specifically, but to no avail. I did, however, find out that BBC Two recently produced a documentary about her, Una Marson: Our Lost Caribbean Voice. If you’re living in the UK (or have a VPN) you can watch the free documentary for a limited time on the BBC iPlayer website.
If you want to get a feel for Marson’s energy and hear the sound of her voice, I recommend watching the below clip from Calling the West Indies. Hopefully, the BBC will unearth its archives in the near future and give the public more of Marson’s work so we may cherish and keep alive her legacy.
Further reading:
- The Moth and Star (1937) by Una Marson
- Towards the Stars (1945) by Una Marson