Life of una marson biography

Home / General Biography Information / Life of una marson biography

life of una marson biography

She was buried on the 10th of May at the Half-Way-Tree Parish Cemetery.

Honours & Awards

Even though Miss Marson was not a decorated writer, her contributions to literary, cultural and social developments have been acknowledged by many in Jamaica and overseas. Sources differ in outlining Marson's personal life during this time.

These include:

  • The Musgrave Silver Medal (1930) from the Institute of Jamaica for her literary work.
  • The 2005 Blue Plaque Award for being the first Black female broadcaster at the BBC as well as being a feminist activist.

Publications

While there are a number of unpublished works by Miss Marson, her principal publications include:

  • Tropic Reveries
  • Heights and Depths
  • The Moth and the Stars
  • Towards the Stars
  • Cosmopolitan

Dramatic Works

  • At What Price
  • London Calling
  • Pocomania

 References

Aarons, R.L.C.

She played a pivotal role in the organisation, using her platform to address racial and social injustices.

As a Black immigrant woman, Marson faced both racism and sexism firsthand. She was a delegate to the twelfth Congress of the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Legal Citizenship, a temporary collaborator to the League of Nations, and staff member of the Ethiopian Legation.

In 1945, she published a poetry collection entitled Towards the Stars. Such works articulated her thoughts on various subjects; primarily nature, love and the empowerment of women. . Gleaner Company Limited: Kingston, Jamaica, 1931.

Marson, Una. “The America I Have Discovered – Miami and Washington.” MS1944C, National Library of Jamaica.

Marson, Una.

Letter to the Committee of Jamaica Save the Children’s Fund. The Life of Una Marson 1905-1965, Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers, 1998.

Marson, Una. Heights and Depths. One of her new emphases was on the race issue in England. She also founded the Jamaica Save the Children Fund.

Una Maud Victoria Marson was born in Sharon village, near Santa Cruz, Jamaica.

passionate longing for the land of Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson, Keats, Shelley, Byron, Wordsworth” (Marson, The America I discovered- Washington and Miami). These included:

  • The donation of large quantities of children and adult clothing
  • The distribution of these items to people who needed them the most
  • The connection between the Fund and other foreign organisations of its kind which aided in the cause.

On her return to England in 1938, Miss Marson began working at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and was the first black female broadcaster to work there.

The Una Marson Library was opened by Southwark Council near the Old Kent Road in south London in 2024 as part of the redevelopment of the Aylesbury Estate in south London, recognizing Marson as a "local hero."

To Become a Radio Announcer
To Become a Desktop Publisher
To be a Writer

Una Marson

Una Maud Victoria Marson (6 February 1905 – 6 May 1965) was a Jamaican feminist, activist, and writer, producing poems, plays and radio programmes.

Her pioneering work paved the way for future generations of writers and activists, ensuring her legacy endures.

Today, we honour Una Marson—a visionary, a trailblazer, and a voice for the voiceless. Also, in the feminist vein, Marson wrote Public Opinion, contributing to the feminist column. In 1937, Marson wrote a poem called "Quashie comes to London," which shows how a writer could implement Caribbean dialect in a poem.

Marson's articles encouraged women to join the workforce and to become politically active. She finished school at Hampton and worked in Kingston as a volunteer social worker.

Marson returned to London in 1938 to continue work on the Jamaican Save the Children project that she started in Jamaica and to be on the staff of the Jamaican Standard.