J. E. Clare McFarlane

J. E. Clare McFarlane (12 December 1894 – 13 October 1962) was a Jamaican civil servant and poet. He was appointed Jamaica's second Poet Laureate in 1953, holding the position until his death. He received the Institute of Jamaica's Musgrave Silver Medal in 1935 and the Gold Medal in 1958.[1]

Life

John Ebenezer Clare McFarlane was born on 12 December 1894 in Spanish Town, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica, to Charles Samuel McFarlane and Imogene Spence.[1] He was educated at Cornwall College,[2] and in 1913 entered the colonial civil service.[1]

A founder of the Poetry League of Jamaica in 1923, McFarlane compiled several anthologies and published five collections of poetry. He was the first Jamaican financial secretary.[3]

McFarlane was appointed Poet Laureate in 1953, and held the title until his death.[4]

With his wife Amy Hall Livingstone, a teacher whom he married in 1917,[1] McFarlane had seven children. His sons Basil and R. L. Clare McFarlane also became poets. His daughter Sheila J. Clare McFarlane immigrated to the United States in 1966, where she was a Registered Nurse until her retirement in 2002. She lives in Manhasset, Long Island, NY. His son Douglas (and Sheila's twin brother) still resides in England.

McFarlane died on 13 October 1962 at University College Hospital, Jamaica.

Works
  • (ed.) Voices from Summerland, 1929
  • Daphne: A Tale of the Hills of St. Andrew, Jamaica, 1931
  • The Challenge of our Time, 1945
  • (ed.) A Treasury of Jamaican Poetry, 1950
  • A Literature in the Making, 1956
  • The Magdalene: The Story of Supreme Love, 1957

References
  1. Thomas, Marcia (13 February 2022). "Remembering distinguished Jamaicans – John Ebenezer Clare McFarlane". The Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  2. Wycliffe Bennett (2004). "McFarlane, John Ebenzer (sic.) Clare". In Eugene Benson; L.W. Conolly (eds.). Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English. Routledge. p. 994. ISBN 978-1-134-46848-5.
  3. Pat Dunn; Pamela Mordecai (2002). "McFarland, John Ebenezer Clare". In Daniel Balderston; Mike Gonzalez; Ana M. Lopez (eds.). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures. Routledge. p. 942. ISBN 978-1-134-78852-1.
  4. Former Poets Laureate
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