The first edition of
Focus: An Anthology of Contemporary Jamaican Writing, was published in 1943 by the City Printery in Kingston, Jamaica, and was edited by Edna Manley who is often referred to as the mother of modern Jamaican art (
The Diaries: ix). Manley was a celebrated sculptor and artist, whose bronze and hardwood sculptures from the 1930s and 40s such as “Negro Aroused”, “Horse of the Morning”, “Pocomania”, “Strike” and many others, are now iconic emblems of an early nationalist sensibility. She was the wife of Norman Manley, one of the founders of Jamaica’s People’s National Party and mother of Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972-1980. Edna Manley was born in Cornwall, England in 1900; she met and married her husband, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford…
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Citation: Scafe, Suzanne. "FOCUS: An Anthology of Contemporary Jamaican Writing". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 January 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19578, accessed 23 April 2024.]
