Name Frank Collymore Role Author | ||
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Died July 17, 1980, Saint Michael Parish, Barbados Books The Man who Loved Attending Funerals and Other Stories | ||
Frank collymore a biography by edward baugh
Frank Appleton Collymore MBE (7 January 1893 – 17 July 1980) was a famous Barbadian literary editor, author, poet, stage performer and painter. His nickname was "Barbadian Man of the Arts". He also taught for 50 years at Combermere School, where he sought out and encouraged prospective writers in his classes, notably George Lamming and Austin Clarke.
Contents
- Frank collymore a biography by edward baugh
- Musical to celebrate late barbadian author it so happen at frank collymore hall sep 29 oct 3
- Background
- BIM magazine
- Legacy
- Works
- Awards and honours
- References
Musical to celebrate late barbadian author it so happen at frank collymore hall sep 29 oct 3
Background
Frank Collymore was born to Wilhemina Clarke and Joseph Appleton Collymore at Woodville Cottage, Chelsea Road, Saint Michael, Barbados (where he lived all his life). Aside from being a student at Combermere School (from 1903 until 1910), he was also one of its staff members until his retirement in 1958, up to which point he was its Deputy Headmaster. After this, he often returned to teach until 1963.
On the stage, he became a member of the "Bridgetown Players", which began in 1942. As an artist, he made many drawings and paintings to illustrate his own writings. He called them "Collybeasts" or "Collycreatures".
BIM magazine
In 1942, Collymore began the famous Caribbean literary magazine BIM (originally published four times a year), for which he is most well-known, and he was its editor until 1975. John T. Gilmore has written of Collymore: "As a lover of literature, he was also a dedicated and selfless encourager of the work of others, lending books to aspiring writers from their schooldays onwards, publishing their early work in Bim, the literary magazine he edited for more than fifty issues from the 1940s to the 1970s, and helping them to find other markets, especially through the relationship he established with Henry Swanzy, producer of the influential BBC radio programme Caribbean Voices."
Legacy
Three literary awards have been named after him. The Frank Collymore Literary Endowment was established by the Central Bank of Barbados to honour his memory as well as to recognise, support and reward literary talent in Barbados, while the Frank Collymore Hall was constructed as a venue for distinguished public speakers and cultural events.