In this episode, we meet Una Marson, a Jamaican writer, journalist, and radio producer, who shared her talents and voice in poetry, plays, and on the BBC, after her ambition took her to London in the 1930s. She described as the first Black feminist to speak out against racism and sexism in Britain. We know little about her life post-1945, when she returned to Jamaica and continued writing poetry and fighting discrimination – but a recent rediscovery in the UK has led to a TV documentary and a library named in her honor.
DLS co-founder Katy Derbyshire tells Una’s story, and joins host/producer Susan Stone to set the scene.
Show notes:
Sites from Una’s life
Some of Una’s writing
Remembering Una Marson in the UK
Part of Rosa-Johan Uddoh’s excellent audio work Una’s Voice. Listen to it next!
Further reading!
Katy also mentions her previous talk on another BBC notable, composer Delia Derbyshire (no relation!). You can hear it in Episode 60 here: https://deadladiesshow.com/2023/02/16/podcast-60-delia-derbyshire/
Hey friends in Berlin! Write this date on your calendar — June 7th. We will host our classic bilingual live show on a Sunday night, so save the date. Follow us on social media @deadladiesshow, or sign up to our newsletter at this link: https://deadladiesshowberlin.beehiiv.com/ to stay informed about live events.
You can get even more Dead Lady content, and help support us, by becoming a Patreon member at patreon.com/deadladiesshowpodcast ! Our members get access to our premium audio and written content where we talk about Dead Lady books, music, and more, and sometimes we offer a sneak preview of Dead Ladies we’re going to feature in the future —we talked about Una Marson there last year. Memberships starting at 2 euros or 2 dollars and it really gives us moral as well as a little financial support. You can also follow our content there for free! Thanks for supporting us and sharing us with others!
The Dead Ladies Show was founded by Florian Duijsens and Katy Derbyshire. The podcast is created, produced and edited by Susan Stone.
Our theme tune is Little Lily Swing by Tri-Tachyon. We will be back again next month with another fabulous Dead Lady.
The Dead Ladies Show 