He was born in Castries, St. Lucia.
His work, which developed independently of the schools of magic realism emerging in both South America and Europe at around the time of his birth, is intensely related to the symbolism of myth and its relationship to culture. He is best known for his epic poem, Omeros a reworking of Homeric story and tradition into a journey around the Caribbean.
He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.