James Berry, born in 1924, spent his childhood in a village in Jamaica, before working in the United States, finally settling in Britain in 1948 where he remained for the rest of his life. One of the first black writers in Britain to achieve wider recognition, Berry rose to prominence in 1981 when he won the National Poetry Competition. His collections of poetry and his stories and poems for children have been widely acclaimed.

Berry was at the forefront of championing Westindian/British writing and his role as an educator had a significant impact in mediating that community’s experience to the wider society. Berry was awarded an OBE in 1990 and passed away in 2017.