ABOUT

Vladimir Lucien is a writer & scholar from Saint Lucia, living in Brooklyn, NY. His debut poetry collection of poetry Sounding Ground won the coveted OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. His poems have been widely translated into French, Italian, Dutch & Mandarin. Lucien is also the screenwriter of the documentary The Merikins which premiered at the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival
in 2012.

Lucien also has a significant record as an art writer and ekphrastic poet, having collaborated with such institutions such as SAVVY Contemporary & Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt (House of World Cultures) in Berlin, The Drawing Center in New York City, the BBC, the prestigious exhibitions Documenta 14 & Rencontres de Bamako, among others. His art writing has appeared in museum catalogues, in Jamaica Journal, ARC Magazine & more.

A magnetic performer and speaker, Lucien has presented his work globally, ranging from Jaipur to Johannesburg & Jamaica, Berlin to Barbados, New York to Newfoundland, throughout the Caribbean & elsewhere. His poetry & essays have been published globally. An archive of recordings of Lucien’s poems is held by Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada.

As a scholar, Lucien holds a Ph.D in English & American Literature from New York University as well as an Mphil (Masters of Philosophy) in Cultural Studies & BA in Literatures in English & Theater from the University of the West Indies. His academic work, based largely in the area of African diasporic literature, culture & spirituality has sought to challenge & expand the forms of traditional academia to allow for the expressions of other voices, to — as Ms. Lauryn Hill says — ‘acknowledge brilliance in the streets & soul in the academic space.’

In 2026 Lucien founded vieille afrique, an non-profit dedicated to teaching, writing & engaging the world from a traditional african/diasporic perspective. vielle afrique offers counseling, life & business management services via the Ifá divination tradition &, more broadly, via the teachings of traditional Africa/diaspora.

He describes himself as “an artist” which for him is “a certain way of perceiving and thus living in the world.”