[UPDATED] Trinidad-born writer Elizabeth Nunez dies

FAMOUS TT-born, US based writer Dr Elizabeth Nunez loved Trinidad and Tobago and her family so much that she wanted her ashes returned to the country to be buried with her parents at Lapeyrouse Cemetery.

Nunez died after a stroke on November 8, at 79.

Nunez’s family hopes her work will one day be the subject of study at secondary schools across TT.

She wrote 11 books, including the novels Bruised Hibiscus, Prospero’s Daughter and 2022’s Now Lila Knows.

She was also the executive producer of the Emmy-nominated TV series Black Writers in America.

Nunez won many awards and accolades, including the New York Times Editor’s Choice Award and the American Book Award, in 2001, for Bruised Hibiscus.

She was a Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College, New York, and was also named Professor Emerita by the college, said her sisters Jacqueline Astaphan and Mary Nunez.

In a phone interview with Newsday on Monday, Astaphan said Nunez was born on February 8, 1944 and died on November 8, 2024.

“She died at her home. She was peaceful and it was after an unfortunate stroke.”

Astaphan added she was surrounded by loved ones.

Although Nunez was third in a line of 11 children, she adopted the role of its matriarch, Mary said.

She added that Nunez studied in Wisconsin but settled in New York, where she married and had a son, Jason Harrell.

“Elizabeth touched all of us. When we needed something, we would go up to New York. You needed a place to stay, needed to find out how to go to school, go to college and different things – Elizabeth was there.

“I could not have asked for a more loving, supportive sister than Elizabeth. She was number three, but we looked at her as number one,” Mary said.

Astaphan said at 12 Nunez won an essay-writing competition and at 14 also wrote “a marvellous letter” which showed her skill as a budding writer and protector.

Mary said growing up in Mucurapo, Nunez would host concerts and told all her siblings what to do.

“Everything was Elizabeth’s way, but gently her way,” Mary added.

That signalled the beginning of her being a creative writer, Mary said. Nunez was always writing in her head.

“She always had a next story. She went to quite a few of the writers' colonies in upstate New York and the Caribbean. Yes, she did write, especially when she lived in Long Island.

“She lived in a beautiful home overlooking the bay and she would write at that time.”

Mary recalled typing her first book, When Rocks Dance – she typed the manuscript about ten times, until Nunez learned to type herself.

TT was central to Nunez’s work although she lived in the US, and Astaphan said it was because her parents and grandparents lived in TT and she loved and honoured them.

“Her siblings lived in TT. Sometimes, I must say, she asked if TT was her home, or if the US was her home.

“She’d ask, ‘Do I feel more like a Trinidadian?”

Carnival was always Nunez’s litmus test, Astaphan said. But her navel string was buried here and she loved the land, she added.

Mary added that Nunez’s writing came from her experiences and recalled their taking a trip to Chacachacare while she was writing her novel Prospero’s Daughter.

“She did the research, and Trinidad was her roots. All of her books had that connection,” Mary said.

Astaphan said Nunez would call on them many times, asking how to spell local words.

Mary said one thing which bothered Nunez was that TT and the Bocas Lit Fest did not honour her as much as they should have. In 2012, however, Nunez receive a Lifetime Literary Award from the National Library and Information System Authority (Nalis) on the country’s 50th anniversary of independence.

“There was one point (in New York City) where you would ride the subway, you would ride the train, the buses and there was her picture, there was her photograph.

“It really did bother her that TT did not honour her as a successful native of the soil, and so I think that is one negative,” Mary said.

Astaphan said she personally felt hurt for her sister.

“She was a beautiful person. Jacqueline and I were very fortunate to spend the last week of her life with her.

“Last year she came to TT and I took her to Tobago. She loved Tobago also. She was actually thinking of coming to Tobago and spending a couple of months to do more writing,” Mary said.

Astaphan said Nunez was hoping to do so in January.

They said she wanted her ashes to be buried in TT. Her funeral is expected to be held in a church in Brooklyn and her ashes brought to be buried with her parents in Lapeyrouse Cemetery.

She is survived by her beloved son Jason and two granddaughters.

One of Nunez’s granddaughters recently wrote an essay for entry into college and said her love of Shakespeare came from her grandmother, Astaphan said.

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

CELEBRATED Trinidad and Tobago-born, US-based author Elizabeth Nunez has died.

Newsday received confirmation of her death but further details were not immediately available.

Nunez had a PhD in literature from New York University and was a Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College, New York.

Her family is expected to issue a release about her death.

Nunez migrated to the US at 19 in 1963. She is best known for works such as Bruised Hibiscus, Prospero’s Daughter and When Rocks Dance. Her writing won a number of awards. Her last novel, Now Lila Knows, was published in 2022.

She was the executive producer of the 2004 Emmy-nominated television series Black Writers in America.