Author of hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, author of Baugh: Jamaica’s Master Potter and Jamaican Folk Tales and Oral Histories, with accompanying DVD, CD and Maroon Story Teller CD, Laura Tanna has served on numerous Jamaican boards and is a Director of the American Friends of Jamaica. She holds a Ph.D. in African Languages and Literature, University of Wisconsin-Madison, a BA in Comparative Literature, University of California-Berkeley, and has lived in the USA, England, France, Uganda and Jamaica. In 2014 the Government of Jamaica awarded her the Order of Distinction for her ‘invaluable contribution to Jamaican literature and culture.”  

Laura Tanna has a doctorate in African Languages and Literature, was born in Montana and has lived in England, France, Uganda and Jamaica where she served on the boards of the Creative Production and Training Centre, the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank, the Institute of Jamaica, National Museum Jamaica, King’s House Foundation and the Alliance Française. In 2014 the Jamaican Government awarded her an Order of Distinction (Hon) “for invaluable contribution in the fields of Literature and Culture.” She is the author of two books, a DVD, two CDs and scores of articles. She currently writes for The Sunday Gleaner, Wealth Magazine and Jamaque Paradis Magazine.

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