Lolita Euson

Lolita Esmeralda was born on the Dutch Antillean island of Sint Eustatius on 27 October 1914.[1][2][Notes 1] In 1936, she left Sint Eustatius and relocated to Aruba,[5] where she won acclaim for her weekly columns in the periodical The Local.[2] Euson published her first collection of poetry Sweet Praises in 1988, which won a Golden Poet Award from the World of Poetry in Sacramento, California[1][2] and was celebrated in a ceremony in San Nicolaas by local dignitaries.[6] The collection contained poems written in praise of various occasions, including national and religious themes,[5] and touched on the death of President John F. Kennedy as well as themes concerning the Dutch royal family.[7] Euson was invested as a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau.[1]

Euson died on 13 August 1994 in Aruba.[1] In 1995, her name was placed on a street in San Nicolas, Aruba.[1] There is also a street which bears her name in Sint Eustatius.[8] In 1996, a postage stamp bearing her likeness was issued in Aruba.[1] Posthumously, poems written by Euson have been included in Klaas de Groot's 2010 anthology of Caribbean writers, Vaar naar de vuurtoren (Sail to the Lighthouse)[9] and the 2014 volume, Moonlight on the Waves included previously unpublished poems by the author.[1][5] Similar to her previous volume, the poems tend to focus on religious and holiday themes.[5] She was the mother of the Caribbean singer Julio Euson.[7]