Born in Tabago, Trinidad, M. NourbeSe Phillip is an award winning poet, writer and lawyer. After graduating with a BA from the University of West Indies, she completed a Masters degree in Political Science in 1970, as well as a degree in law at the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1973. In l983 she gave up the practice of law to devote more time to writing. NourbeSe Philip has written three plays, Coups and Calypsos (1996), Harriet's Daughter (2000) and the Redemption of Al Bumen (1993. In 1999 her play Coups and Calypsos was simultaneously produced by Cahoots in Toronto, and by Talawa Theatre in London.