Caribbean Poet, Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott Dies At 87

CASTRIES, St. Lucia (CBS/AP) -- The family of Nobel laureate Derek Walcott says he has died at his home in St. Lucia. He was 87.

Walcott was a prolific and versatile poet whose dazzling, painterly work captured the essence of his native Caribbean and earned him a reputation as one of the greatest writers of the second half of the 20th century.

Walcott was long the most prominent citizen of the eastern Caribbean island nation of St. Lucia and the region's most eminent poet.