During his terminal illness several years ago I had a conversation with the late Aubrey Williams. One of the things that he told me during that conversation was that death holds no domain over the legacy of creative genius.

I first reflected on his words during a viewing of some of his paintings at the Commonwealth Institute in London some time after his death.

The poignancy of Aubrey’s thoughts came immediately to mind upon learning of the death of Roy Heath.

I believe that the passing of Roy Heath has robbed Guyana’s literary community, patrons of the creative arts and students of Guyanese and Caribbean literature of a creative genius – and here I stress that I use the phrase (creative genius) in its absolutely literal sense. Roy Health (like Aubrey Williams) has left a rich legacy of creative writing behind and even if that legacy does not compensate for his earthly end it at least serves – at least to me – as a reminder that creative people truly live on through their legacies.

I have found in some Caribbean literary critics a tendency to compare our writers – perhaps with a few exceptions – with each other, ever reluctant, it seems, to make comparisons with the great writers beyond the region. I am thankful that I’m able to assess the works of Roy Heath against literary efforts that transcend the Caribbean – and here I hasten to add that I do not seek in any way to devalue the region’s contribution to the global literary tapestry……