Some national literature draws heavily on the Amerindian presence
There is a close interrelationship between historical/ anthropological documents about Amerindian culture and traditions and Guyanese Amerindian literature. To a large extent, national literature draws on the Amerindian presence and the literature, both written and oral, that it generates. National fiction, poetry and drama are all enriched by this presence which has produced a considerable [...]
Engaging the Amerindian environment
The importance of the Amerindian heritage to the literature of Guyana has been articulated with specific reference to the fact that what is normally referred to as Guyanese literature includes Amerindian folk tales. In discussing this, we also pointed out that despite the importance of these tales they are not included in the usual accounts
Amerindian oral literature is a lively part of the Guyanese literary heritage
Amerindian literature is a significant factor in the Guyanese cultural heritage, and it is important to highlight its contribution at a time when there is a focus on the Amerindian heritage in the country. The literature is wide-ranging and reaches across various accounts including the anthropological, the historical, the scientific and the critical, in addition [...]
A Haitian winner
Guyana Prize Chairman of the Jury Victor Ramraj in his official report commented on the excellence of the poetry in the Guyana Prize 2010 which prompted the panel to select a shortlist of six books. It was declared a very strong field all with a realistic claim to the title. This was also a statement [...]
Babel
By Alim Hosein As part of the Guyana Prize for Literature 2010 awards activities at the beginning of this month, items from a series of prints done by one of the judges, Stewart Brown, were exhibited at Castellani House. The small prints were taken from a series entitled Babel that Brown had exhibited in 2006, [...]
A novel shifting between realism and absurdism
The winning books in The Guyana Prize for Literature 2010 which were announced at the awards ceremony on September 1, make a statement about where Guyanese and Caribbean literature are today. Important developments and facts about the state of the literature are reflected in the shortlists, but may be discerned even when it comes down [...]
Wilson Harris: A lifetime achievement
In November 2010 the Guyana Prize for Literature announced that it was opening a new page in its literary activities to strengthen its developmental partnership with Caribbean literature. It has always been the intention of the Prize to provide encouragement for the development of good creative writing in both Guyana and the Caribbean. The new [...]
The Guyana Prize
A number of interesting factors will arise from an examination of the shortlists of contending books released by the juries of the Guyana Prize. The first list reveals the finalists in contention for The Guyana Prize for Literature 2010,
Interrogating the African presence in Guyanese literature
Last week we attempted a broad overview of the African presence in Guyanese culture; the nature of it, the way it manifests itself and its considerable influence on the national culture and social structure. Integrated with the social institutions that evolved in the country after Emancipation is a complex fabric of the performing arts and [...]
African survivals in Guyana
An assessment of the African presence in Guyana becomes topical annually around the time of the anniversary of Emancipation. Although Emancipation, its meaning, its cultural, social and political implications are much more universal and extend much further than manifestations of the African presence, this factor is an irremovable part of it. Its topicality assumes greater [...]
An ‘ancestral poet’
Sir Walter Ralegh (1554-1618) has been both cursed and celebrated in this part of the world, just as he was in England in his time. He was a favourite of Elizabeth I and just the opposite under James I. In the Caribbean he is associated with imperialism and colonization and the search for El Dorado [...]
Braithwaite and the black experience in Britain
Edward Ricardo Braithwaite is a Guyanese novelist and scientist who served as writer, teacher and diplomat during his long career. Alim Hosein, who researched his life, points out that there are different dates provided in different sources about his birth, so it is not widely known that he was actually born on June 27, 1912. [...]
A comedy version of Cinderella
Several folk tales have many versions, so that the same story may be known in different countries each of which has its own variations on the theme. This is mainly because of the oral quality of folk tales; their original existence in an oral tradition in which they were passed on through different generations and [...]
Carpe diem in drama
Popular plays revel in topicality and reap rewards from their engagements with something resembling the carpe diem philosophy relished by Metaphysical poets in the camp of the ‘Cavaliers’ of the seventeenth century. They seize every opportunity to take the best advantage of topical references and strike the hot iron of burning popular issues, things that [...]
Ova Mi Dead Body:
The recent performance of the Jamaican play Ova Mi Dead Body by Paul Beale was a very timely intervention where the state of Caribbean theatre is concerned. It has much to say about the rise of the popular theatre and its significant place in contemporary drama of the region. It raises issues of recent trends [...]