Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson on Tuesday announced the return of the Guyana Prize for Literature after an interval of six years. “It is an important day for the world of the creative industry here,” he was quoted as saying, later explaining that the decision was the consequence of a directive from President Irfaan Ali.
The Prize had originally been introduced by the late President Desmond Hoyte in 1987, who had said at the time, “We must give stature and status to our makers of words as we do to our makers of things.” It was a sentiment apparently not shared by the coalition government which discontinued the Prize during its period of office from 2015-2020, although no official communication was ever issued to that effect.
In 2017, for instance, when another Prize fell due and Dr George Norton became responsible for Culture, Youth and Sport, it was indicated that the intention was for a report to be done on the subject and a presentation made to Cabinet. A university forum did submit a report, and the public was told it had reached Cabinet, but thereafter there was silence. Nevertheless, there was a call for entries that year, and writers made their submissions, but then nothing more was heard of the matter.
Even if no official statement was made on the subject, the trend of the then government’s thinking was clear. Dr Norton went on record as stating that the Ministry did not intend to make as large an investment as the Prize unless it received returns. He seems to have conflated economic goals with literary ones, since literature is not something which can be evaluated in terms of short-term financial gains, although it can in some circumstances confer an economic benefit. As older nations know, great writers define the soul of a nation, and to discourage literary endeavour in all its forms is to inhibit imagination and creativity.
This is not to say that prior to 2015 the Prize was not subject to criticism in one form or another. Among other things there were objections about former judges being allowed to enter for it, some of whom won. This is not allowed by other major literary prizes, as several writers noted. Then there was the matter of what the ultimate purpose of the Prize was, and an argument was put forward that the emphasis should be on local writers, especially the young, encouraging and training them, as well as giving them an avenue for recognition and respect.
Minister Ramson was reported as saying that the resuscitated event will become an annual one and that there will be an opportunity for the awardees to get their works published. The publication award will afford a winner an additional $400,000, while the Best First Book will be given $600,000. In addition, he said, there would be a youth category as well as separate prizes for males and females and a prize for non-fiction.
The original Prize was biennial, and there is something to be said for leaving it that way. Even although during its lifetime it was extended to include Caribbean writers, one wonders in such a small population if there is enough really good quality writing to sustain an annual award. Be that as it may, it is perhaps unfortunate that there are to be male and female categories. Writers are not sports personalities who for physical reasons cannot compete against each other; they make their submissions on what should be a level playing field and the only judgement required relates to the calibre of their work. It seems as if we are moving backward – albeit unintentionally − if we inaugurate a standard for males and a separate one for females; they are all writers, good or bad. The inauguration of a Youth category, however, is to be commended.
That aside, in principle it is good that there is a category of non-fiction, although from the Minister’s remarks it is not apparent whether this is limited in some way. It is difficult to envisage that there will be no constraints at all in terms of subject matter, otherwise the Committee might find itself having to identify different jury panels if works on a variety of subjects are entered for consideration. It is, however, a new direction for the Prize that it will assist with publication; none of the major literary prizes in the world do that although in the case of the largest like the Booker winners find that bookshops automatically will stock their works. The problem in this country of course is the small reading population, which does not allow much room for sales on any scale, although in the case of Caribbean winners, there arguably may be more scope. Whatever the case, the possibility for publication will be well received by the literary community here.
The Guyana Prize even in its original form did place emphasis on young writers and was almost unique among literary prizes in that it was only one of two in the world which trained writers or assisted beginners. The other, according to this newspaper’s Arts Editor, Mr Al Creighton, was the Commonwealth Foundation, which ran the Commonwealth Writers Prizes. Even it, it might be mentioned, was not as progressive in this respect as its Guyanese counterpart. That said, however, the larger purpose of the Guyana Prize for Literature was not just about training young writers, although that is important and it is good that this aspect is to be continued, it was about recognising high-quality writing emanating from both young and established writers, including those among the latter group who might not be based locally. As has been said in these columns before, it was ultimately a literary prize and not an educational one. The Minister needs to bear that in mind when he goes about his reforms.
According to Mr Creighton too, the Prize evolved over time. Initially there was only an award for Best First Book, and it was only later than this was split into a Best First Book of Poetry and Best First Book of Fiction. The Minister alluded to plans for a festival and symposiums, which is also in line with the traditions of the Prize.
When President Hoyte introduced the Guyana Prize for Literature it was at a time of severe economic stress, but he recognised that a nation needs more than an impressive GDP to nurture its spirit. As it is the Prize, in the words of Mr Creighton, “has won the nation of Guyana high levels of respect, admiration and praise from international circles …”
Now that it is being allowed to continue, and provided it brings to light good, and occasionally great, writing, it will help to build this country’s literary heritage, which in due course would assist in according it a unique creative stature.
