On January 31 this year, diaspora Guyanese artist Dudley Charles (b. 1945) telephoned me, being aware of my interest in learning about the personality that was Denis Williams (1923 – 1998). By this time, Williams’s name was popping up in our conversations at random points during the previous months and I often found myself saying something to the effect: “That was really good for my notes!”
This time Charles spoke slowly with perplexity characterising his tone: “You know? Denis’s birth centenary is tomorrow.” Needless to say, I was surprised. I asked him to repeat, thinking I had misheard him. I asked whether he was absolutely sure. How could this be? I had heard nothing from the institutions Williams founded and this was Charles’ worry. “Yes,” he said and explained how the memory came to him. Indeed, when I checked, had Williams not transitioned to be with the ancestors on June 28, 1998, he would have been 100 years old on February 1, 2023.
