Guyanese literature
Guyanese literature has been produced by a number of authors, most of whom write in the English language. Many Guyanese-born writers have emigrated abroad.
History of Guyanese literature
The first book written on Guyana, by Sir Walter Raleigh in the 16th century, was The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Beautiful Empyre of Guiana (With a Relation of the Great and Golden Citie of Manoa (Which the Spanyards call El Dorado) and of the Provinces of Emeria, Aromaia, Amapaia, and Other Countries, with Their Riulers, Adjoyning (Robert Robinson: London, 1596).
One of the earliest and most notable Guyanese authors was Edgar Mittelholzer, author of Corentyne Thunder (1941). His works often deal with issues of interracial relations, particularly the strain between European and non-European Guyanese.
Famous novelists include E. R. Braithwaite (author of To Sir, With Love, 1959), Wilson Harris (author of Palace of the Peacock, published in 1960 and followed by many other novels), Jan Carew, Roy Heath (author of works including The Murderer, the Georgetown Trilogy and The Shadow Bride), and dramatist Michael Gilkes.
They were succeeded by a new generation of writers from the 1980s onward, including Beryl Gilroy, John Agard, Grace Nichols, Jan Shinebourne, Cyril Dabydeen, Sasenarine Persaud, David Dabydeen and Barney Singh (author of Tales in the Guyanese Vernacular).[1]
Martin Carter is considered Guyana's greatest poet.[2]
Michael Abbensetts was a noted playwright of works for the stage and television in the UK, whose work included the drama series — Empire Road, which BBC TV aired from 1978 to 1979.[3]
Vincent Roth's two-volume memoirs, A Life in Guyana: Volume 1 - A Young Man's Journey, 1889-1923 and A Life in Guyana: Volume 2 - Later Years, 1923-1935 (edited by Michael Bennett), were published in 2002 by Peepal Tree Press.
In more recent years, Pauline Melville has written fiction including The Ventriloquist's Tale (1997) and The Migration of Ghosts (1998), Oonya Kempadoo is the author of Buxton Spice (1998) and Tide Running (2001), and Sharon Maas has had published Of Marriageable Age (1999), Peacocks Dancing (2001) and The Speech of Angels (2003).
The influential intellectual and historian Walter Rodney was Guyanese, his most important book being How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972). Travelling and teaching widely, he was a proponent of Pan-Africanism and a supporter of the downtrodden. Rodney returned to Guyana in 1974 and was active in the opposition movement, leading to his assassination in 1980.
Guyana Prizes for Literature
The Guyana Prizes for Literature were founded by President Desmond Hoyte in 1987, with a view to promoting the development of local literature. Prizes are awarded biennially in categories including best book of fiction, best first book of fiction, best book of poems, best first book of poems, and best play. The Guyana Prizes are managed by a committee consisting of a number of university personnel, and the chief librarian of the Guyana National Library.
Winners have included Wilson Harris, Fred D'Aguiar, David Dabydeen, D. Gokarran Sukhdeo, Pauline Melville, Ian McDonald, Cyril Dabydeen and Ruel Johnson.[4]
Guyana Poetry Prize
Previous winners: Fred D'Aguiar, Grace Nichols, Ian McDonald.
Writers shortlisted for and awarded the Guyana Prize for Literature include:[5]
| Year | Author | Title | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Harold Bascom | Apata | Fiction |
| 1987 | Beryl Gilroy | Frangipani House | Fiction |
| 1987 | Wilson Harris | Carnival | Fiction |
| 1987 | Rooplall Monar | Backdam People | Fiction |
| 1987 | Grace Nichols | Whole of a Morning Sky | Fiction |
| 1987 | Jan Shinebourne | Timepiece | Fiction |
| 1987 | John Agard | Mangoes and Bullets | Poetry |
| 1987 | Cyril Dabydeen | Islands Lovelier than a Vision | Poetry |
| 1987 | Fred D'Aguiar | Mama Dot | Poetry |
| 1987 | Marc Matthews | Guyana My Altar | Poetry |
| 1987 | Rooplall Monar | Koker | Poetry |
| 1987 | Milton Williams | Years of Fighting Exile | Poetry |
| 1989 | Cyril Dabydeen | To Monkey Jungle | Fiction |
| 1989 | Beryl Gilroy | Boy Sandwich | Fiction |
| 1989 | Roy Heath | The Shadow Bride | Fiction |
| 1989 | Angus Richmond | The Open Prison | Fiction |
| 1989 | Janice Shinebourne | The Last English Plantation | Fiction |
| 1989 | Martin Carter | Selected Poems | Poetry |
| 1989 | Brian Chan | Thief with a Leaf | Poetry |
| 1989 | David Dabydeen | Coolie Odyssey | Poetry |
| 1989 | Fred D'Aguiar | Airy Hall | Poetry |
| 1989 | Ian McDonald | Mercy Ward | Poetry |
| 1992 | David Dabydeen | The Intended | Fiction |
| 1992 | Ian McDonald | Essequibo | Poetry |
| 1992 | Michael Gilkes | A Pleasant Career | Drama |
| 1994 | Harold Bascom | Two Wrongs | Drama |
| 1994 | Fred D'Aguiar | The Longest Memory | Fiction |
| 1994 | Mark McWatt | The Language of Eldorado | Poetry |
| 1996 | Grace Nichols | Sunris | Poetry |
| 1996 | Denise Harris | Web of Secrets | Fiction |
| 1996 | Fred D'Aguiar | Dear Future | Fiction |
| 1996 | Harold Bascom | Makantali | Drama |
| 1998 | Pauline Melville | The Ventriloquist’s Tale | Fiction |
| 1998 | Gokarran Sukhdeo | The Silver Lining | Fiction |
| 1998 | Dennis Craig | Near the Seashore | Poetry |
| 1998 | John Agard | From the Devil’s Pulpit | Poetry |
| 1998 | Paloma Mohamed | Duene | Drama |
| 2000 | David Dabydeen | A Harlot’s Progress | Fiction |
| 2000 | Paloma Mohamed | Father of the Man | Drama |
| 2000 | John Agard | Weblines | Poetry |
| 2000 | Raywat Deonandan | Sweet like Salt Water | Fiction |
| 2000 | Maggie Harris | Limbolands | Poetry |
| 2002 | Michael Gilkes | Jonestown | Poetry |
| 2002 | Stanley Greaves | Horizons | Poetry |
| 2002 | Ruel Johnson | The Enormous Night | Poetry |
| 2004 | Fred D'Aguiar | Bethany Bettany | Fiction |
| 2004 | David Dabydeen | Our Lady of Demerara | Fiction |
| 2004 | Paloma Mohamed | Nancy Story | Drama |
| 2004 | Ian McDonald | Between Silence and Silence | Poetry |
| 2004 | Berkley Semple | Lamplight Teller | Poetry |
| 2006 | Ryhaan Shah | A Silent Life | Fiction |
| 2006 | Cyril Dabydeen | Drums of my Flesh | Fiction |
| 2006 | Clive Sankardayal | The Brown Curtains | Fiction |
| 2006 | Mark McWatt | Suspended Sentences | Fiction |
| 2006 | Michael Gilkes | The Last of the Redmen | Drama |
| 2006 | Ronan Blaze | For Love of Aidana Soroya | Drama |
| 2006 | Elly Niland | Cornerstones | Poetry |
| 2006 | Berkeley Semple | The Solo Flyer | Poetry |
Guyana Prize for Caribbean Literature
In 2010, it was announced that the Government of Guyana had provided funds to the Management Committee of the Guyana Prize for the first Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Award, in the categories of Fiction, Poetry and Drama, with published books by citizens of Caribbean countries (CARICOM States, the Commonwealth Caribbean, the Netherland Antilles) being eligible.[6]
References
- ↑ "Basil 'Barney' Singh BSc Eng.", Obituary, Toronto Star.
- ↑ Al Creighton, "Martin Carter and his poems", Stabroek News, 24 June 2012.
- ↑ Michael Coveney, "Michael Abbensetts obituary", The Guardian, 20 November 2016.
- ↑ Petamber Persaud, "Winners at a glance", Preserving our literary Heritage | Literary Corner, Guyana Chronicle, 29 July 2007, p. IV.
- ↑ "The long and short of The Guyana Prize", Guyana Chronicle, 12 January 2013.
- ↑ "The Guyana Prize for Literature", CaribLit, 10 January 2015.
Sources
- Balkaran, Lal (ed.), Bibliography of Guyana & Guyanese Writers 1596-2004: An A-Z Guide of Books on Guyana by Guyanese and Non-Guyanese Writers and On Other Subjects by Guyanese Writers, with a Foreword by Professor Jan Carew (LBA Publications, Canada).
External links
- Guyanese Literature by Jeremy Poynting.
- Petamber Persaud, "The long and short of The Guyana Prize", 12 January 2013.
- Denis Scott Chabrol, "Guyana Prize for Literature winners announced", Demerara Waves, 16 September 2013.
- Guyana Prize Award winners, Focus on UG - August Edition, University of Guyana, 2007
- Elly Niland's Blog