Guyana Prize Is Oasis in A Desert

- Walcott

THE Guyana Prize is a little oasis in a desert of economic disaster, commented University of Guyana Vice-Chancellor George Walcott at the awards ceremony Monday evening.

The desert was in evidence as Chairman of the Panel of Judges, Mr. AI Creighton, called on government to do ‘much more’ to encourage the development of good literature in this country.

As President Desmond Hoyte listened, Creighton announced that the only resident Guyanese to have won a prize was the seasoned and much acclaimed poet, Mr. Martin Carter.

The two other who won Prizes were Guyanese residing in Canada Mr. Brian Chan and England, Mr. Roy Heath both staying at the Pegasus Hotel and scheduled to leave the country soon.

Guest speaker Professor Rex Nettleford who is Pro-Vice Chancellor for International Relations at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, declared that, although modern technology has adversely affected traditions of literature and the arts in the Caribbean, writers will continue to flourish and even to take advantage of the improved communication systems.

He noted that this country is wellserved by its legacy of creative writers and said that the independence of an artist goes hand in hand with democratic freedom in a society.

Dealing with the theme of a lost identity where Caribbean people are concerned, Nettleford said that writers have not been able to ignore issues such as race and colonialism, nor Africa in the Americas. He referred to writers in exile.

He said Caribbean writers should not look for carbon copies of European literature but record their own subject matter.

Nettleford contended that the lost identity myth, evident in the works of Shiva Naipaul, is dominant throughout the region and has its effect on late arrivals in the Caribbean such as Chinese and Indians who also have their contributions to make to Caribbean culture.

The professor pleaded that writers need to have close contact with each other and not communicate across oceans from London, Mexico or North America.

The two problems writers in the region face are publishing and a market. Publishing opportunities increased tremendously but the market must be developed.

This is up to the writer who must write for a Caribbean audience and seek to acquire his market here. Nettleford stressed that painters, sculptors and dancers are also constantly reminded of Europe’s vibrant art but they yet manage to be original.

‘The subject of creative writing is of concern to all because we’ve discovered ourselves through creative writing,’ Nettleford argued.

In his Judge’s Report Creighton claimed that a literary prize alone was not enough for good literature to develop.

He noted that although the number of entries increased from the 1987 figure of 20- odd works to 40-odd, the standard was slightly below the 1987 level.

Prizes were not awarded in the drama category, where most of the local entries were submitted.

Creighton said that government must put a better infrastructure in place to support Guyanese and improve the social life of citizens.

He noted that most of the works dealt with post-slavery and indentured society, some were reminiscing while others tended to romanticise a plantation society, he said.

Creighton declared that a new wave of Guyanese writing has evolved which focuses on Indians in the society dealing with exile, race and today’s politics. These work deserve separate study.

The poetry works submitted dealt with such themes as exile, race and political protests while the dramatists, too, seem to have ‘a quarrel with history.’

The judges decided that none of the two entries was good enough for the prize Best First Book of Fiction.

No prizes were awarded in the category of drama because the desired quality has been established by winners such as Wilson Harris and Martin Carter and that kind of literary standard had to be maintained in the award of the first prize for drama.

However, the work of the four writers shortlisted, Harold Bascom, Ian Valz, Francis Farrier and Paloma Mohamed were considered worthy and two of them Bascom and Valz were given special mention,’ Creighton said.

The Best First Book of Poetry went to Canadian resident Guyanese Brian Chan for his work ‘Thief with Leaf.’

The Best Book of Poetry went to the internationally acclaimed poet, Martin Carter for his ‘Selected Poems.’ The Best Book of Fiction went to the England resident Guyanese Roy Heath for his ‘Shadow Bride.’

In an acceptance speech on behalf of the winners, Heath asked the audience to excuse his English accent and expressed the hope, to appreciative applause, that he will one day write and publish lucratively in the Caribbean.

He said his book took twenty years to mature.

Both Chan and Carter read extracts from their poetry and a public reading by the winners is scheduled for this evening at 6 p.m.