Kyk-Over-Al

Site Update - "Live Chat" Now Available !!

2006-11-23T19:04:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone,This is just a brief note to inform everyone that we have now created a new chat room (a special thanks to Gav !!) which we hope you will all use ... For those of you who are unfamilar with chat rooms, it is a great way to meet people from around the world by having a "real time" conversation with them... You can talk about all sorts of various subjects or simpy view the online discussion... I would like to invite all of you to use this feature which I believe is a great way to connect with people from around the world...Thanks again to Gav as this would not have been possible without his hard work and dedication...Sincerely,JonoThe Mittelholzer Foundationhttp://www.mittelholzer.org

You can’t go home again

2006-09-23T11:00:00.001-04:00

By Jeremy Taylor

Illustrious Exile, by Andrew 0. Lindsay (Peepal Tree Press, ISBN 1-84523-028-0, 390 pp)

Farming and debauchery must be tiring occupations. By 1786, Robert Burns was doubly tired, being well practised at both. And there were other burdens:

a scandalous pregnancy an irate father, a public denunciation by the Calvinists. Bums’s instinct was to do what many of his compatriots had done: shake the dust of Scotland off his feet and head for the West Indies.

He took a job as a book-keeper on a sugar plantation in Jamaica. To raise passage money, he published a collection of little verses he had scribbled during his limited free time.

As it turned out, Bums and Jamaica were spared the pleasure of each other’s company. The book of verses (Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, 1786) did far better than expected. No longer in need of a new life in the Indies, Burns proceeded to Edinburgh to become a celebrity.

Andrew Lindsay’s remarkable novel is a “what if?” story. What if Burns had really gone to Jamaica? How would a poetic, romantic, late eighteenth-century Scottish sensibility respond to life on a Caribbean sugar plantation? Would Burns adapt, desensitise himself and pick up the lash with rest of them? If not, how long could he possibly last? And what sort of verse would this most celebrated of Scottish bards write in the Caribbean?

In Illustrious Exile, Lindsay has constructed an alternative life for Burns. The poet sails for Jamaica, works on the plantation, creates a scandal, moves on to another plantation in Demerara, and eventually escapes from the system altogether, trekking far into the interior of what is now Guyana with an Amenndian woman carrying his child.

To tell this story, Lindsay uses a well-tried device for linking past with present. Two hundred years after Burns’s death in 1797, his “journals” are “discovered” in the Guyanese hinterland where he died, and the events, thoughts, and feelings of his Caribbean years are revealed.

The real Robert Burns, as we know, was an instinctive radical, an anti-Calvinist, a supporter of the French and American revolutions, and a merciless satirist of establishment pomposity and pretension. He also (to put it mildly) knew how to have a good time. The character who

emerges in these fictional “journals” is neither monogamous nor sober, but he is not the professional roisterer of fond Scottish memory either. At the start of the book, he is a little uneasy at being a “Negro-driver”; by the end, he has made a comprehensive personal rejection of the system and all its implications. In the final pages, there is a sense that he has moved beyond the state of exile shared initially by everyone in the Caribbean except the Amerindian peoples, and has in a sense “come home”.

At first Bums has no grasp of the power he has as a white man, or the way he is expected to exercise it. He even thinks he can dig his own garden. He wants to see slaves as human beings, he wants to be liked by them, he recoils from violence and is disgusted by a slave auction. He is besotted by his house servant Adah, and is soon treating her in every way as a wife and equal, basking in the warmth and tenderness he receives in return. He even begins to argue with the plantation owner about the legitimacy of the system that supports them. The man is an obvious troublemaker.

Dimly, he senses his own complicity:

Never before in my life have I witnessed so much MISERY as in these last few days, and what makes it much worse to bear is the realisation that I have actively assisted in the process of imposing it. I have not been honest with myself. . . My hotheaded eagerness to leave Scotland overwhelmed completely whatever scruples I possessed. Even more reprehensibly, I consoled myself with the foolish notion that there might be some way of combining slavery with my principles . . . like a fool I have ignored the fact that [the slaves on the estate] do not belong here. God forgive me.

As he struggles to reconcile his public role with his private sympathies, Bums furtively reads Equiano (seditious stuff), ponders the root causes of white hatred for Africans, and decides to marry Adah and take her home to Scotland, where he will work with the abolitionists.

This fantasy is derailed when a prim Scottish lady arrives on the estate in pursuit of her errant husband. Burns seduces her with passionate poems, suddenly aware of all the European refinements that he misses and of which Adah will never be capable. Forced to fight a ludicrous duel with the homed husband, Burns is charged with murder and smuggled out to

Demerara. So much for Adah.

The Demerara plantation is hotter and more brutal than the Jamaican one, more highly charged with discontent and rebellion, and Burns is even more of a misfit. For a while he manages to run things on more liberal lines, but they always revert. Alarming portents occur. Allardyce, the plantation boss, is killed by a monstrous spider; koker men are swallowed whole by a thirty-foot anaconda. Again Burns prepares to return to Scotland, but is detained this time by the prospect of an expedition to the Upper Potaro (that old Guiana magic), and by the appearance of a beautiful Arawak woman, Yinta, with whom he falls instantly in love.

Until today, I had thought of the Guianas as a blank page in the history books — a vast tract of land unknown to man since the beginning of time. Today I realise that deep in these lonely tracts of eternal desolation there may lie secrets older than Europe; older than the Pharoahs; older than history itself. . . El Dorado, which I had always considered entirely a fable, was sought here by Ralegh. What strange things might there be, hidden in these terrible, dark, dripping forests?

No progress is made with Yinta, on the other hand, until Burns manages to write her a poem in Arawak, after which she becomes his perfect muse and companion till he dies. (Poets, take note.)

Bums’s education is continued by a conveniently well-read slave from Saint-Domingue, Ambrose. The poet’s burgeoning idealism (“Men should be brothers”) is countered by Ambrose’s realism: “White men will never relinquish the power.. . They own the land; the factories; the ships and the warehouses. They legislate; administer justice; write the history books; own the newspapers and the printing presses. . .“ Ambrose’s advice is to look to the example of Toussaint, not Wilberforce.

You assume, though you may not realise it, that equality means black people resembling white ones so closely that no difference remains, except for the colour of their skin. We must become like them. But does this not also beg the question that the ways of the white man are superior? Does it not deny us the dignity of a culture and an identity to call our own? Would I ask you to adopt the habits of Negroes?

“I hadn’t thought of that,” replies Bums. Not surprisingly: hardly anyone thinks of it even now. Schemes for improving other people always depend on them becoming more like us. Again Bums finds himself weighed in the balance and found wanting. “Until this moment,” he reflects, “I had thought myself absolved from guilt by virtue of the fact that I genuinely hated slavery, treated Negroes with courtesy and respect, and in Ambrose had found a true and valued friend. But I had wronged Adah, and now, it seemed, I had to face up to the culpability in myself.”

The arrival of a new estate manager even worse than the spider’s victim forces the issue for Burns. He takes off with Yinta - the first non-exile he has met in the Caribbean - on an exhausting two-month trek across the Essequibo, up the Mazaruni and the Potaro, and far beyond Kaieteur to Yinta’s home ground, and his own death.

Andrew Lindsay is himself Scottish, dividing his time “between Fife and Guyana” according to the publisher’s blurb. Mercifully, he does not make Burns write his journals in Scottish dialect, which would have made for a daunting read. In fact, Burns hardly sounds very Scottish in prose, though several of the poems use the dialect, constructed or reconstructed by Lindsay to echo poems that the real Burns wrote.

There is a hard lesson here for anyone eager to impose their own cultural and economic needs on an unwilling people.

What has been done to these people constitutes an act of vast criminality; an act so monstrous and terrible that it defies belief. How can a society that prides itself on its benevolence and its superior culture allow itself tobe so inextricably bound up with — nay, founded upon! — such suffering, cruelty and indignity?. . . What I have witnessed is so uniquely horrible and vile that generations of my countrymen in years to come will look back upon it in shame and self-loathing. Slavery cannot be undone. We have sown the seed, and the fearful harvest thereof shall be as bitter ashes in our guilty mouths.

But the book is not only about a white exile’s anger and guilt. Bums makes his final trek into the interior as a hunted man, a “murderer” and a “traitor”, having surrendered every last trace of his previous life and comfort (except his journals, of course) to be with Yinta, the Amerindian. Lindsay invests this personal journey with echoes of a more universal process: the exile or expatriate groping for a new grounding and a new source of being. The book suggests that exile can be left behind, that the Amerindian peoples represent a source, and that there are rites of passage for those rare individuals and societies that want to cut away cultural impositions and arrive at some sort of Caribbean authenticity •

The Robert Burns who emerges in these fictional “journals” is

neither monogamous nor sober, but he is not the professional

roisterer of fond Scottish memory either

You can’t go home again

2006-09-23T11:00:00.000-04:00

You can’t go home again

By Jeremy Taylor

Illustrious Exile, by Andrew 0. Lindsay (Peepal Tree Press, ISBN 1-84523-028-0, 390 pp)

Farming and debauchery must be tiring occupations. By 1786, Robert Burns was doubly tired, being well practised at both. And there were other burdens:

He took a job as a book-keeper on a sugar plantation in Jamaica. To raise passage money, he published a collection of little verses he had scribbled during his limited free time.

Dimly, he senses his own complicity:

Demerara. So much for Adah.

No progress is made with Yinta, on the other hand, until Burns manages to write her a poem in Arawak, after which she becomes his perfect muse and companion till he dies. (Poets, take note.)

There is a hard lesson here for anyone eager to impose their own cultural and economic needs on an unwilling people.

The Robert Burns who emerges in these fictional “journals” is

neither monogamous nor sober, but he is not the professional

roisterer of fond Scottish memory either

Preserving our literary heritage

2006-07-30T12:05:00.000-04:00

Preserving our literary heritage

KYK-OVER-AL,
Part One1945 – 1961
By Petamber Persaud

THE makers and custodians of Guyanese Literature were ever conscious of the need to preserve, to enhance and to promote our literary heritage, resulting in numerous literary periodicals gracing various stages of our history.

The makers and custodians of Guyanese Literature were also cognisant of the need to encourage emerging writers and to reward good writing.

What may be the first recorded call for a local literary prize can be found in the second issue of KYK-OVER-AL, June 1946.

The Honorary Secretary of the British Guiana Writers’ Association (BGWA), James W. Smith, at that time suggested the establishment of a literary award via The Leo Medal for poetry, The Webber Medal for fiction and The Clementi Medal for non-fiction and drama.

Of interest too was the call by the President of the BGWA, H. R. Harewood, for a Readers’ Association ‘as a sort of complementary body’ to the writers forum as if to support what Seymour said early in his first editorial of KYK, ‘there’s so much we can do as a people if we can get together more’. So it seemed that the shapers of KYK were catering for every aspect of local literature, a reflection of its success and longevity – 17 long years and 28 expansive issues.
This is by way of leading up to the objectives of KYK which were ‘to forge a Guyanese people, and make them conscious of their intellectual and spiritual possibilities’ and to record ‘the ferment of cultural activity in the West Indies and its impact and influence on life in Guyana’.
To see those objectives more clearly it would be useful to locate KYK in its Caribbean context.
After the Second World War that affected the British dependences in the West Indies, there was a fermentation of a West Indian literature. That movement was given direction by ‘the little review’, a title covering the periodicals of the time including BIM of Barbados edited by Frank Collymore and FOCUS of Jamaica edited by Edna Manley. ‘The little review’ was also labelled the ‘nursery of literature’ for the West Indies. KYK is the only surviving magazine of that period. And there are many reasons for its survival.

One of those reasons could be found in the quality and dedication of the people involved in the production. KYK was published in conjunction with the BGWA, British Guiana Union of Cultural Clubs (BGUCC) and the DFP Advertising Service. Not much is known of DFP and its obvious role in the production of the journal except that it was managed by J. E. Humphrey.
The two other organisations were powerhouses in the development of literature and culture. The BGUCC was formed in 1943 as an umbrella body to some 40 clubs from various parts of the country and consisted of a number of well-respected members of society including N. E. Cameron (President), Mildred Mansfield, C. I. Drayton, A. J. Seymour, E. A. Q. Potter, and Esme Cendrecourt, among others.

The BGWA founded just after the BGUCC was formed consisted of members like H. R. Harewood (President), W. I. Gomes, Seymour, among others. KYK-OVER-AL was established as the organ of the BGWA and mouthpiece of the BGUCC which were very active in cultural spheres of Guyana.

Another reason for the survival of the journal was that it functioned as an outlet and platform for West Indian literature. This can be seen with the publications of the works of Roger Mais, Edward Brathwaite, Aime Cesaire, Frank Collymore, George Lamming, Una Marson, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Philip Sherlock, Derek Walcott, and Harold Telemaque, among others. Within this section will fall the invaluable articles on West Indian literature by Seymour like ‘The Literary Adventure of the West Indies’, ‘The West Indies of the Future and the Writer’ and the ‘KYK-OVER-AL: Anthology of West Indian Poetry’.

The editor and the editorial advisory committee (another positive move) which included Lloyd Searwar and others experimented with various aspects of magazine production. For instance, in reference to timing, the release date was brought forward to ‘less competitive’ months, in reference to size, it was reduced ‘for pockets and sachets’, and the book review section was expanded to include review of art, film and drama.

Seymour also credited his wife, Elma, for her enormous help in advertisement and marketing. Elma was a tower of strength and support to Seymour in his literary and cultural endeavours.
Despite some criticism levelled against the magazine’s lack of critical analysis, the strength of KYK was found in its scope and range in its recording role, publishing some 500 poems, 400 articles, a few short stories, symposia and colloquia, and scores of book reviews.

In poetry, adding to the above list of West Indian poets, is the local impact coming from the pen of Martin Carter, Wilson Harris, Jacqueline De Weever, Edgar Mittelholzer, Edwina Melville, Ian McDonald, Ivan Van Sertima, Milton Williams, among others.

In the field of fiction, there are samplings from Basil Balgobin, J. A. V. Bourne, Jan Carew, Eugene Bartrum, Sheik Sadeek, among others.

While there are only three plays in the 28 issues of the magazine, the articles on drama by N.E. Cameron, Rajkumari Singh, Ruby Samlalsingh, Frank Thomasson, and Sara Veecook are very valuable.

KYK-OVER-AL (see over all), the magazine, was named after the ruined Dutch fort of the same name on a small island near the confluence of the Essequibo, Mazaruni, and Cuyuni Rivers as a watchtower for ‘the expression of an alert people’. KYK went to sleep in 1961 but so good was its intent and so valuable its impact, it was revived in 1984 under the editorship of Seymour and Ian McDonald, moving to newer levels of scholarship.

(Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)Guyanese Literature Update:1. THE GUYANA ANNUAL 2006/2007 is under production; for further information please contact the editor at telephone number and email address listed above.

2. Under preparation by this author is A HANDBOOK OF GUYANESE LITERATURE. Information supplied on any aspect of our literature will be duly acknowledged

(Guyana Chronicle)

The Speech of Angels (review)

2006-07-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

A literary concerto

This is a review of the last published novel by the gifted internationally best-selling Guyanese writer Sharon Maas. We are all anxiously awaiting the appearance of her fourth book. This review was first printed in the Stabroek News, Guyana in January.

Sharon’s wonderful books are available on the internet at Amazon.com.

Enjoy…

Elizabeth

The Speech Of Angels

Sharon Maas (London: HarperCollins, 2003, 422p.ISBN 0-00-712385-X)

Review by F. E. Alleyne

There are writers who, while not natural storytellers, are so skilled at their craft that the story fuses itself into a commendable and coherent whole from structural elements painstakingly arranged. Sharon Maas is not one of these.

In this her third novel, The Speech Of Angels, Sharon Maas proves herself once again to be a gifted and natural storyteller. Her story pours out, seemingly of its own volition, in such fluidity of movement and beauty of language that any structural flaws or minor inconsistencies are glazed over and become imperceptible to the reader and irrelevant to his enjoyment.

Maas’ writing style tends more to the narrative than to dialogue and in the hands of a lesser writer this would slow the tempo of the work and constrict the flow. With Maas, however, her use of metaphor and imagery is so evocative that any slowing merely allows for appreciation of the poetic prose and its impact upon the senses.

“It was an oval pool of turquoise tiles and shallow water which caught the early morning sunlight and played with it in concentric circles rippling backwards from the spitting fish.”

“Music is well said to be the speech of angels,” said the dour Thomas Carlyle. This famous quotation, from which the title of this volume is taken, was the opening line of his scathing essay on the opera in which he attacked what he saw as the debasement of music for the frivolous amusement of a sybaritic populace. He argued that “nothing among the utterances allowed to mankind is felt to be so divine” as music and that it should be used as a vehicle for worship, for whatever in mankind is divine.

Maas seems to agree for it is this quest for the divine in music which forms the tonic key in this romantic epic tale of a gifted child’s progression to adulthood and self-realization.

Five-year-old Jyothi, happily secure in her Indian village, is seduced away from awareness of self and boundaries by the pure siren sound of a sitar which resonates in her very soul. “Light and sound merged into a single entity pulling her forward…Music! This was music!... She stood in the doorway transfixed…”

But Technology intrudes upon the age-old customs of her village and sweeps away her family’s livelihood taking with it the planned, pre-destined order of their lives. Jyothi is soon living in a hovel on a Bombay pavement but the squalor of her surroundings fails to dim her inner glow and she is befriended by a childless German couple, Jack and Monika, who are intrigued by her vivacity and by her face which had “a wraithlike beauty to it, a luster barely veiled by the smudges on the thin cheeks.”

When tragedy strikes and her world disintegrates, she is adopted by the couple and taken to Germany but her trauma lingers and she remains encased in a solitary inner world, finding it difficult to communicate even as she struggles with feelings of inferiority and the rejection of her peers.

It is then discovered that she has a rare musical talent which her adopted mother, Monika, devotes herself to honing and perfecting and Jyothi is soon feted and courted as a prodigy, a Wunderkind. But, though she plays the violin to please her mother, there is no longer any joy for her in music and the spontaneous laughter which had lit her early childhood is gone.

Even as she begins to heal and develop, tragedy again shakes her foundations and she must reconstruct herself anew but this time there is an accepting school environment and an empathetic friend. A visit to India disturbs this ephemeral new equilibrium, however. She sees herself in a child-beggar, “I had done that myself…I had borrowed my neighbour’s baby and lugged it around as an asset to my begging forays. I was that little girl.”

As Jyothi achieves material success as a violinist, and as betrayal drives her to seek solace in striving for greater technical perfection, she develops a brittle and imperious outer persona which thrives on adulation and applause, and succeeds in suppressing her lingering self-image of the ‘street child’. Then the fragile edifice she has constructed crumbles in a crescendo of silence and she is forced to confront her roots.

Unlike Maas’ earlier works, which incorporated broader societal issues, this is a study of an individual’s travails and triumphs, drawing more upon psychology than sociology and, where the societal issue of racial intolerance arises, it is dealt with in the pragmatic manner of a child.

The adults are shocked by a bigoted diatribe but thirteen-year-old Jyothi is unfazed, “I had known for years that people judged me because of my origins and because of how I looked…You can’t fight these people; you can only shield yourself from them, and that is what I had been doing for the last seven years”.

Maas herself, a ‘mixed native of British Guiana’, who was propelled as a teenager from 1960’s Guyana to an English boarding school and who later lived and worked in Germany, would certainly have had experience of bigotry but the issue is treated with a sensitivity which keeps it from clouding the perspectives of her characters.

Literature is often adjudged by its mimetic quality, its ability to imitate life, and often seems more real than life itself. Maas succeeds in this mimesis. Her characters are finely and realistically drawn and, while a few remain one-dimensional, the main actors are portrayed with all their idiosyncrasies.

From Monika’s neurotic but stoic nature, with her strongly disciplined Protestant ethic which she imparts to her adopted daughter, to the laid-back sensitivity of Jack and the anomic nature of the man Jyothi falls in love with, the characters live. However, Jack and Monika’s personal lives fade from view when Jyothi joins the family and assumes center stage and, as they become the supporting instruments in this literary concerto, their own lives become a bit too muted.

The book’s structure is elegantly simple, without the complex inter-related plot structures of Maas’ earlier works as it relies instead upon the internal struggles of the individual for its complexity, and though there are occasional descents into the style of the romance novel, these do not significantly detract from the quality of the writing itself.

The Speech Of Angels transports the reader into a world of emotions and sensory images - superimposed upon the experience of different cultures - and the imagery lingers. It is both entertainment and fine writing. It is a great book.

PRESS RELEASE: OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH BY JAMES C. RICHMOND IN NYC !!!!

2006-07-26T13:51:00.000-04:00

James C. Richmond, Poet

www.jamesrichmond.blogspot.com

718-807-8491

PRESS RELEASE

‘ON THE WINDOW OF MY SKIN’
Poetic Expressions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOOK LAUNCH

Poet James C. Richmond in collaboration with JRG Fashion Café, the only restaurant located in the heart of downtown Brooklyn boasting a roof deck patio, presents the launching of his book, ˜On the Window of My Skin” poetic expressions on Thursday, August 3, 2006 at 6pm.

˜On the Window of My Skin” is a stimulating work written by the renowned poet in his inimitable style and clearly demonstrates his ability to fuse western and traditional cultures while fostering greater thematic understanding.

This book certainly hits the mark with both insightful and impassioned offerings and the publication is already being hailed as a winning page-turner. New York’s Caribbean Impact newspaper certainly gives it a thumbs-up, with its comment - ˜Masterful. Richmond displays a deep understanding of poetry that gnaws at the reader, leaving an electrifying tingle. The poet writes with vivid detail and awesome power. He is a literary Powerhouse...”

The launching of the book, ˜On the Window of My Skin” by James C. Richmond on August 3 at JRG will be preceded by a cocktail reception.

You are cordially invited.

JRG Fashion Café
177 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn NY, 11217
(718) 399-7079

Membership Campaign

2006-07-21T15:57:00.000-04:00

In keeping with the electoral spirit in Guyana we have decided to announce our very own "Mittelholzer Campaign" which we encourage all members and non-members to help us out with. Our campaign is a membership drive with the main objective reaching the number of 500 registered members (membership is free and only takes a few minutes !!) by Friday, September 1, 2006. While I know that is going to be a difficult task, I have complete confidence that we will reach our goal provided we all work together to spread the word about our site as much as possible. We are capable of so much as individuals that there is no doubt in my mind that as a group, we can reach out to people and attain our target of 500 registered members in no time so I urge all of you who are members and non-members to do what you can to help us reach our goal... We have so much potential and can accomplish so much that it is now the time for us to take action by bringing as many people together as possible...We call on all of you to help us as we cannot do this alone so please, do all that you can for this most worthwhile cause...

The Mittelholzer Foundation
http://www.mittelholzer.org/forum/index.php
_________________

Woodbine or The Last Of The Redmen

2006-07-21T15:52:00.000-04:00

This review was printed in the Stabroek News in January of this year. Mr. Gilkes had mentioned plans to stage the play in the US and Canada and I would urge all our Guyanese and Caribbean friends in the diaspora to not miss the chance to see it if it staged at a theatre near you. Or even not so near…It may resonate most with Guyanese but it’s an experience that would thrill anyone familiar with the peculiarities of Caribbean societies and the ways in which these have changed over the years.

Enjoy…

Elizabeth

Woodbine or The Last Of The Redmen

A play in two acts for one actor by Michael Gilkes

Review by F. E. Alleyne

In his infamous defence of slavery, the Victorian Thomas Carlyle, once said that the union of abolitionist philosophy and economics, the dismal science, would give birth to “dark extensive moon-calves, unnameable abortions, wide-coiled monstrosities, such as the world has not seen hitherto!”

If there is any satisfaction to be had for people of the Caribbean where such creatures now abound it is surely in the thought that, were Mr. Carlyle to be transported to the mid-twentieth century Caribbean, he would undoubtedly have imploded from shock as he discovered a world in which we monstrosities had become the guardians and defenders of the very cultural values which he himself had professed to uphold.

But his vengeful spirit must have chortled away in glee as he read the title on the play-bill of a stage production at Cara Lodge in Georgetown in January 2006 - Woodbine or The Last Of The Redmen by Michael Gilkes. “At last, a new millennium and we are free of the abominations”, he must have exulted. The economists he abhorred could have warned him not to theorize based on faulty assumptions.

One man, one small room, a few props, and a cozily ensconced rapt audience struggling to keep at bay the tearclouds threatening scattered showers. One life, epitomizing a class, a genus - some memories. The result, theatre at its best.

In recent years ‘one-man theatre’ has become all the rage in New York and, to a lesser extent, in London. But, even as we read accounts of the worst of these, we cannot help but wonder at the amazing skill of an actor who can single-handedly hold an audience without a supporting cast.

Woodbine, is a play in two acts with a sole actor, the playwright, playing the role of the principal protagonist, Mr. Redman, whose life is being chronicled, as well as the other four major roles.

This is a tragi-comic fantasy in which Mr. Redman, last scion of the Redman family, is also an embodiment of The Redmen, the aptly described social class which occupied the middle rungs of the social and economic ladders of the epidermically-stratified societies of the post-war Caribbean. The middle class which served as the bulwark against anarchy.

Mr. Redman, the Redman, has in his twilight years been tide-swept into impecunious circumstances and is holding fast against the currents to the standards which characterized his family, the Redmans, while Mr. Redman, The Redmen, is dead and being mourned by Mr. Redman. The last of the Redmans is determined that his swan-song shall be an investigation into who killed his alter ego, The Redmen.

Smoke-and-mirror antics have nothing on this play. It employs deeply psychological sleight-of-hand and intellectually stimulating allegory, interspersed with seemingly prosaic passages, to produce a experience which follows the audience on softly padded feet as they leave, bemused, at its end.

This is serious socio-political analysis elegantly party-dressed as entertainment, and it is an indictment of all modern Caribbean societies and their individual members – all of us.

But entertainment it certainly is too. From the dead-pan satire of Mr. Redman, punctuated with exquisitely delivered morsels of bawdy humour which never become vulgar, to the ‘sweet-boy’ mannerisms and machismo of his ‘small-days’ friend, the play holds the audience in the world it creates.

The emotionally charged sequences of the play are relieved at intervals with slide-shows of the Redmans and The Redmen (including those Redmen who - in the eyes of the Redmans – did not need the characteristic pigment since they were eminently qualified, on all other counts, to be Redmen) as well as by musical pieces, a competently but soullessly executed waltz, and a spirited masquerade dance which puts all modern Guyanese masquerade bands to shame.

The latter is accompanied by the simultaneous screening of a similar dance which, perfunctory though it is, draws the eye, producing an illusory effect as of simultaneous existence and echoes the surrealistic elements of the play itself.

So Who Killed The Redmen?

Act one, Scene one, opens with the parting of a pair of mahogany doors as an elderly man is wheeled onto the stage. He appears to be slightly infirm and displays the distraction and disorientation peculiar to the unutilized elderly.

The setting is the “The Palms”, Georgetown, euphemistically called a Gentlemen’s Home, a structure which once attempted to match its elegant name but gave up and instead focused all its energies on trying to emulate the decay of the living repositories of history, knowledge and wisdom, abandoned to physical and mental decomposition within its walls.

But this inmate is valiantly fighting the process. His room is incongruously furnished with an elegant escritoire, a legacy from his father, and on it lie a china bell and a few imposing tomes. A champagne flute nestling against a bottle of water proclaims that Roger Algernon Fitzwilliam Redman - self-described alms house inmate and eccentric old fart - has style.

A knock heralds the advent of an invisible newspaper reporter. Redman, R.A.F. – no, he wasn’t in the air force – visibly sloughs off his distracted mien, dons the proverbial stiff upper lip and greets the young man in a benevolently commanding tone which almost hides his pleasure at receiving a visitor and succeeds in intimidatidating his guest into respectful silence which lasts for the duration of the interview.

The reporter has come because this living relic is heroically and unprecedentedly attempting to produce a hard copy of the precariously stored contents of his failing memory. He hesitantly sits - assured that old age is not catching - and listens.

And so begins one of the longest and most brilliantly executed soliloquies in the annals of Caribbean theatre, a gem the likes of which have not graced the Guyanese stage in many a year.

Mr. Redman is disembowelling his memory and, utilizing the skills clandestinely gleaned from his father’s pathology texts, is attempting in this theatrical autopsy to discover, not what, but Who, killed the ‘middle class’. Exceed his jurisdiction as pathologist he might, but his detective work is no less painstaking as the dissected parts of the deceased are laid out for our examination.

Mr. Redman, as we will discover, is uniquely qualified for the task as both pathologist and deceased. But is he also the accused?

And, for that matter, is this autopsy or vivisection? Who says the middle class is dead? Surely a society must have a middle and not just a beginning and an end? Well, in this fantasy, anything is possible and the evidence Mr. Redman presents suggests that such an outcome really is quite possible.

But, we are dealing here with the middle class of the Caribbean as the Redmans knew it - people who usually happened to be somewhat tinged with vermilion, though sometimes they had no colour at all, or all the colours, but most of all who upheld the standards of our societies, who cared about culture, the arts, the environment, good government, personal responsibility, clean streets and neat fences, the helpless and needy, honesty, decency, putting one’s best foot forward, smiling in the face of personal tragedy, wearing their game legs, arms, and other handicaps as badges of courage. These were the bourgeosie as they later came to be derisively termed.

The ones who treated the entire Caribbean as one family, who moved freely throughout the region, creating ties of blood and culture. The ones who prided themselves on always doing a good job regardless of remuneration or lack thereof and who knew just how to fight procrastination.

The latter philosophy is exemplified in the play by Mr. Redman’s “Do It Now” exhortation (no, Nike didn’t invent the concept, there was a better version before) but was more elegantly expressed by the penultimate Redman, Makepeace Richmond, the Guyanese sage who coined the term, ‘Clown Council’, and whose philosophy was “Oh, stop staring at your navel and get on with it”

So, now that we have defined the term, who or what killed the middle class? Mr. Redman lays out the evidence but knows his limitations as a pathologist and does not form conclusions.

This question has to be decided by all of us, the members of the jury, based upon a careful consideration of the evidence which was carefully compiled and laid before us by Mr. Redman, of Murray Street, Georgetown, and Mr. Redman, The Redmen. A fictitious address, you say? That is not an address, Sir, that seems to be part of the evidence.

Was it perhaps that some essential Redmen elements wore Fanonesque masks to cover their skins rouges and were stifled with these? Is that a trace of powder on the evidence table – no, never mind, just a few ‘unfortunate black-peppers’. Or were they perhaps squashed in the upward surge as the upper classes retreated and the lower classes raced for the top? Or maybe was there a grand conspiracy involving all the classes, including The Redmen themselves?

Did they perhaps, not liking themselves, incorporate a timed self-destruct feature into their systemic structure? After all, see how flustered they were when British Royalty deigned to partner one their daughters in a dance.

Or was it a tragic accident which occurred as some Caribbean societies attempted to build that mythical construct, the classless society? Or maybe it was a heinous Imperialist Plot to infiltrate the Region with technology designed to produce an epidemic of ghetto culture and an addiction to disposable plates and cups and cars and people?

But maybe there was no death at all and Mr. Redman was deluded. He was, after all, a tad long in the tooth, and we must not forget that this is theatre, surrealistic theatre at that.

If there is one seeming flaw in this masterpiece it is the apparent existence of a vacuum which undoubtedly the playwright intended to serve as part of the evidence. The names and photographs of countless eminent Redmen of various hues are laid before us but there is a glaring absence. Where are the I-words? They can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And where is Mr. Redman’s wife, partly descended from I-words?

This play is based on the Taitt family, a prominent and accomplished Guyanese middle class family, who had all emigrated from Guyana by the early eighties. They are also related by marriage to the Mittleholzer clan which produced the Guyanese literary giant, Edgar Mittleholzer, a Redman.

Mittleholzer, in his autobiography, A Swarthy Boy, described for us the intricacies of the colour-based caste system of post-war British Guiana. As he observed, the social rungs of the society were occupied in order of nearness to white skin colour or distance therefrom. But there was one group, de facto out-castes, if the expression would be pardoned, who regardless of personal or professional achievement were socially excluded from the pecking order, the I-words, Indians. These included the soon-to-be-legendary Luckhoo family.

Since the playwright would have known this, the small sprinkling of Indians in the account of prominent Redmen must have evidentiary significance. Are we the jury to cast suspicious eyes upon Indians? Is it possible that they were involved in the death of The Redmen?

As one who is of the pure vermilion blood on one side of the family and contaminated by the I-word on the other, I can testify that there certainly was motive. But that testimony should be stricken from the record and, as is usual in a proper court, from the ears and, in this case, the eyes, of the jury.

So who, or what, killed The Redmen? If the judge’s sentence which follows the delightfully surreal trial at the end of this play can be admitted into evidence and, since this is a fantasy, we may assume that it can, it would appear that the judge is privy to some information that is withheld from us.

Was the deceased really dead or did he shape-shift for a while into an amorphous splintered hydra, melting into bi-chromatic metropolitan societies and into the obscure almshouses, real and figurative, of the Caribbean, awaiting the bugle call that would signal a renascence? After all, we never saw a body.

But the rule of law holds sway in the Caribbean, however swayingly, and with the introduction of this new evidence the jury must again confer. However, if there is any verity to the last hypothesis, then the first few notes have been sounded by this play. If readers will pardon the use of a heinous Imperialistic word, Woodbine, The Last Of The Redmen, is a terrific play. Well done, and thank you, Mr. Gilkes.

We received a reply from Mr. Jagan !!

2006-07-13T01:30:00.000-04:00

I know that some of you have probably forgotten however a few weeks ago we submitted a list of five questions to most of the political leaders in Guyana which we felt were some of the "key" issues of the upcoming election. We would like to thank Mr. Jagan for taking the time and effort to answer our questions in an open and straightforward manner.

To view his answers please visit:

The Mittelholzer Foundation
http://mittelholzer.org/forum/index.php

(and I hope to see you all register too !!)

thanks !!

What is CITES and how does it work?

2006-07-12T14:05:00.000-04:00

KyK-ers, this is the first of some environmental pieces which I hope to serve up in my column.

This one is a Stabroek News reject. Not relevant enough to the local wild-life trade.

Most likely too boring as well but they were too nice to say so.

Anyhow Jonathan the Bratt ain’t paying me yet so you gotta tek what you get…

NO MORE ANIMAL SMUGGLING PLEASE.

If trees could have the right to not be smuggled, what about poor parrots and snakes?

Do I have that right?

Not as young as I used to be.

(To be honest with you, the o-word has been used on me.)

No representation is being made here for crapauds and toads.

(Picking up for snakes was bad enough)

Remind me to tell you about that old reprobate of a lion who is living at the expense of Guyanese taxpayers and never had the decency to keep his private life private. No wonder she left him, rather finally.

See how God does work?

I have pictures! Ssh, don’t tell anybody. He got big teeth.

Besides he was just trying to impress me with his prowess.

(guessed that I have a weakness for Lions)

Elizabeth a….

What is CITES and how does it work?

by F. Elizabeth Alleyne

In the past two years, various issues surrounding trade in Guyana’s wild fauna have come to the fore and public attention has been drawn to the existence of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. But what exactly is CITES, what is its relevance to Guyana’s wildlife, how does it regulate trade, and to what end?

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, is an agreement between a current total of 166 states, referred to as Contracting Parties, to abide by a specified set of rules and procedures designed to control global trade in wild species of animals and plants and their parts or derivatives. While CITES is usually seen as a conservation treaty, established for the preservation of wild flora and fauna, it is primarily a trade treaty though its mandate is to limit and control such trade.

The rationale for the Convention

The Convention was signed in 1973 by an initial grouping of 80 states. It resulted from growing awareness during the 1960’s on the part of governments, environmental groups and concerned individuals of the value of the diverse animal and plant species which were rapidly moving towards extinction due to destruction of their natural habitats and to over-exploitation by humans.

International trade, particularly from countries of the South where such species abounded to consumer states of the North, was growing at an exponential rate which often exceeded the rate at which the populations of wild species were able to replicate themselves. It was therefore recognized that such trade, if left unchecked, would eventually threaten the viability of the wild flora and fauna of the range states. It was obvious too that regulations to prevent over-exploitation through trade would need to be adopted on a widely multi-lateral basis.

The resulting treaty in which signatory states bind themselves to follow the rules agreed upon by all the parties does not however have an impact upon the domestic laws of these states. Consequently, the Contracting Parties have to implement domestic legislation in order to fulfill their treaty obligations.

How it works

The states party to the Convention were committed to ensuring that their sovereignty was not eroded by it and as such the guiding principle central to its formulation was that the Contracting Parties are the best protectors of their own flora and fauna. The application of controls agreed upon by the Parties therefore hinges upon a system of licensing by designated Management Authorities in each state. Each signatory state is also required to appoint a Scientific Authority to advise the Management Authority as to the level of trade that could be engaged in without a detrimental effect upon the particular species.

Guyana acceded to the Convention in May of 1977 and became bound by it in August of 1977. Operational aspects of the implementation of CITES regulations in Guyana are currently handled by the Guyana Wildlife Division which was placed under the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, in late 2005. Decision-making is conducted by a Management Authority and Scientific Authority set up in accordance with Convention rules.

The designated Management Authority, which oversees operations of the Division and issues licences and permits, consists of a Board comprised of officials of the Division, representatives from the EPA, the Police and the University of Guyana, and headed by a Chairman.

The Scientific Authority, also a Committee of individuals, advises on levels of sustainable trade, sets quotas, and commissions experts to conduct the Non-Detriment studies required by Convention rules.

The issuance of export licences and permits by the Management Authority is subject to rules laid out in the Convention and these vary according to categories of species as listed in each of three appendices.

Appendix I species

Species which are threatened with imminent extinction are listed in Appendix I of the Convention. Commercial trade in these species, whether alive or dead and including their parts or derivatives, is prohibited and other trade is allowed only where certain extenuating factors exist. Where trade is allowed permits have to be issued by both the exporting and importing states.

Import permits can only be issued where the state is satisfied that the specimen would be used for a non-commercial purpose which would not endanger survival of the species and, if the specimen is alive, that it will be kept in an appropriate environment where it will receive proper care.

An export permit can only be issued for an Appendix I specimen if an import permit has been issued, if the Scientific Authority advises that such export will not be detrimental to survival of the species, and if the exporter can prove that the specimen was obtained in accordance with the domestic laws governing its capture or harvest.

In addition, for live specimen, the potential exporter needs to prove that the physical process of transporting it to its intended destination will not involve any injury or cruelty. Local species listed in Appendix I of the Convention include the jaguar, the harpy eagle and the giant otter.

Appendix II

Article IV of the Convention sets out the requirements for trade in species listed in Appendix II of the Convention. Species of wild flora and fauna listed in Appendix II are those which, though not immediately faced with the threat of extinction, need to be accorded protection to ensure that existing stocks are not severely depleted.

For this category, the Convention does not mandate the issuance of import licences but export permits may be issued only if the Scientific Authority of the state advises that export will not negatively impact upon the survival of the species and the Management Authority is satisfied that the specimen was legally obtained.

If the specimen is alive, the same requirements for safe transportation apply as for Appendix I species. Most exports from Guyana of Appendix II species are of birds and reptiles.

Permits for re-export of both Appendix I and Appendix II specimen are only issued if the original importation was done in accordance with Convention rules. In the case of introduction of specimen from the sea, this must be authorized by a Certificate from the Management Authority.

Appendix III

Species listed in Appendix III are those which are included by one or more Contracting Parties who wish to have particular species of their flora or fauna accorded special protection by other Parties to the Convention. Export of these species from the range state follows rules for Appendix II species. For export from other states the Management Authority of the state must issue a certificate of origin.

Exceptions to the rules

The Contracting Parties are allowed to make certain exceptions to the rules of the Convention especially in cases where species are in transit, where they form part of a travelling exhibition or where the Management Authority certifies that the specimen was acquired before the provisions of the Convention applied to it.

Exceptions are also made, in certain circumstances, for specimen considered to be personal effects, specimen to be used for scientific research, fauna bred in captivity and for artificially propagated flora.

The quota system

In order to ensure that exports of species are not detrimental to their survival, the Scientific Authorities of exporting states often determine the maximum numbers of particular species which can be exported within a particular year. The CITES Secretariat is informed of the level of these quotas which are then utilized by the Management Authorities in the issuance of permits.

In some instances, where the species concerned is considered to be particularly threatened but the range state successfully lobbies to be allowed to engage in some level of trade, the quotas are set by the Conference of the Parties and often are accompanied by other restrictions as to the type of trade thus allowed.

Tightening the controls – the significant trade process

Autonomy of the parties in the regulation of trade in their flora and fauna was at the heart of the formulation of CITES rules, in particular the formulation of Article IV which regulates trade in Appendix II species. Implementation of Article IV was therefore entirely dependent upon the political will and implementation capability of the exporting states.

It soon became apparent, however, that this complete autonomy of the states was leading to unsustainable levels of trade in these species and that many were becoming threatened with extinction. As more and more species became eligible for inclusion on Appendix I, the entire raison d’etre of the Convention became subject to debate since it appeared to be an elaborate administrative arrangement for overseeing the process of extinction.

This led to unilateral actions by some states to ban imports of species which they considered to be over-exploited. While such actions are authorized by Article XIV of the Convention, they resulted in resentment on the part of exporting states and it became clear that the parties needed to agree upon an acceptable method of ensuring that the provisions of Article IV were effectively implemented.

As a result, at the eighth Conference of the Parties in Kyoto in 1992, the parties adopted a Resolution which established what became known as the significant trade process. In this process, the CITES Secretariat contracts expert reviews of trade data and biological characteristics of species listed on Appendix II in order to determine whether the levels being traded are inconsistent with viability of the species.

Where problems are found, the CITES Animals Committee makes recommendations for rectification and the Secretariat notifies the Management Authority of the exporting country of the need to respond to these recommendations. Where the exporting state fails to take remedial action, the Standing Committee of the Convention can recommend that the other states either refuse to import a particular species from the state or suspend all trade with it.

The introduction of this system of sanctions has resulted in improved effectiveness of the Convention since economic considerations of the potential impact of a loss of trade revenue has led many states to improve their systems for the control and monitoring of trade in wild species. For some states, where cost factors had hindered implementation, the system has also resulted in improved access to funding for the enhancement of their technical and administrative capacity to comply with Convention regulations.

In recent years the Convention has been criticized by some as being too protectionist in nature. This criticism has been leveled by pro-trade activists who view the wild animals and plants found in particular nations as natural resources to be exploited in the same manner as mineral or other resources.

However, as illegal trade in wildlife proliferates fuelled by burgeoning demand for exotic species and their body parts, and as habitat loss daily drives more wild species to the brink of extinction, environmentalists have also questioned the effectiveness of this treaty.

The validity of these concerns are given credence by the fact that the elaborate and costly administrative arrangements set up under the Convention addresses only one threat to the survival of our wild flora and fauna. Moreover, in attempting to address this threat, the Convention is circumscribed by both the same implicit view of wild flora and fauna as resources to be exploited, albeit in a controlled manner, as well as by the very principles of autonomous resource use on which the treaty was founded.

Columnists Needed !!

2006-07-11T15:10:00.000-04:00

If anyone is interested in gaining invaluable experience as a writer then we would like to offer them a unique opportunity through our forum to publish a column. You are free to write about anything you wish and there is no deadline or timetable to submit your articles. We have invited several local and international newspapers to visit our site so this may be a chance for aspiring writers/reporters to showcase their creative talents and skills.

If you or anyone you know are interested in this exciting opportunity then please let us know at jono@mittelholzer.org

"ONE PEOPLE, ONE NATION, ONE DESTINY".

An invitation to all Guyanese

2006-07-08T14:59:00.000-04:00

An invitation to all Guyanese

WE INVITE all Guyanese to visit and participate in shaping the future of Guyana together.

The Mittelholzer Foundation (http://www.mittelholzer.org/forum/) is an online forum designed to bring all Guyanese together. We want to facilitate discussions on how we can move forward from blaming different ethnicities and political parties for the current state of affairs to building a united nation, filled with promise and equal opportunity.

It is through an examination of our cultural and literary history that we become aware of the pain and suffering of our ancestors as they fought for freedom and Independence.

It is under the spirit of Guyana’s greatest novelist that we, members of the Mittelholzer family, have organized this internet site for all Guyanese to participate. We offer a full range of free services designed to market and promote all aspects of Guyanese culture. It our most fervent hope and prayer that each of you will visit our site and utilize our services such as a public forum and chat room to come together and create a better future for Guyana.

Edgar Mittelholzer (1909-1965) remains a national symbol of Guyana, writing not as one ethnicity or another, but rather as a “Guyanese” whose social consciousness compelled him to critique the injustices prevalent within society.

It is our belief at the Mittelholzer Foundation,
(http://www.mittelholzer.org/forum/) non-partisan and civic organization that there is no greater injustice today than the one we are doing to ourselves by harbouring the hatred we feel towards one another simply because of one’s ethnicity or social standing.

Our first project will be to facilitate a discussion between the heads of each political party. We have already extended an invitation to all political leaders to clearly state their various ideologies or political stances on issues.

We encourage you to submit your questions and concerns to the various leaders/parties via our website including rampant crime, poverty, handicapped kids, safer streets, drug/crime prevention, better sports facilities, and reliable electricity.

Our second project will be to republish the literary works of Guyana's greatest novelist and one of the most important literary figures of Caribbean literature, Edgar Mittelholzer, because we believe that while there are many differences that may exist between Guyanese, our culture is something that should be a unifying force and that it should also make us proud of who we are.

Mittelholzer’s Guyanese and Caribbean novels were published over a period of 19 years, from Corentyne Thunder (1941) to Eltonsbrody (1960).

We look forward to participating with you in Guyana’s future.

THE MITTELHOLZER FOUNDATION
(http://www.mittelholzer.org/forum/)

Fear of the Future

2006-07-07T11:35:00.000-04:00

Being With Uncertainty
DailyOM

Though much human fear is based on uncertainty, foreknowledge does not always ease the mind. It is often when our futures look brightest that our resolve crumbles and we veer off course. We can recognize that success is on the horizon, but we cannot discern how it will impact our lives. Because success can affect us in complex and unpredictable ways, taking us out of the status quo and pushing us into new circumstances that test our limits, the mere idea of attaining the life of our dreams can shake us to the core. Fear of the future is often closely intermingled with the fear that growing into your own potential will both change you irrevocably and force you to face situations that you aren't ready for. It is normal to unconsciously project ahead into the future and see success as a great weight bearing down on you. It is important to remember, however, that all the life changes the future will bring will be implemented into your life slowly and gradually.

When we visualize the future, we tend to focus on outcomes rather than the steps we will take to reach those conclusions. Thus, we may forget that growth is progressive. Your soul longs to fulfill its purpose-a purpose you agreed to in the timelessness in which you existed before your birth. Because of this, neither you nor the universe will set any circumstance before you that you are not capable of handling. Fear of the future can paralyze you, preventing you from living in the moment and from working toward your goals in a mindful manner. The key to conquering this fear lies in awareness. When you can identify the irrational thoughts that frighten you, you can replace them with logical, self-affirming ideas. If you are afraid that you won't be satisfied when you accomplish a certain goal, remember that no one achievement represents an end in and of itself. And if you fear recognition or feel unworthy, consider that even now you are deserving of praise.

Should fear of the future strike you as you strive to create, to excel, to grow, and to evolve, assert your courage. Assume that your fear is based on a false assumption and quell it with facts. Try to disregard past patterns and focus on the present by stilling the inner voice that comments critically on all you do. Tell yourself that the inevitability of your success is based not on luck or a universal mistake but on your already established talents, drive, imagination, and inner strength. Each time you overcome your fear of the future, you chip away at its very foundations. Eventually, you will clear a gap through which you can gaze upon the future with unhindered optimism.

http://www.dailyom.com/

2006-06-29T15:21:00.000-04:00

28-06-2006

Mr. Thompson has tripped himself up in his attempt to defame me

Dear Editor,

I, Faye Elizabeth Ann Alleyne, formerly Fraser, am trying to decide whether to continue to be hilariously amused or just outraged at Mr. Hubert Orin Stanislaus Thompson's 2000 word response to my letter of Sunday June 25 in which I sought to put him in a good light and dispel the public certainty that he was the supposedly anonymous source of the leak of confidential NIS information.

I have decided to put off the decision for a week to allow the sediment to settle but would like to take a moment of your time to correct a few inaccuracies contained in his letter which otherwise faithfully reproduced most of the statements he made during our very cordial conversation and which very effectively corroborated what I reported of our conversation in my letter. Except that I put a bit of a spin on it to make him look good in the eyes of the public.

I will first briefly detour to respond to the editorial note appended to my letter. I at no time asked anyone at the Stabroek News about their source nor would I have done so, though I and three other persons did call to ask who had written the article. On all but the last occasion a name not Mr. Earle’s was mentioned, and when I directly asked Mr. Earle, whose work incidentally especially on environmental matters I admire tremendously, whether he had written the article, he said “I can’t remember if I wrote that one.”

I responded “What do you mean you can’t remember? Writing an article is like giving birth. You’re not likely to forget it.” He then said “I write so many things”. This is true and he writes them all very well indeed and I’m sure he’s forgotten that he very cautiously never actually said “Yes, I wrote it.” In fact his gift of capturing the essence of a personality that he interviews is ironically what led to identification of the source. Sorry Johann, some people are gifted with a photographic memory. All I ended up with was the auditory kind and it is seldom a blessing I assure you.

I had hoped my last letter would also be the last time I would have to publicly address the issue since I officially withdrew, to my financial detriment, as of May 1 from my ancillary position as one of two public information consultants affiliated to the consulting (not international) agency which was hired to educate the public about the project and I am no longer therefore being either paid to, or expected to, defend or promote the project and am not, for that matter, authorized to do so either.

I should first make it clear that my withdrawal from this vital development project does not in any way indicate a withdrawal of my commitment to its successful fruition but was occasioned primarily by the fact that it became fashionable for attempts to scuttle the project to be redirected into attempts to scuttle me and my good name especially since some felt that my very vocal 24/7 support and defence of it was a betrayal of the ‘side’.

I’ve foregone two months of income because I was forced into an unscheduled withdrawal and I don’t appreciate having to waste further time responding to unjustified attacks in the newspaper but Mr. Thompson’s letter proves that he is very fashion-conscious indeed and I could not possibly let his defamation attempt go undefended.

As to what side I was supposed to be letting down I am still unsure since the only side I ever committed myself to was called Guyana and I have a feeling she may approve of my efforts to foster her development by whatever means necessary.

I was equipped with some very valuable skills at a high cost by the Hoyte administration and I will forever be grateful for that training but if anyone assumes that I was therefore honour bound to refrain from supporting the development efforts of any other administration they would be making a very fundamental mistake.

The focus of the training which I and nine others received was the creation of some well-programmed functionaries who were equipped with the skills and commitment to get past the obfuscatory hindrances of party politics and ‘civil service traditional methodology’ and get things done. Most details of this unique training programme are available in an article which I wrote for the Stabroek News at their request in October 2004.

We were incidentally also trained by a former Secretary to the Treasury who was so quietly efficient and capable both at his job and at imparting the fruits of his knowledge and experience that we voted him “Best Lecturer” out of a field of the very best professionals Guyana had to offer at the time. It was the memory of this humble Indian man whom we fondly referred to as “ST” that partly caused me to so empathize with Mr. HOS Thompson during our conversation.

Also, as he almost accurately mentioned, I’d known the frustration of what it was like to walk in his shoes and have one’s skills and best efforts discounted and ignored for years by a less knowledgeable person and the experience was shared by many of my much more skilled friends.

I don’t recall saying “wicked person” but it is not outside the bounds of possibility that I might have said so when we had gotten to the “buddy pals together” part of our conservation. Old slights run deep though I had spent my life working according to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act and would not have dreamed of running to the press for revenge and on the contrary had defended the person’s interests to the last for many years. Often lying through my teeth about their competence. Yes I am capable of lying when it serves a higher purpose.

It is said that no good deed goes unpunished and both the editor’s note appended to my letter and Mr. HOS Thompson’s response would appear to bear this out. A wise person also told me recently in more colloquial terms that “is kindness make crapaud loss he tail”. It was the first time I’d heard the expression so I’m not sure if the word was tail. It might have been watch or something similar but Mr. Fenty of “Words of Wisdom” fame would be able to correct me on that.

It subsequently turned out that the person was not very well acquainted with the concept but I have not so far been informed that kindness is now a banned commodity, the public proferrence of which should immediately lead to unjustified attempts at defamation.

I do apologize to Mr. HOS Thompson for trying to be kind to him and I assure him I will try my best to ensure it does not happen again but I object to the harsh nature of the punishment he meted out. Mr. Hubert Orin Stanislaus Thompson says that I misrepresented the views he expressed in our conversation. I did. Deliberately.

Since my purpose was to be kind to him I thought it would be inappropriate to state that he had expressed pure venom towards his superiors at the NIS in almost the same breath in which he boasted of the wonderful send off which he had been given by the organization. A venom which he now attempts to attribute to me.

As for my claiming to have worked in various countries and to be an “international expert” hired by an “international agency” I do not recall making such statements.

I do recall admitting that my services had been engaged by a consulting agency and also stating, in response to his continuous boasting about what an expert he is, that I was not exactly a neophyte who would have been unable to understand the confidential data which had been provided about the project, and which I had studied carefully, since I was trained in Economics, in Law and in what I usually understatedly refer to as Administration for want of a more suitable term to describe the multi-faceted training which I received courtesy of Mr. Hoyte’s vision.

I also mentioned that I had once had the good fortune while living in Barbados to be allowed by the ILO to spend several months undertaking for them a comprehensive review of the details of the Barbados fiscal system over a forty-year period for their purpose of constructing a model of how a small open economy should function.

Mr. Thompson says that “I have found Ms. Alleyne’s accounts of our discussion in this and previous articles very dishonest”. I am inclined to object strongly to this since I am not in the habit of being accused of being dishonest as anyone who ever taught me in school or worked with me or was even served as a customer by me in my salad years would be able to testify.

In fact, when I left the convent school which I attended as a teenager, my Headmistress Sister Hazel Anthony Campayne, (since we’re into full names here) even stressed this aspect of my character in a recommendation which brought tears to my eyes since I was always up to some mischief and thought I didn’t even deserve one.

She had noted however that I never lied about my misdeeds (which included being caught smoking in the garbage dump) and never tried to cast blame or implicate my confederates, often falsely claiming that I had committed the offences all by myself. Incidentally my confederates and I had learned from precedent that the garbage dump was the only safe place where no one would dream of searching for us. There is no privacy in a convent school. We had forgotten that the evidence lingers.

I would have felt no need to tape the conversation with Mr. HOS Thompson since I had called on April 2 only to ask the esteemed NIS Financial Controller if it was true that he had indeed resigned. A very pleasant lady said that he was out and suggested a time for me to call back. And incidentally he did not rush to correct the wrong assumption in the manner in which he claimed that he did but tried to say that it was not so incorrect to say so since he “had the option to continue because the NIS retirement age is 60 as opposed to the civil service’s 55.

In his cowardly rush to splash the venomous intent of his letter onto me Mr. Thompson has forgotten one significant fact. There were no “previous articles” in which I mentioned him. My scathing previous letter referred only to a cowardly “anonymous source”.

It would have been much simpler for all concerned if he had sent this signed account of his views to the newspaper in late March and pre-empted the unfortunate article.

As for my asking if anything would make him change his views I was simply referring to his stubborn and foolish insistence that he had seen and studied all the relevant data when it was patently obvious that he had not. I would hope that he’s not playing do-for-do and now trying to accuse me of offering him a bribe. Fire away, Mr. HOS Thompson. Mr. Hoyte chose his weapons well before he sharpened them. On that score you will not find a single living soul, or dead one either, to support you. In my youth I once worked in an environment where bribery was the order of the day but no one even hinted at one with me. That was a bit unfair and I’ve often wondered why. My indeterminate ethnicity perhaps? This is Guyana after all, colour matters.

As for his attempts to cozy up to competent professionals who may have made mistaken prognoses due to the unavailability to the public of complete information on the project, I don’t think they much like cowards.

I think it would be appropriate at this point to say “enough is enough”. I need to allow Mr. Thompson to best me at length of letter. (I’m still behind). It’s called saving face I think.

Yours faithfully,

Elizabeth Alleyne

Pictures in our heads

2006-06-27T17:20:00.000-04:00

Stabroek News

Bookshelf

Pictures in our heads

By F E Alleyne

Sunday, June 25th 2006

(Special Thanks to Elizabeth for her permission to republish this insightful article !!)

For America, the last decade of the twentieth century not only saw a proliferation of the use of new communication technologies but also witnessed the rise of multiculturalism as ethnic communities and new immigrants resisted the earlier normative goal of assimilation into mainstream American society and attempted to retain disparate cultural identities.

Dr Vibert Cambridge's book, Immigration, Diversity and Broadcasting in the United States, 1990-2001, examines how the American broadcasting industry has responded to this increasingly diverse society.

The book is meant to contribute to a clearer understanding of the nexus between immigration, race and broadcasting and in particular attempts to show how "broadcasting in the United States has responded to the changing racial and ethnic composition of the society," and to highlight the patterns of these responses and the functions they serve.

The author is particularly well qualified to undertake this analysis as he is not only a communications scholar but also an immigrant and member of an ethnic minority.

Dr Cambridge employs several research methods for this analysis, including evaluation of relevant government documents and corporate reports, examination of museum material and, crucially, in-depth interviews with industry professionals, focus groups and audiences. The findings of the study are placed in their theoretical context and the work also incorporates a brief history of immigration to the United States.

As the author notes, the period from 1820 to 1997 saw the settlement of almost 64 million immigrants to the US through processes which he describes as "colonisation, coercion and immigration." This number excludes those who were termed "illegal immigrants" after the imposition of laws intended originally to exclude certain ethnic groups and eventually serving to limit all immigration.

Immigration to the US occurred in four waves, with the last wave representing the period 1965 to the present. While the nation itself was founded by immigrants, the fourth wave had perhaps the most visible impact upon the diversity of the nation since it included large numbers of immigrants from southern regions who contributed to the "browning of America." This wave also encompassed "trans-national immigrants" who relocated to the US for employment purposes but retained cultural and identifying links to their home territories.

Mass communication theory in the United States has evolved through various eras in which the societal impact of the mass media has been differently interpreted depending upon the research methodology employed, but the power of the mass media to define reality was recognised as early as the 1920s when the political commentator Walter Lippmann used the phrase "pictures in our heads" to describe the process.

This defining role was again highlighted by studies over 1929-1933 which found that film causes major changes in behaviour, beliefs and ethnic relations. Viewers who were shown films in which particular ethnic groups were portrayed in a positive manner retained positive feelings towards the group, for instance.

Main-stream mass media, particularly radio and television, traditionally portrayed minorities and immigrants in negative stereotypical roles and the author chronicles the historical attempts by these communities to counter this by producing their own media content.

It was not until the 1960s, however, that concerted societal attempts were made to challenge the dominant ideology of the mass media. Changes in immigration laws in the 1960s which removed discriminatory restrictions coincided with the acceleration of the civil rights movement, and calls were made for more inclusion and particularly for fairer representation of blacks and other minorities by the broadcasting industry. These demands led to a more normative view of the industry's role and spawned both legislation and initiatives by public interest groups.

One significant piece of legislation that emerged was the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 which established statutory public broadcasting entities and legally constrained them to provide programming for America's diversity.

During this period also, the societal impact of the industry was investigated by the President's National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorder, the Kerner Commission, whose 1968 report found that the media's distorted portrayal of minorities had fostered and supported discrimination and marginalization.

The consequent evolution of the complex system of the broadcasting industry towards diversity goals is charted by the author and consists of an inter-related mix of legislation, technological advancements and community initiatives.

By the last decade of the century the picture of American society portrayed by the industry is a composite one that is altered by the industry sector through which it is viewed, but is one in which the society's diverse elements are no longer completely obscured by the ethnocentrism of dominant societal elements.

The libertarian founding principle of the industry continued to contradictorily foster concentration of ownership which places command of nodal points of the system into the hands of a dwindling number of behemoth corporations which exert tremendous influence at both the national and global levels and which, through increasing vertical integration, control both the infrastructure and products of the industry.

These companies are inclined by their profit motive towards homogeneity of media content, but minority communities are increasingly being targeted as markets, especially by cable companies, and are therefore becoming more visible though this representation is often subject to an emulsifying process whereby smaller numbers of some nationalities become subsumed into larger groupings.

Societal and legislative pressures have also resulted in efforts to represent diversity in hiring practices. In this latter arena success has thus far been limited with minorities either confronting only partially permeable glass ceilings or being employed primarily on the periphery of the industry with few penetrating the nave.

As Dr Cambridge illustrates, America's diversity is best represented in the arena of public broadcasting and especially in the community broadcasting sector. Non-commercial public television is still constrained by several factors including the need to access funding, but the sector's programming has made great strides towards its legally mandated goal of filling the needs of a diverse society and there is increasing evidence of the representation of minorities in the hiring of key professionals.

In the community, or public access, sector minorities are making increasing use of public access television channels, radio and the internet and the latter has made possible linkages between even the most marginalized communities.

In diversity programming this sector remains the most dynamic since it allows minorities to effectively make their own content.

Dr Cambridge contends that American broadcasting is responding to the needs of the new multicultural "universal nation" but that there continues to be overall disparity of access and this detracts from the "effectiveness of the American public sphere."

He has also shown, however, that the nexus of the tri-partite relationship has spawned the beginning of a "global public sphere" as immigrants to the United States increasingly engage in a plurality of existence and commitment as they function not only within the American environment but also as actively participating citizens of their sending countries and of the geographically disparate regional diasporas to which they become allied.

This is a meticulously researched and thought-provoking work that paints a pointillistic picture of the neural network that is modern American society and presents often conflicting signposts about the direction in which it is headed. It repays serious contemplation and should especially be explored by non-American readers who are on the receiving end of the media products that constitute American 'soft power' and that often act as a 'pull factor' in influencing migration.

Policy makers in sending societies would also find this book particularly useful given what it reveals about the potential to harness the contributions of their diasporas to national "public spheres" through effective use of existing communication channels.

Becoming Your Wrong Decisions

2006-06-26T16:33:00.000-04:00

You Are Who You Are, Not What You Do
DailyOM

Our perception of the traits and characteristics that make us who we are is often tightly intertwined with how we live our life. We define ourselves in terms of the roles we adopt, our actions and inactions, our triumphs, and what we think are failures. As a result it is easy to identify so strongly with a decision that has resulted in unexpected negative consequences that we actually become that "wrong" decision. The disappointment and shame we feel when we make what we perceive as a mistake grows until it becomes a dominant part of our identities. We rationalize our "poor" decisions by labeling ourselves incompetent decision-makers. However, your true identity cannot be defined by your choices. Your essence-what makes you a unique entity-exists independently of your decision-making process.

There are no true right or wrong decisions. All decisions contribute to your development and are an integral part of your evolving existence yet they are still separate from the self. A decision that does not result in its intended outcome is in no way an illustration of character. Still, it can have dire effects on our ability to trust ourselves and our self-esteem. You can avoid becoming your decisions by affirming that a "bad decision" was just an experience, and next time you can choose differently. Try to avoid lingering in the past and mulling over the circumstances that led to your perceived error in judgment. Instead, adapt to the new circumstances you must face by considering how you can use your intelligence, inner strength, and intuition to aid you in moving forward more mindfully. Try not to entirely avoid thinking about the choices you have made, but reflect on the consequences of your decision from a rational rather than an emotional standpoint. Strive to under! stand why you made the choice you did, forgive yourself, and then move forward.

A perceived mistake becomes a valuable learning experience and is, in essence, a gift to learn and grow from. You are not a bad person and you are not your decisions; you are simply human.

Balancing Self With Family Life

2006-06-23T08:54:00.000-04:00

Complementary Energies
DailyOM

Many of us have a hard time balancing taking care of ourselves with taking care of our family responsibilities. For people with young children, this can be especially challenging, but even people without children have obligations to care for extended family, partners, pets, and the home in which they live. It's easy to lose track of our own needs as we give ourselves to the people, pets, and places we love. However, it is essential to their well-being that we take care of ourselves, filling our own wells with water so that we have something to offer when we return home each day.

It is easy to get caught up in the demands of home life because they never stop. There is always one more thing you can do, another dish in the sink, a counter that needs wiping, or a person who needs a ride somewhere. If you don't set some boundaries, you will find yourself on an endless journey of housework and doing for others. Eventually, you will probably feel drained and out of touch with your inner life force. Instead of waiting for this to happen, integrate self-care into your daily schedule. Even Buddha insisted that he have one hour completely to himself every day. There are times when even that will not be possible-for example, with a new baby or a sick relative. At times like this, retreating inward energetically can be a lifesaver. You can always find five minutes to close your eyes and breathe consciously. You may even be able to meditate.

Most of the time, though, it is possible to set aside a full hour for yourself each day. In addition, scheduling a longer interval of time, perhaps on a weekly basis, can really help to restore your energy. Get a massage or go to a movie or out with a friend. Taking time to experience the world outside of your home makes returning home all the more wonderful. In the same way, taking care of yourself is a natural complement to taking care of your home and family.

Guyanese Film Festival

2006-06-23T08:46:00.000-04:00

A JULY-4 WEEKEND
Celebrating Guyanese
Films & Videos

RESERVE YOUR SEATS NOW!

The Guyana Cultural Association, producers of the annual Guyana Folk Festival,announces its inaugural international Guyanese Film & Video Festival to celebrate cinematic achievement in films and video in short format, feature-length dramatic or documentary projects with at least one Guyanese or a person of Guyanese heritage in a key creative role (Director, Producer, Writer, Lead Actor, etc.

The festival organizers understand and seek to promote that the cinematic form has been and will continue to be a universal voice with a global language which can be used to educate while entertaining. Therefore the Guyana Film Festival’s vision is to promote, celebrate and honor the craft of filmmaking that seek to promote Guyanese history, culture, experience and heritage using film, video and new media.

This year and for the next few years the main emphasis will be to showcase and honor film and video projects by pioneers over the years in Guyana. Annually a pioneer Guyanese filmmaker will be saluted and their work screened at the opening gala, while emerging and established filmmakers of Guyanese heritage will have their work showcased during the festival. The festival will close with the screening of a select short and feature project (narrative or documentary) of emerging filmmakers.

The three-day event will kick off with screening of this year pioneer inductee’s film. Over the rest of the festival works of emerging filmmakers will be screened along with panel discussions and workshops.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.mittelholzer.org

or

http://www.guyfolk.org

Writers of history in the nineteenth century

2006-06-22T20:09:00.000-04:00

History This Week No. 25/2006

By Arlene Munro

Thursday, June 22nd 2006

When the British gained control of the colonies of Demerary-Essequibo and Berbice in 1796 several British expatriates came to the colony of British Guiana to work in various capacities. Among these were George Pinckard, Thomas Staunton St. Clair, Henry Bolingbroke, Robert Schomburgk, Rev. Edwin Wallbridge, and Rev. Henry V. P. Bronkhurst. These men were professionals and wrote about their journeys and experiences in British Guiana. Their books are a valuable source of information on the social and economic life of the colonies during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and are written from a Eurocentric perspective. At that point of history, books were written by Europeans whose social position and financial resources enabled them to publish books. The coloured masses were still labouring in the canefields.

George Pinckard was born in 1768 in Northamptonshire and studied medicine in London, then at Edinburgh and Leyden. He graduated in 1792. He became a licentiate of the College of Physicians of London in September 1794. In October 1795 he was appointed a doctor to the British Expeditionary Force and sailed for the West Indies with Sir Ralph Abercromby. Pinckard arrived in Demerara on April 21, 1796. He resided in Demerara and Berbice until May 1797 and wrote several letters which became the foundation of his book Letters from Guiana. He returned to England in 1797 visiting Martinique, Jamaica and St. Domingue on his homeward journey.

The result of his travels in the West Indies was the publication of a book entitled notes on the West Indies in 1806. In 1798 he served as a physician during the rebellion in Ireland. Consequently, he was appointed Deputy-General of Hospitals. He also served in the Duke of York's expedition to the Helder.

Subsequently, he founded the Bloomsbury Dispensary in London. He died on May 15, 1835. His book, Letters from Guiana, is a source of historical information on British Guiana at the end of the eighteenth century.

Sir Robert Schomburgk was born in Prussian Saxony on June 5, 1804. He travelled to the United States in 1828 then to Anegada in the Virgin Islands in 1829. He took the opportunity to survey the island and submitted a report to the Royal Geographical Society in London. The Geographical Society was so impressed by the report that it commissioned Robert Schomburgk to explore British Guiana from 1835 to 1839. As a result of these journeys he published Travels in the Interior of British Guiana, 1835-1839. In 1841 he was commissioned by the British Government to survey the colony and to fix the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela. This boundary which was known as the 'Schomburgk Line' was recognized from 1841 to 1895. In 1840 he published in London A Description of British Guiana. He also wrote several articles for the Royal Geographical Society. After completing his work he returned to England where he was knighted in 1844. He died in Berlin in 1865 after retiring from public service the previous year.

Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Staunton St. Clair was another expatriate who wrote a book about British Guiana. The date of his birth is unknown but it appears that he was born in the penultimate decade of the eighteenth century. He studied in Edinburgh. His father arranged for him to be given an ensign's commission in the First or Royals which was under the command of the Duke of Kent.

In 1805 Thomas Staunton St. Clair joined the 1st battalion which was appointed for service in British Guiana. He arrived in Demerara on 3rd January 1806. He left Guiana on 9th June 1808 and returned to Britain. In 1809 he and his expedition went to Walcheren. Subse-quently, he served under Wellington in Portugal, Spain and France. He also worked in Gibraltar and Ireland. His book on Guiana was written several years after his departure from this country. It is entitled A Soldier's Sojourn in British Guiana and was published in 1834. It is a source of valuable information on the forts of British Guiana.

Henry Bolingbroke wrote A Voyage to Demerary and it was published in 1807. His book gives a description of the town of Stabroek, the slave trade and the Amerindians. There is a paucity of information on Henry Bolingbroke. He was born in 1785 and came to Demerara to work as a Deputy Vendue Marshal in January 1799. He returned to his country in 1806. He served as the Deputy Vendue Master in Suriname, 1807-1813 and died in 1855 in Norwich, England.

Rev. Edwin Angel Wallbridge was born on the Isle of Wight. He was ordained a Congregational Minister before he was assigned to work in British Guiana in 1842. The Smith Congregational Church was constructed under his supervision as a memorial to Rev. John Smith who, twenty years earlier, was wrongly sentenced to death for inciting the 1823 slave insurrection. Rev. Smith died in prison as the result of a serious illness.

Rev. Wallbridge wrote a book about this injustice entitled Smith, the Demerara Martyr. He was also the editor of a periodical entitled The Monthly Messenger. He did not support Church Establishment or the policy of immigration. He wrote several articles in which he condemned them. He participated in activities sponsored by the Reading Room and supported the annual colonial exhibitions. Rev. Wallbridge died in 1876.

Rev. Henry Valentine Peter Bronkhurst was a Wesleyan minister of religion. He was born in 1836 to a Dutch father and an Indian mother and received his early education in Ceylon. On becoming a minister, he was assigned to work among the East Indians in British Guiana by the United Kingdom Wesleyan Missionary Society. He arrived in the colony in 1860 to replace another missionary who had died. At first he served as a lay teacher and was subsequently ordained in British Guiana. His knowledge of the Indian language enabled him to serve as a Tamil interpreter and to teach both English and Tamil to children at a school in Lacytown. Rev. Bronkhurst's knowledge of Sanskrit, Syriac, and Hebrew was gained while he was resident in India and Palestine. In 1881 he published a book entitled The Origin of the Guiana Indians. The Colony of British Guiana and Its Labouring Population was published in 1883 and this was the most valuable of his historical writings. A Descriptive and Historical Geography of British

Guiana and the West Indies was published in 1890. Rev. Bronkhurst died in British Guiana on the 17th July 1895.

Many expatriates came to British Guiana to work during the nineteenth century and wrote books about their experiences in the colony. At that time the majority of the masses did not have the social position or the finances to publish books of their own.

Some of them were not literate in the English language. Consequently, the majority of the books, which were published, were the writings of European expatriates. These books are a valuable secondary source of historical information on British Guiana for students of History and all persons who are interested in Guyana's colonial past.

Stabroek News

Working Through Transitions

2006-06-22T19:36:00.000-04:00

Permission To Simply Be
DailyOM

The elation we feel when we have learned an important lesson, achieved a goal, or had a big breakthrough can sometimes be met with a period of downtime afterward. During this period of transition, we may feel unsure and not know where to turn next. Many people, during the pause between achievements, begin to wonder what their life is about. These feelings are common and strike everyone from time to time. Human beings are active creatures-we feel best when we are working on a project or vigorously pursuing a goal. But there is nothing inherently wrong with spending a day, a week, or even a month simply existing and not having a plan. Just be. It won't be long before you embark upon your next voyage of growth and discovery.

The quiet lull into we which we fall between ideas, projects, and goals can make life seem empty. After accomplishing one objective, you may want to move immediately on to the next. However, when your next step is unclear, you may feel frustrated, disconnected, or even a mild depression. You may even perceive your lack of forward momentum as an indicator of imminent stagnation. To calm these distressing thoughts, try to accept that if your intent is personal growth, you will continue to grow as an individual whether striving for a specific objective or not. Spending time immersed in life's rigors and pleasures can be a cathartic experience that gives you the time you need to think about what you have recently gone through and leisurely contemplate what you wish to do next. You may also find that in simply being and going through the motions of everyday life, you reconnect with your priorities in a very organic, unforced way.

The mindful transitional pause can take many forms. For some, it can be a period of reflection that helps them understand how their life has unfolded. For others, it can be a period of adjustment, where new values based on recent changes are integrated into daily life. Just because you're not headed swiftly to a final destination doesn't mean you should assume that you have lost your drive. The stage between journeys can become a wonderful period of relaxation that prepares you for the path that will soon be revealed to you.

The Mittelholzer Foundation

2006-06-22T17:36:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone,

Under the spirit of encouraging national unity and preserving our culture we have launched a website called the Mittelholzer Foundation. Since we feel that all forums are only as good as their visitors, we would like to encourage everyone to join and participate.

Features of our site will eventually include:

Archives of rare pictures, historical journals and essays.

Free Online Classified

Free Community Cooperative

Gallery of hundreds of old and new pictures of Guyana

Free Event Listing

A Chat room

An assortment of arcade style games (including a cool cricket game !!)

Private Messaging

And much, much more ...

And hopefully an area where people can download and upload music

One of the most complete links pages featuring Guyanese and Caribbean sites

Once again, we cannot work on promoting national unity and preserving our history without your participation and as such, I must make a very public and personal plea for people to join and spread the work of our existence...

Main Page - http://mittelholzer.org/

Forum - http://mittelholzer.org/forum/index.php

Thanks,

Jonathan Bratt

jonathanbratt@rogers.com

Friends

2006-06-19T15:34:00.000-04:00

Gifts We Give ourselves
DailyOM

Good friends enrich our lives in so many ways. Through a magical combination of similarities and differences, friends offer us the opportunity to know ourselves as we are and help us grow into who we want to be. Our similarities attract us to each other, comforting us with familiarity when we see ourselves in them. When we are drawn to those we admire, the same recognition is at work, unconsciously acknowledging that these people possess qualities that we ourselves possess. By acting as mirrors, friends help us define who we are by reflecting our selves back to us.

Friends also help us know ourselves through our differences. Differences allow us to see other options and make choices about who we want to be. Sometimes we are drawn to those who appear to be our opposites, and we learn to accept the parts of them we love and the parts of them that don't resonate with us, thus allowing us a valuable learning experience. By expanding our understanding to include others' experiences, friends help us accept others. By understanding when someone's life differs from our own, we can learn about ourselves in contrast. There are times when we see in friends what we don't like about ourselves. That mirror reflection may be hard to take, but a good friend helps us find ways we can change and supports us in that choice.

Part of the joy of friendship is the feeling that we are accepted just the way we are, with no need to change. It is a gift they give us, and one we can give back every day. Ultimately, we choose friends because they make us feel good about ourselves and life. Through tears and difficulties, friends help us find the laughter. When we find those special people who offer us that perfect combination of comfort and stimulus to grow, we are very fortunate. Friends, those wonderful companions that walk with us through life, help us define and refine who we are and who we choose to be every day.

The Mittelholzer Foundation

2006-06-19T03:44:00.000-04:00

Please check out my latest site and current project "The Mittelholzer Foundation" which I hope will be an online community that both brings people together in productive dialogue and works towards preserving our culture. No site or forum is anything without the support of its visitors and as such, I strongly encourage all of you to come and participate in our forum...

The Following are links to the new site:

The Mittelholzer Foundation main page - http://mittelholzer.org/forum/cmps_index.php

The Mittelholzer Foundation Forum - http://mittelholzer.org/forum/index.php

All are welcome and encouraged to participate !!

The New World Journal

2006-06-18T13:04:00.000-04:00

Preserving our literary heritage

October 1964 – January 1967

by Petamber Persaud

GUYANESE periodicals of yesteryear are even more fascinating now that they have been relegated to the archival realm, taking researchers/readers down varied corridors of our past machinations, elucidating, vindicating, incriminating, educating and entertaining.

The NEW WORLD journal comprising 48 fortnightly and two monthly issues was one such periodical that pushed the frontier of magazine production further than its contemporaries, trying to get to the crux of the matter – examining the parameters of a new world, a new Guyanese world after independence in May 1966. A very slim publication, the NEW WORLD was seemingly a complete package, offering news analyses, features, literature, arts and culture sections.

Turning back those pages now, readers will be treated to topical issues of the critical 1960s including essays on sugar, the rice bill, a coalition government, sexual equality, trade unionism, the Moyne Report. Readers could relive debates like the one on art between Philip Moore and Donald Locke. There are features on drama by Francis Farrier, and Ken Corsbie, on the cinema by N. D. Williams, ‘language and literature’ by Jan Carew, culture by Martin Carter, the dilemma of the artist in British Guiana, jazz and thoughts on a National Orchestra. Space was made for short fiction, extract from a novel by Wilson Harris, and poems by Slade Hopkinson, Cyril Dabydeen, Carter, Annette Warren, Edwina Melville, Ian McDonald, Arnold Itwaru, among others.

There are papers on poetry by Walcott, and McDonald; reports on the Third Conference of Caribbean Scholars and Caribbean Writers and Artists Conference; biographical sketches/stories on E. R. Burrowes, Manna Dey, Sparrow, Joe Solomon, and Moses Bhagwan. In the world of sport, readers will get something on Lennox Beckles, boxing by Ivelaw Stevenson, sport with Reds Perreira. And space was made to showcase the art work of Leila Locke, Judith Drayton and Emerson Samuels. All of that was seamlessly packaged in slim volumes, numbering less than two scores and ten pages each.

But that was only part of the magazine – the glorious end products. There was, unfortunately, a downside to the story that is instructive to local writers, editors and publishers. Martin Carter, in a letter introducing the journal, stated, ‘the editor and the contributors, I know, are well aware of the high death rate of magazine. But at least they can console themselves with the thought that in order for something to die, it first had to be alive’. Some 28 months and 50 issues later, the editors of NEW WORLD stated, ‘this is the last issue…we apologise to our readers for late publication, our first failure in this respect. It is due largely to the same difficulties which led to our decision to close’. Some of those difficulties included high cost for printing, soliciting and servicing subscribers, distributions to local and overseas bookshops, poor sales and limited market, and in respect to this particular journal, to maintain the standard set, full time management was required. Above all, note must be made of the following statement by the journal’s editor, David DeCaires, admitting that ‘the economics of producing a small magazine are basically unsound; therefore, the magazine was never on a sound financial footing’.

Lesson learnt, David DeCaires (and his associates) avoided that shortcoming in establishing a successful daily newspaper, Stabroek News, progressing gradually from a weekly.

The NEW WORLD series of publications came out of the New World Group which was formed ‘at a time when Guyana was going through a period of great social and political upheaval’ of the 1960s. The group was formalised after many informal meetings of young Guyanese professionals interested in political and social analysis, a young brigade shunning philistinism for a new world of debate and dialogue. Those informal meetings were centred around Lloyd Best who came to Guyana in 1960 under the auspices of the United Nations to advise the Cheddi Jagan Government on setting up a planning unit.

‘In an attempt to grapple with the situation, the Group, produced the first and one of the most important issues of the NEW WORLD in 1963’, which was an attempt to promote a coalition government. The main article was written by Best in association with Miles Fitzpatrick’, a lawyer who was previously a senior member of the PPP.

NEW WORLD was intended to be an independent journal combating philistinism with objective analysis. Carter was in support for such a policy, ‘in our present condition few things can be as important as objectivity’. There was a need for such a magazine and NEW WORLD effectively fulfilled its mandate; opting to close when it couldn’t maintain its high standard.

Good literature, good literature with universal appeal will surface again and again, so it was no surprise when the NEW WORLD series of journals were reprinted into one great reference book.

Sources:

* Interview with David DeCaires, June 9, 2006, Georgetown, Guyana.

* Material supplied by DeCaires

* Available copies of NEW WORLD in the National Library.

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com

Guyana Chronicle

Fathers

2006-06-17T11:13:00.000-04:00

Providing Support
DailyOM

The idea of fatherhood is both personal and universal. We all have ideal concepts surrounding fatherhood, and we also have our real fathers-fathers who were there or not there for us, fathers who provided financial support for our families or failed to do so, fathers who loved or neglected us, fathers who were our role models or gave us someone to rebel against. Our father may have been there for us sometimes and not there for us at other times. The process of reconciling the ideal father that resides in our minds with the father that we actually have is a fertile one that can teach us a great deal about ourselves.

Our relationship with our father will often affect our relationships with the other men who will come into our lives. You may have learned to behave and think in certain ways because those were the ways that your father acted and thought. Certain talents that you possess may have been passed down to you by your father. There also may be personal issues that you inherited by virtue of who your father is. Understanding how your relationship with your father has influenced you can help you better understand yourself and the life that you have created.

In a time when mothers, the sacred feminine, and female energy are being honored, it is important not to forget the importance of fathers. Father energy and mother energy are the two complementary energies necessary to bring a healthy human being to fruition in the world. Many of the ideas surrounding fathers are changing in the wake of more modern parenting styles and the more egalitarian roles that are evolving between the sexes. More men are embodying the mother energy these days, and a woman can provide father energy for her children. Either way, we can all benefit from thinking about our fathers and how they have influenced who we've become and the ways that we walk through this world. Let us remember to honor our fathers.

Using Your Pain To Help Others

2006-06-15T09:37:00.000-04:00

Healing With Hurt
DailyOM

Pain is a fact of being and one that permeates all of our lives to some degree. Since the hurt we feel may be a part of the experiences that have touched us most deeply, we are often loathe to let it go. It is frequently easier to keep our pain at our sides, where it acts as a shield that shelters us from others and gives us an identity-that of victim-from which we can draw bitter strength. However, pain's universality can also empower us to use our hurt to help others heal. Since no pain is any greater or more profound than any other, what you feel can give you the ability to help bring about the recovery of individuals whose hurts are both similar to and vastly different from your own. You can channel your pain into transformative and healing love that aids you in helping individuals on a one-to-one basis and spreading a tide of curative energy throughout the world.

The capacity to heal others evolves naturally within those who are ready to disassociate themselves from their identity as victims. In fact, the simple decision to put aside the pain we have carried is what grants us the strength to redeem that pain through service. There are many ways to use the hurt you feel to help others. Your pain gives you a unique insight into the minds of people who have experienced trauma and heartache. You can draw from the wellspring of strength that allowed you to emerge on the other side of a painful experience and pass that strength to individuals still suffering from their wounds. You may be able to council individuals in need by showing them the coping methods that have helped you survive or simply by offering sympathy. A kinship can develop that allows you to relate more closely with those you are trying to aid and comfort.

Helping others can be a restorative experience that makes your own heart grow stronger. In channeling your pain into compassionate service and watching others successfully recover, you may feel a sense of euphoria that leads to increased feelings of self-worth and optimism. Your courageous decision to reach out to others can be the best way to declare to yourself and the world that your pain didn't defeat you, and in fact it helped you heal.

Kindness

2006-06-14T13:37:00.000-04:00

An Unconditional Gift
DailyOM

In the quest to create a gentler, more loving world, kindness is the easiest tool we can use. Though it is easy to overlook opportunities to be kind, our lives are replete with situations in which we can be helpful, considerate, thoughtful, and friendly to loved ones and associates, as well as strangers. The touching, selfless acts of kindness that have the most profoundly uplifting effects are often the simplest: a word of praise, a gentle touch, a helping hand, a gesture of courtesy, or a smile. Such small kindnesses represent an unconditional, unrestricted form of love that we are free to give or withhold at will. When you give the gift of kindness, whether in the form of assistance, concern, or friendliness, your actions create a beacon of happiness and hope that warms people's hearts.

The components of kindness are compassion, respect, and generosity. Put simply, kindness is the conscious act of engaging others in a positive way without asking whether those individuals deserve to be treated kindly. All living beings thrive on kindness. A single, sincere compliment can turn a person's entire world around. Holding a door or thanking someone who has held a door for you can inspire others to practice politeness and make already kind individuals feel good about their efforts. Smiling at people you meet-even those who make you feel like frowning-can turn a dreary encounter into a delightful one, for both of you. Every kind act has a positive influence on the individual who has performed said act as well as on the recipient, regardless of whether the act is acknowledged. Kindness brings about more kindness and slowly but surely takes a positive toll on humanity.

Weaving the thread of kindness into your everyday life can be as easy as choosing to offer a hearty "Good morning" and "Good night" to your coworkers or neighbors, a stranger on the street, or the grocery store clerk. When you commit a kind act, you are momentarily disconnected from your ego and bonded with the individual who has benefited from your kindness. Being fully present in each moment of your life facilitates kindness as it increases your awareness of the people around you. You'll discover that each act of kindness you engage in makes the world, in some small way, a better place.

Walking Through Your Fear

2006-06-13T13:26:00.000-04:00

Emerging Courageous
DailyOM

The situations, activities, and individuals that frighten us remain static. Their relative intensity does not change. Fear, on the other hand, self-magnifies. It is when you are afraid and envisioning all that might go wrong that the energy underlying your fear grows. A tiny flicker of anxiety can easily develop into a terror that manifests itself physically and eventually paralyzes you into inaction. Though frequently, in walking through that fear, we discover that the strength of our fright was out of synch with reality. And we learn that doing what frightens us can lead to great blessings. Confronting your trepidation head-on will help you accept that few frightening scenarios will ever live up to the negative disasters that we sometimes play out in our minds.

Though fear is literally an evolutionary gift meant to sharpen your senses and energize you during times of great stress, it can nonetheless become a barrier that prevents you from fulfilling your potential by causing you to miss out on rewarding, life-changing experiences. During the period before you face your fear, you may have to deal with a barrage of negative thoughts and emotions. Walking through it, whether your fear is public speaking, taking part in an activity that makes you nervous, or asserting yourself when the odds are against you, may be equally as difficult. But once you have emerged unscathed on the other side, which you will, you will likely wonder why you assumed the worst in the first place. As you spend time worrying about what might happen, it's good to know that your fear probably won't happen at all. It may feel like a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders, and you will likely feel a sense of passionate pride. Walking through your fear can mean taking risks and can require both practice and patience. Since it is challenging to act when you are gripped with fear, start small.

Each step you take into fear will strengthen you and help you confront future fears with poise, courage, and confidence. You will also find that when you are willing to stare your fear in the face, the universe will always offer you some form of aid or support. When you see the heights of accomplishment and personal evolution you can attain when you walk through your fears, your faith in yourself will grow, allowing your next step to be easier.

From Mahdia to LA: Former tomboy vows to do Guyana proud

2006-06-12T14:13:00.000-04:00

The Scene- Scene Stealer

By Oluatoyin Alleyne

Saturday, June 10th 2006

Once upon a time she could have been considered a tomboy. At another time she called herself a scientist, which propelled her into the field of nursing.

Today she is a beauty queen and plans to enjoy every moment of it.

This is the story of newly crowned Miss Guyana Universe, Alana Ernest who leaves Guyana on June 27 to take part in the Miss Universe contest on July 23 in Los Angeles, California.

For Alana, heading to the United States is a long way away from the country girl who grew up in Mahdia.

She says all she can promise is that she will do her best.

When The Scene caught up with Alana she was still basking in having outshone ten other young ladies all of whom she described as being "intelligent and beautiful". Alana and her minders would not allow pictures to be taken of her during the interview, as she was not "looking like a queen" on that day. We beg to differ. Even without the makeup and the crown, she has the beauty queen look, what with her chic suit, long flowing hair, and slim stately body, what more can one ask for?

Okay, we went a little overboard there. She actually needs much more than that to be a 'real' queen, particularly if she wants to place in the final ten at Miss Universe or win the crown.

Alana is a mite too soft spoken. If she intends to be heard at the international pageant she needs to do something about this. Franchise holder, Odinga Lumumba has recognised this and plans to have her work on it.

But back to who the beauty really is. Alana told The Scene that she was born in Mahdia and she enjoyed the natural beauty of her community so much that she was sad to leave when it was time to further her studies.

In those days in Mahdia she loved to climb trees, swim and made numerous trips to the back dam. But she did not go fishing because she hates worms. And remember she is also no lover of chocolate and ice cream, strange but true.

The 23-year-old has numerous adjectives to describe herself, some of which are: friendly, dependable, adorable, hardworking and polite.

At an early age she was packed off to the city where she attended the St Margaret's Primary School but after four years she returned to Mahdia before returning to the city to become a student at the Central High School.

After the secondary school examination she returned to her hometown and applied for several jobs gaining one as a teacher at the Mahdia Secondary School. But even as she taught the children she knew her calling was nursing and was just waiting for the opportunity to skip professions.

And that's what she did one year later when she was accepted at the New Amsterdam Nursing School last November.

But why nursing? Alana said she since was a child she was into scientific programmes as she was fascinated with the body and its parts. There was a television scientist that she admired so much that she sometimes made believe she was in the field. As she got older she realised that the chance of her becoming a scientist was slim to none so she picked the next closest alternative, nursing. At least she would be able to learn the body parts and help to treat the diseases that may affect them. And she will not stop at nursing. Alana would dearly love to study medicine and one day become a doctor.

It may seem a little strange that Alana is now a beauty queen when one considers her childhood. But she revealed that she did a little bit of modelling recently and as a child, like most girls, she and her older sister held mock pageants and crowned each other with paper crowns. And as she got older and it became obvious that she would have a body most women would envy, her sister saw the potential in her and wrangled a promise out of her that she would one day enter a national pageant.

"My sister always reminded me and I remembered, so one day when someone approached me at the school and told me to enter the Miss Guyana Universe pageant, I said no at first but then I remembered the promise to my sister," she said.

She dropped her studies and hotfooted it to the city to be part of the pageant, which may have not been the wisest of choices she admits; she will be required to restart the nursing programme. But she feels the exposure she will garner from her one-year reign would make it worthwhile. And she would also have the opportunity to work on her tuberculosis awareness plan, which she said would be most rewarding. Tuberculosis awareness is her platform.

Alana was part of a historic pageant as for the first time it was held at a fun park - Splashmins on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. Not only that, she also modelled in the rain. The inclement weather that was experienced on Sunday last would have made it not the best of ideas to have the pageant at such a venue, but maybe it was too late to reschedule.

Alana said it was not that bad. "Well the people [patrons] were in the rain and I felt if they were in the rain then I could model for them with some rain wetting me, I felt comfortable with them."

So she may have been a little cold and her teeth may have chattered a bit but she warmed right up when she was named queen.

Four days after the crowning when The Scene caught up with her she was still feeling, "great, ecstatic and excited."

She would probably still have that feeling when she flies out to the US later this month, but before that she would be spending some time with international designer Roger Gary and she would be working on that voice with someone else, Lumumba says.

Lumumba feels that not much work needs to be done on his queen to make her ready for Miss Universe. He says she already has the poise, grace and charm - what it takes to be a queen.

Alana is the fourth of six children, four girls and two boys, and she was born to Justina Polius and Lambert Ernest.

Stabroek News

Youth leader makes great strides

2006-06-12T14:10:00.000-04:00

The Scene

By Iana Seales

Saturday, June 10th 2006

Lisa-Mae James

Lisa-Mae James is the epitome of youthful leadership and though she could easily qualify as a beauty ambassador for Guyana, this final-year University of Guyana student is building a reputation for herself as a serious academic.

The selfless work that she has put in over the years as a volunteer has also set Lisa apart from most young people her age. At 21 years, she sits on the Board of Directors at Lifeline Counselling Services - the youngest member of the board; she is a peer educator and peer counsellor; a member of the University of Guyana History Society, alumni of the Universite des Antilles (French Guiana) and more recently alumni of the University of the Virgin Islands (St Thomas).

To mention that she was named 'most outstanding volunteer' in 2004 and was awarded by President Bharrat Jagdeo might come over as a little too much but she has earned very minute of recognition she gets. Lisa's modest nature almost got in the way of the interview with The Scene.

Within the last five years Lisa has been busy with her studies at UG where she is pursing a degree in History with a minor in French. Things have been going well for her at UG and a few weeks back she won a two-week scholarship to the University of the Virgin Islands Summer Institute to be part of a training session for Future Global Leaders of the Caribbean.

"It was an intense two weeks but it was exciting and the experience was amazing and unforgettable," she said during an interview on Wednesday. The two-week programme focused on leadership for tomorrow, culture and education.

Lisa was one of two students from UG who were selected for the training session but she was the only one who attended and she did Guyana proud. She was awarded best speaker at the forum during a presentation session on Caribbean countries.

In the two weeks that she was in St Thomas, Lisa said, she was exposed to quite a lot of interesting things and people and was afforded the opportunity to study Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic. She also learned sign language.

All of what she learned during those two weeks Lisa plans to follows through with as she continues studying. She said the whole experience was a valuable one and she could not see herself being there and standing out if she had not built a good foundation while growing up.

"I owe Lifeline Counselling Services a great deal for shaping me into the person I am today. Lifeline provided me with excellent training, guidance, sound mentoring, they have been an anchor," she related.

In addition to Lifeline, Lisa said, she has benefited a lot from the School of Education and Humanities and the Cacique Toastmasters Club. She said Professor Tota Mangar and Dr Marlene Cox and many of her lecturers in the History Department at UG have all helped her greatly.

While at the University of the Virgin Islands Summer Institute, Lisa had to write prospectus of her life, sort of plan it 20 years ahead and her presentation was one of the more impacting ones. If things work out as planned, she sees herself as the first female Secretary-General of CARICOM in 2028.

She may have a very good shot at it. Given her impressive track record thus far and her compulsion for high achievements, Lisa seems well on her way. ianaseales@yahoo.com

Stabroek News

Sum Of Our Parts

2006-06-12T12:59:00.000-04:00

Integrating Our Many Selves
DailyOM

Human beings are multidimensional creatures. Our identity is made up of the sum total of our many traits and values and our character. Each of us possesses within us many different selves. There is the adult part of ourselves and the childlike spirit that resides in each one of us. There is our masculine side and our feminine side. There is the hard worker in us, the artist, the parent, and the caretaker. All of these selves combined form a well-rounded, complex person. Not all of these different aspects of who we are blend easily with each other, however, and some of them may even conflict with or oppose one another. When a person's different parts clash, such as the self that is our childlike aspect and the self that is our responsible adult, we often end up compartmentalizing or suppressing one of these aspects to ease the conflict. While this may make us feel better in the short run, we would be better off finding a way for these two selves to coexist peacefully inside u! s.

Though some of our selves may be dominant while others rarely assert themselves, attempts to suppress one or more of these different aspects can leave us feeling that our identity has been splintered. Being able to successfully integrate our various selves can be as simple as accepting and embracing each one. It may also be necessary to reframe the way you see them. The immature self that you ridicule can become a valued and accepted part of you when redefined as your more playful aspect. Journaling can help you acknowledge and understand the different parts that make up your identity.

When your many selves blend together to form an integrated individual, you will feel changed. You will no longer feel pulled in multiple directions, and you will never again have to deny any part of yourself. You become a complete person-familiar and comfortable with the many selves that make up the person you are.

Expression 1966 - 1970

2006-06-11T16:49:00.000-04:00

Preserving our literary heritage

By Petamber Persaud

ALMOST all of the major players in the production of the literary magazine, EXPRESSION, have gone on to make significant contribution to literature both in the land of their birth and in places of their adopted homes. The pioneering spirit of those new voices, the commitment to the art of writing and the determination to market their material had had to pay dividends sooner or later.

N. D. Williams has so far published four books of fiction; Jan Lowe Shinebourne three books of fiction; Mark McWatt three books – two poetry and one fiction; Brian Chan three collections of poetry; and John Agard more than a score of books mostly children’s literature.

Four of those writers have won the Guyana Prize for Literature, namely Agard, Shinebourne, Chan and McWatt. Shinebourne holds the distinction of the first woman writer to win The Guyana Prize.

Agard and McWatt have won international literary prizes; the latter recently won the Commonwealth Prize for Fiction and the former Casa de las Americas and Paul Hamlyn Award for Poetry.

EXPRESSION, according to its editorial policy, was ‘an independent literacy magazine, designed to encourage and expose creative writing’.

Launched in 1966, EXPRESSION, was avant-garde in many ways. 1966 was the year Guyana achieved its Independence from colonial British rule. So EXPRESSION fell into that category of post-colonial literature, a brand of literature that was already in the making since the early 1960s. What the magazine did then was to concretise the dialogue in which the society was engaged. So the magazine was launched to encourage writers to find new ways in expressing their feelings in relation to new developments in Guyana. Supporting that claim was Victor Ramraj, now Professor of English at the University of Calgary, in his introduction to the magazine when he said that ‘this is the time for experimenting with a variety of forms’.

An avant-garde magazine couldn’t have started in a better way and at a more opportune time in the history of our literature. It was started for and by teachers and students of the better-known secondary schools in Georgetown at the time including St. Stanislaus College, Queen’s College, Bishop’s High School and Central High – the hotbed of ideas. The final issue published in 1970 came from the student voice of a tertiary institution, the University of Guyana.

The first issue of the magazine was edited by a VSO Brian Cotton and N. D. Williams who were greatly assisted by Milton Drepaul. That issue featured the works of Agard, McWatt, Chan, Terence Roberts, Dereck Chan-a-Sue, John Rickford, D.M.A. Bernard, Ronald DeAbreu, Michael K. Ajodhia and Cynthia Barclay.

In 1967, the second issue of the magazine came out under the editorship of Williams and Drepaul.

Another mark of this particular avant-garde periodical was in the naming of its third issue which was labelled EXPRESSION 31/2. Rotating of the editorial ship helped to spawn new approaches to a risky part of book publishing – marketing. (The magazine was priced at twenty-five cents per copy.) Additionally, this issue was experimental in that it ambitiously set out to test the waters in an attempt to move away from it original position of an annual.

Although it was a slim publication, by its fourth issue, EXPRESSION made allowance for short fiction, featuring three pieces by Agard, Roberts and Janice Lowe (name used then).

There was a sixth issue but there seemed to be no evidence of a fifth. That final issue came out in 1970 under the editorship of Janice Lowe while she was attending the University of Guyana. Andrew Salkey in his GEORGETOWN JOURNAL admired the fact that the editor was selling EXPRESSION in the byways and highways – that’s how he was induced to buy a copy of the magazine.

It is contended that that final issue gave birth to PLEXUS, ‘a new magazine of young writing’ edited by Rose McAndrew. There was other avant-garde literature at the time including the NEW WORLD journal.

The birth of EXPRESSION came out of the literary climate of the period. The many bookstores were well stocked with affordable literature especially Penguin Books and ‘Evergreen’ reviews of books. Householders started to sport and boast bookshelves and even small libraries; children were growing up surrounded by books. Culturally the society was exploding. Contributing writers of EXPRESSION were influenced the works of foreign writers especially the French, the film culture and the music of the day. Libraries were (pro)active part of society especially the British Council Library that made available to the group typewriters and duplicating machine. Ron Savory of the above institution supported the production of the magazine.

EXPRESSION is no more but the writers it spawned have broken new grounds in their literary development and are still making significant contribution to literature.

Sources:
* Interview with Terence Roberts, February 13, 2005, Georgetown, Guyana

* Robert E. McDowell. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LITERATURE FROM GUYANA

* David Granger & Nigel Westmaas. GUYANESE PERIODICALS

* Available copies of EXPRESSION

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com

Guyana Chronicle

DESMOND DEKKER & HIS MUSIC - AN APPRECIATION

2006-06-11T16:47:00.000-04:00

From Eddi Rodney

Dekker

POPULAR dance music originated in Jamaican ‘underground’ communities in East Kingston during the early 1960s. The island’s R&B sounds were at that period dominated by black and white soul and early rock stars.

And it was not only an American artform that permeated the radio stations, but just as important, the politicians of the day ostracised JA Trench Town and `Dungie’ communities regardless of how talented the performers were. The bootleg versions of Little Richard’s `Tutti Fruti’ or James Brown’s `Night Train’ and almost everything recorded by Johnny Nash could be found in the music shelves of most `hip’ Jamaicans.

What distinguished JA’s indigenous music more than anything else from the American melodies of that period was above everything else the island’s grass roots dialect and attitude. This factor subtly empowered popular dance music originating from inside Jamaica as a generation of urban poor and ghetto radicals sought to find some common identity - especially, as Rex Nettleford argues in his (Mirror, Mirror: Identity, Race and Protest in Jamaica) “yard” and street sidewalk dance.

Desmond Dekker, born Des Dacres, who died aged 64 in London on May 26, was amongst the earliest; he was actually a pioneer of the skiffle-influenced, riveting bass section, proletarian bluebeat that emerged as a “national by-product” of American (Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and notably, Sonny Boy Williamson and Paul Anka amongst others)pop culture.

Dekker at one time worked as a welder at a South Camp Road mechanic shop. It was here that he teamed up with Bob Marley. In 1962, Dekker, who had been writing songs in his spare time, introduced the young and still unknown Bob Marley to Leslie Kong, a local merchant who was the first to finance recordings of the new, emerging JA sound.

Unemployment and the Search for Economic Betterment - `The Israelites’

Of all the West Indian territories formerly colonised by ‘Inglan’ (Britain), Jamaica experienced the greatest hardship during the period of the 1920s-1930s depression. One result particularly amongst the Black urban peer and working class was an acute distrust of capitalism. With the dawn of Independence in 1962, a generation of “slick” or streetwise types emerged in Kingston’s popular recreation centres - dance joints and pubs. The music that many preferred was the kind that developed out of the idiom and creativity of the Kingston zone of squatters’ cabins and the catchy lyrical virtuosity of the `rude Bwoys’ (modelled once again on Black American post BeBop mores or `Cool’).

It was under this impetus and social casting that Dekker and his group, the Aces, together with Jimmy Cliff, Price Buster, Lurel Aitkin (the Boogie artist) and the veteran Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, carved out that historical niche for what was to evolve into the reggae sound and (world) market.

His first and most successful recording was the `Isrealites’ a haunting anti-depressant number, strident in its satirical hints of the impact that late and in most cases non industrialisation had wrought on the lives of his countrymen, forced to become wage labour in factories.

“Get up in the morning, slaving for bread….oh lard - the Isrealites…”

Rhetorically, `Isrealites’ highlighted an experience which despite its Old Testament semblance, a slumyard subject who is part of a Black collective and a subject who must also unite with another ‘host’ country working class to Survive the System. The song became a hit in the aftermath of 1968 and the Student Revolution in France, Britain and the United States…after the Black Riots in Watts and the historical Anti Vietnam War mass demonstrations. As Dekker’s main forte `Isrealites’ also propelled to the fore Black solidarity and Consciousness. A concern he was to express with great musical aesthetic in `Shanty Town’, written as a reaction to the 1968 Rodney Affair in Kingston.

`Dem rudebwoy mash up de town…shanty town…ah

Dem rudebwoy wan wan…..shanty town…ah

Dem a weep…dem a wail… shanty town….ah’

Black poetics, Dud and post Modern Reggae Classics

Perhaps what distinguished Dekker and his music was his protracted appeal measured in terms of his homeland and in Britain (where he established residence). Lyrically, he integrated the artform fusing and linking with other Jamaican-born artistes such as Toots & the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Count Ozzie, Bob Andy, Count Sokkel, Bunny Wailer, Yellowman and Brother Bob Marley, amongst others.

In the soundtrack for the film `The Harder They Come’ (1972) Dekker was at his charismatic best, demonstrating that he was a great professional who remained committed to the most advanced and radicalised cultural forces.

Rasta he certainly was. But his Rastafarian outlook or roots lay in West Kingston amongst the downtrodden and the `Dungie’ not monarchical Selassie.

His repertoire depended on a broad range of classics - International Reggae - the poetry of Dub Rock and the best in commercial terms of island Records (and Tuff Gong) reproductions. He appeared on programmes throughout Britain and elsewhere in Europe.

To experience his `Cool’ alongside rock stars and R&B exponents such as Eric Burden (the Animals), Owen Grey, Pete Townsend, Steve Winwood, Chris Farlowe and Georgie Fame was in fact to come closer to Dekker’s earlier years when he encouraged and “promoted” Bob Marley and others in East and West Kingston JA.

The end of the Vietnam War and the decline of mass protests in the mid-1970s were significant for Desmond Dekker. His art resonated now more in scores of West Indian clubs both within and outside the London area…As a stage performer and concert artiste, Dekker interpreted scores of hits in his own inimitable style. Songs like Marley’s `Simma Down’, `Get Up Stand Up for Your Rights’ and the `Catch a Fire’ subset. He rendered Peter Tosh’s `Legalise It’ a powerful “arrangement”, and in the process earned the ire of Britain’s Conservatives.

Similar to Joe Harriot, Desmond Dekker was capable of breaking into entirely new formulations and music communities. He popularised classic reggae by utilising material scripted for Nina Simone’s concerts and matinees.

Several of the pop tunes of The Who, The Kinks and the sound systems managed by Jamaican Operators in England were clearly influenced by his skills. His last major recordings was last year’s retro `You Can Get It If You Really Want’, a tune sung with great sincerity in the mid 1060s when the Solidarity With the People’s of South Africa Movement was gathering its early momentum.

To all those who were touched by his songs and music he bequeathed `Cool’ indeed grooving or gigging with Dekker invariably meant that you stood a great chance of winning.

Desmond Dekker’s contribution to popular music and art will always be remembered.

Jah Rastafari Jah.

Guyana Chronicle

Alana Ernest

2006-06-11T16:45:00.000-04:00

– STRIKING GOLD

By Neil Marks

Miss Guyana Universe one day after being crowned. (Pictures by Delano Williams)

HER PARENTS came to Guyana in search of gold, but though Alana Ernest never managed to swivel any from the pork knocker’s sieve, she has struck gold. Even if it’s of another sort, the value and the euphoria of the find are synonymous.

Her childhood days are of rugged men’s sports. Her entry into adolescent stage are of burning the daylight hours as a teacher, and on the night shift, flipping bottles at her mother’s bar to help bring in the income.

She is studying to become a nurse and to return to her home turf where she sees her people affected by HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis. But now, the studying has been put on hold. Alana is a beauty queen! She has struck gold.

Exactly how much carats would be worth $500, 000 cash? And how would you value the golden opportunity to spend three weeks meeting almost a hundred other beauties, wine and dine in fine style, dress up in pretty clothes you don’t have to pay for, and have the world watch as you shout out your country’s name on television?

Such is the prized gold Alana Ernest has found.

Alana is the new Miss Guyana Universe and will compete in the Miss Universe pageant to be held at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, USA, on July 23.

She now lives in New Amsterdam, but Mahdia is where her story lies.

Alana was born to St. Lucian couple Justina and Lambert in the rustic community which has lured many from afar to search for hidden gold.

While Justina came with her mother, Lambert came on his personal quest. They met and got engaged 31 years ago, but marriage has somehow not factored into the relationship, at least not yet. Its something Alana says she nags them about from time to time.

A sister’s dream

Alana in the swimsuit segment

Alana is 19-years-old and entering a pageant was never on her mind. In fact, her eldest sister, Rufeena, 30, is the one who has always dreamt of Alana becoming a beauty queen.

She liked to climbed a lot of trees, swim in the creeks, play basketball, and get dirty in the mud on many of her outings with her girlfriends to the backdams, but Rufeena always warned her to be careful not to get a scar as that would not look good on a beauty queen.

Alana’s quest for education has seen her move many times out of Mahdia, and she is still doing that today.

She started school at the Mahdia Primary School, but when she was about eight, she moved to Georgetown to attend St. Margaret’s. However, she had to go back to Mahdia after just four years in town. And so went down her chance to sit the Secondary School’s Entrance Examination.

She spent about four years at the secondary department of the Mahdia Primary School and then moved back to Georgetown for a chance to write the CXC exams. She managed to do that at Central High School.

She went back to Mahdia and worked the classrooms at her old school, teaching Mathematics and Science.

When the Ministry of Health sent out a call for students for its diploma in nursing, she accepted the challenge. However, since the Georgetown school was overcrowded, she was posted to Mahdia.

Alana is acutely aware of the impact of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) on her community. TB though, she says, is under-rated and people are not exposed to awareness messages about the disease, like they are of HIV/AIDS.

New queen Alana Ernest

Alana feels blessed with the opportunity to pursue a career. She says she sees how many in Mahdia don’t have the opportunity to complete high school. As a result, she says the young boys end up working in the goldmines while young girls who drop out end up in the bars.

She too has had her share in the bars to help bring in the income.

When her mother decided to set up a bar, Alana saw no problem in helping out at nights. She was sure that she would help bring in some cash, as she is not afraid to acknowledge that she offered some attraction to the men, as they spend on bars with young girls.

So if you’re in the “bright spot” of Mahdia, check out `Punki’s Hangout’. Alana works the 7-11 shift. Punki, by the way is her paternal grandmother, also a St. Lucian.
MISS GUYANA
ENTERING a beauty pageant was never on Alana’s mind. Her sister, Rufeena, is the one who always saw the prospect for her.

So about two months ago, when representatives from the local organisation visited and inquired of her interest in competing for the pageant, her answer was no.

Later, others returned, and after giving it some thought, she decided she was going to fulfill her sister’s dream.

She had done some light modeling before, but definitely not enough to compete in a national pageant, so the training was needed. She didn’t need to hit the gym though; she was and still is in shape.

When June 4, pageant day, came, Alana says she was not nervous. Her preoccupation was not winning, just doing her best. In fact, she says she spoke with all the girls, and told them that she wished them all the best and she hoped all would answer their questions excellently.

“God would choose the winner,” she said she told them.

The nervousness kicked in when her name was called as one of the finalists. It was time to answer the final question that would determine the winner.

She was asked what she would do to promote Guyana if she were to win the pageant. She said she would work to promote the country’s natural beauty. The answer gave her the crown.

Alana says she places much confidence in God and would be relying on him as she seeks to make a name for Guyana at the 2006 Miss Universe pageant.

Guyana Chronicle

Thoughts on Green Land of Guyana

2006-06-11T16:33:00.000-04:00

Arts On Sunday With Al Creighton

By Akima McPherson

Sunday, June 11th 2006

River Spirit by Dudley Charles

Akima McPherson is a painter and a graduate of the Burrowes' School of Art and University of Guyana

At a time when the atmosphere in Guyana is charged with politics, with questions about security, with concerns about legitimacy, it is nice to be reminded of a Guyana of peace and tranquillity, beauty and quiet industry, and this whilst within the Guyana space. 'Green Land of Guyana,' an exhibition of 106 works (of which 100 are paintings) currently on show at the National Gallery, Castellani House, does precisely this. It affords one ample opportunity to retreat to familiar spaces of calm, of serenity, of order and beauty, of peaceful co-existence with fellow man, nature and circumstance and to places of quiet contemplation. Hence, in a subtle way, the works collectively make a bold statement.

As the title of the exhibition suggests, images of the Guyana landscape are presented as are scenes from pre-Independence/British Guiana. These vary from realistic to wonderfully interpretive and abstract, from city to rural, from expansive space to micro-space, from unspoiled space to space significantly reconfigured by or accommodating of mankind's presence. Many also offer delightful reminders of our cultural heritage embodied within renderings of structures (some now remnant), celebrated natural spaces and other spaces.

It would appear the pre-Independence artists whose works are here included were influenced in their choice of subject matter by subscription to the notion that the function of their art was more suited to recording the images of their epoch. Hence, with their brushes and oils or watercolours, they preserved snippets of their reality for posterity. The result is an evocation of the timelessness of aspects of who we are today.

Consequently, it is a pleasure to see the images by Antrobus, Bowman and Moshett along with those by De Freitas, Sharples and others. The inclusion of The Palms, Lima, Essequibo of ca 1888 by Helen Agard is particularly exciting; Up until now, I had not seen a Guyanese painting dating so far back. Individually and collectively these images give a sense of historical context to scenes we today take for granted, while allowing one's imagination to become activated regarding their contemporaneous social realities.

Georgetown Ferry by Basil De Freitas

It would seem, as this and past exhibitions of Independence-era art at the National Gallery have suggested, that in an effort to assert a national identity the artists of the pre-Independence and early Independence eras resorted to landscape. They recorded their times - the everyday and the mundane: the marketplace, quaint wooden structures, the tree-lined avenues, the trees, interior vistas etc - matter-of-factly but with occasional sentimentality. This they did with as much adherence to truth as they could.

These images of identity are wholly based on the Guyana spaces of public access. Occasionally, they are celebratory of simple realities made grand. In this vein, E. R Burrowes's Rice Harvesters,(1962) shows a group of six women in varying postures as they harvest rice. These women dominate their landscape with great ease while engaged in a task which we know to be arduous and nearly endless. Meanwhile, the men in Gordon Welcome's Untitled (Loading Cane), (n d) do not physically dominate the landscape as the women do, yet they too appear as conquerors of their land. Both groups appear in quiet resignation of their circumstance.

This sentiment of viewing and rendering all with respect and imbuing with a sense of the grand is the legacy these early artists passed on to many that followed. This is evident in works such as Between the Trees, (1999) by Angold Thompson and S Hanoman's pen and ink composition, Untitled (Old Houses, Country Yard),(1974).

As we enjoyed nationhood and sought to define our national identity more completely, artists have been inclined to re-presentations of our landscape that are substantial and symbolic. Philip Moore's The Chase,(1970-71) and Sand Koker Trees,(1974-87) in characteristic Moore fashion are meditative and infused with symbolism of an intricate personal dimension.

Influenced by the indigenous cultural presences, many artists sought to re-interpret land in a manner that pays homage to the resonances of these. Drawing no doubt on the indigenous resonances of his ethno-cultural identity and his experiences amongst the Warrau in Hosororo, North West, Aubrey Williams executed Guyana XII,(1964) and Timehri (Rock Drawing),(n d). Both are wonderful reminders of the exemplary colourist Williams was and are filled with a mystery that is characteristic of this the land we all love.

Similarly, Dudley Charles's River Spirit,(1985) is imbued with the mystery and excitement the land evokes. Clearly derived from local mythology and with engaging colour, the image echoes magnificently a theme recurrent in this exhibition: celebration of the majesty of the natural elements. And it is this very aspect of land - its pervasive majesty - that Cyril Kanhai appears to be communicating in his image Green Land of Guyana,(1967) from which this exhibition no doubt derives its title. Kanhai has captured the essence of the untouched natural forest space and in so doing creates a space reminiscent of a metropolis with walls or edifices of green and sudden appearances of other colour. Whereas Ron Savory communicated this aspect realistically in Forest Path, Nightfall,(1996), Kanhai utilizes abstraction.

Winston Strick's leather expressions are, in a word, exquisite. Morning Breeze, (1990) while excellent, hints at the versatility of his skill with this material. His creations are truly special. Habitat, (1989) along with Birds in the Forest,(1987) are bold and individual. Along with the aforementioned works by Aubrey Williams, Dudley Charles and Bernadette Persaud's The End of a Season, (1983), Strick makes the trek to the third flat of the gallery definitely worth it.

There is much to savour within this exhibition. At times the dialogue with the work is simple, at others it is quite profound. Winslow Craig's Discovery, (1989) asserts very boldly the pervasiveness of the indigenous presence. Within a very technically accomplished piece, Craig overtly rejects the notion that anyone other than the indigenous people discovered the mass that came to be Guyana. Meanwhile, ER Burrowes's Guyana Land of the Dolorous Garde, (ca 1951) quietly speaks to refraining from donning the garb of another, imitating another and encourages embracing one's true identity. Its content carries both socio-political and metaphysical implications. Both make terrific pronouncements as they seek to widen our consciousness, the latter being as relevant today as it was when it was painted back in the pre-Independence days.

'Green Land of Guyana,' Landscape and Vision in Guyanese Art opened on May 18 and coincides with our 40th Independence anniversary. The exhibition continues until July 29.

Stabroek News

Gertrude Dolphin: A lifetime of service

2006-06-11T16:32:00.000-04:00

Sunday, June 11th 2006

Gertrude Dolphin aged 30

On June 26, the Women's Advisory Committee of the Guyana Teachers' Union will be celebrating its 66th anniversary. This month Sunday Stabroek will be carrying interviews with three of the founder members of that organization, in recognition of their services to teaching and the community.

At 98 years of age, Gertrude Dolphin is a wizard at remembering dates, occasions and figures.

'Aunty Gertie,' as she is fondly known by all, was born on April 25, 1908, in Nabaclis on the East Coast of Demerara, and grew up in Victoria Village. Joanna, her mother, was a housewife and Henry, her father, was a headmaster. The second of five siblings she is related to the famous branch of the Dolphin family, her father being a cousin of C E Dolphin, after whom the Dolphin Government School was named.

Reminiscing about her earliest years, Aunty Gertie said she first attended the Victoria Congregational School, which is now closed. When she was seven years old, however, her family moved to Georgetown and she was transferred to Lodge Congregational School (also known as Salem), which also no longer exists.

In those days, Aunty Gertie said, your occupation was decided by your parents, and since her father was a headmaster it was automatically assumed that both she and her siblings were going to be teachers.

Gertrude Dolphin today, aged 98

When asked what work she did after leaving school, she replied, "I never left school."

"In those days, when you got to the 6th Standard - yes, we had Sixth Standard," she said, laughing - "you were taken out to either teach or help a teacher during the day, and in the afternoon you had to give lessons." She took her first examination, the Primary School Leaving Exams, in 1923 and was soon employed at the same school where she had once been a student. After that came the second and third examinations. Owing to the fact you were required to pass your final examination before you become a fully-fledged teacher, Aunty Gertie was off for one year.

In April 1928 at the age of 20, armed with her qualifications, Aunty Gertie was employed as a teacher at the Clarkson Congregational School in Alberttown. She remained there until it closed in January 1929, following which she was transferred to Smith Memorial Congregational School. Here she stayed until her retirement in 1965 at the age of 57.

After leaving her first love, Aunty Gertie did voluntary work at the Guyana Craft Co-op Shop until that closed its doors four years ago. One of her great loves is book-keeping, a skill which she has been able to turn to good account in her voluntary work. She has been treasurer of the Women's Auxillary (WA) (now called the Women's Advisory Committee (WAC)) of the Guyana Teachers Union, the Women's Union of Smith's Church, and the Government Pensioners Association - an organization in which she is still active. She has also taught sewing at the Salvation Army.

An ardent church-goer - she became a member of Smith Memorial at the age 18 - she has been the Treasurer of her church for over twenty-three years. She was also a Sunday school teacher and was instrumental in carrying on the Christmas Bank.

Even though Aunty Gertie has no children of her own, she has a great love for children, which found expression in her chosen career. Children come from different homes, she said, and had different personalities, and since most of them did things they would not normally do at home, teachers had to be able to tolerate the different behavioural patterns. "Patience is the key," she insisted.

She expressed sadness about the school system now, noting that, "nowadays people say children are bad; we had what you call wicked children, not bad ones. But now children and teachers are both attacking and being attacked." There was never any answering back or disrespect in her day.

Noting that she has not yet been married, she said this was because she "was too occupied and wanted to be free" and never thought of burdening herself down. "Every afternoon I was occupied with something; Sundays it was church (all day), Mondays it was school and Christmas Bank, Tuesdays and Thursdays it was Torch Layer Group, Wednesday it was Girl Guides and church, Fridays is was choir practice and Saturdays it was Guides again."

When did she find the time to do things like teaching craft and being part of the Guides long enough to become a lieutenant, and to teach Sunday School? "I was always occupied and I found the time," she responded.

During her years as a teacher Aunty Gertie was part of a group of young teachers - the WA - who met on Wednesday afternoons to study, play games and promote efforts to raise funds for the organisation. It was part of the Teachers Association (TA). It was through their efforts that the Guyana Teachers' Union (GTU) was able to acquire the building it currently occupies, and was able to form the Teachers' Credit Union.

The ladies raised funds by having bring-and-buy sales, Christmas socials, tea parties and any other activity where money could be made. The WA met at St Andrew's School. When the funds were raised the accumulated sum was given to the TA as a contribution towards acquiring the building.

Aunty Gertie says her life has quietened down a lot now, owing to the fact that she is getting on and cannot move around as she would like. She is losing her balance and has to travel around by car, but she still tries to attend some of her most beloved activities. She lives with her brother, two of his children and grandchildren.

In closing she said, "I love teaching; I started out as a monitor and moved on from there, and if I had to live my life again I would choose no other profession."(Angela Osborne)

Stabroek News

Cooperation

2006-06-09T23:25:00.000-04:00

Acting Together
DailyOM

Cooperation seems simple: working together toward a common goal for the benefit of all involved. But amazingly it can be quite challenging, even when we have so many successful examples all around us. Human society is based upon the concept of cooperation, but finding a balance to ensure the good of all members of society is difficult. In nature, symbiotic relationships form between unlikely allies: a bee and a flower, a bird and a rhinoceros, small fish and sharks. Yet nature also shows us instances of constant competition in which only the strongest survive. Given the choice, it seems most people would choose the more peaceful path of cooperation. Intellectually, we know that together we can create something greater than what one could do alone, but cooperation still seems to be one of the greatest challenges people face. We don't always agree on how goals can be reached. Our priorities may be different, or our methods, but in the end, cooperation offers the best chance for success.

So how can we learn to cooperate with each other? We can gain greater perspective by trying to understand one another's point of view, perhaps even putting ourselves in their place. We can search for commonalities as well as differences, and look for the good in different approaches. There is always more than one way of doing things, and some approaches are better suited for certain situations than others. All this is easier when we let go of the necessity to be right and to call others wrong. More important, we must believe that there is a solution that benefits all involved, not just one side.

The results of cooperation can be as simple as effortlessly getting everyone in your household to their appointments to large-scale social shifts to changing minds and hearts or policies that affect the future.

Model of the week

2006-06-09T13:03:00.000-04:00

This week’s featured model is 24-year-old Betty of Jamaica, N.Y. The 5’9” brown-eyed chica is part of the Blue Ice Entertainment modeling crew. (BlueIceEnt mode/image)

Sending Our Collective Light To The World

2006-06-09T00:23:00.000-04:00

Power In Numbers
DailyOM

Like tiny ripples that merge to form great waves, combined human intent is worth more than the sum of its parts. A single individual can initiate worldwide improvement by emitting conscious frequencies of love, beauty, goodness, and wisdom. A group of people focusing their energy on sending out light to the world can set the stage for positive global transformation. All of us possess the ability to channel love energy, to heal, to be a conduit for white light, and to positively influence our fellow humans from afar. Yet one person can only do so much. Imagine if each one of us took a few moments at the start of each day to send out light to the world from our hearts. Mother Earth would be quickly eased and the planet, as well as every organism and being on it, would be bathed in loving light. The world would be an infinitely beautiful place.

You can help bring about an earth where love triumphs over violence, air and water are nourishing in their purity, and people take pleasure in simply being alive. Alone, the light you emit is a wonderful healing tool, but when you join with others who share your intent to shine compassion and positive energy over the world, a powerful force is created. Your collective consciousness and collective light will wash over the planet, enveloping people, communities, cities, countries, and continents. Inviting others to send light with you can be a daunting task. People may question the benefits of sending light to an already broken world. You will likely need to explain that each person's light joins with every other, and through the joining all are strengthened. Assure them that what matters is not technique or what religion or beliefs you hold but intent.

As more people come in mindfulness to send their collective light to the world, the power of their planetary gift will increase exponentially. You may already be affiliated with groups that would gladly participate in such a noble project. Children, who often feel incapable of influencing their world yet are reservoirs of innate power are usually enthusiastic about sharing their collective light. As you gather together willing people, your individual intent will become a great and powerful wave, and you will see results in your fellow humans, in the news, and in your daily life.

2006-06-07T00:37:00.000-04:00

Extraordinary Industry in Balkaran’s Guyanese Guide
Lal Balkaran, Ed., Bibliography of Guyana and Guyanese Writers, 1596-2004
Toronto, LBA Publications, 2004.

A review by Frank Birbalsingh

As its cover announces, Lal Balkaran’s new volume is: An A-Z Guide of Books on Guyana by Guyanese and Non-Guyanese Writers and on Other Subjects by Guyanese Writers. The description "A-Z Guide" means that each book is listed alphabetically, like a dictionary, according to the name of its author; and as Mr. Balkaran also announces on his cover, his Bibliography lists altogether 820 authors and 1300 titles. These enthusiastic announcements suggest that Mr. Balkaran’s book is a bold and exciting venture, pioneering in spirit, which seeks, for the first time, to compile a comprehensive list of publications about Guyana or by Guyanese. Such a venture raises intriguing questions of classification if not of quality: what is Guyanese literature – books written by native Guyanese, or about Guyana, or both? Happily, Mr. Balkaran’s answer to this question, implied by his selection of books, is catholic and entirely wholesome: any writing about Guyana (by anyone) or by a native Guyanese (about any subject) is Guyanese literature.

The earliest title in the volume is the first book written on Guyana – by Sir Walter Ralegh – its full title being: The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Beauwtiful 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). For the next three and a half centuries, Guyanese literature continued to be written by foreigners like Ralegh, and these (mainly British) authors are well represented in Mr. Balkaran’s Bibliography, for example, Sir Robert Schomburgh, the geographer, J.A. Rodway, the historian and novelist, Walter Roth and his son Vincent, historians and naturalists, and Rev. William Henry Brett, whose collection of aboriginal oral literature is of priceless value today.

By the 1950s, however, native-born Guyanese writers had begun to assert themselves, of whom the first major figure was Edgar Mittelholzer. Mittelholzer was followed, during the next three decades, by other Guyanese-born writers such as Jan Carew, Martin Carter, A.J. Seymour, and Wilson Harris, and, in turn, they were succeeded by a new generation of writers from the 1980s onward, for instance, Beryl Gilroy, John Agard, Cyril Dabydeen, David Dabydeen, Fred D’Aguiar, and many others. Most of these authors are prolific, their many publications being well known, both in Guyana and abroad. One expects to see their names in a book like Mr. Balkaran’s. What is an unexpected pleasure is the inclusion of authors who may be equally prolific, but are almost unknown largely because their books are self published and have appeared only in Guyana, for example, N.E. Cameron who wrote on almost every topic from history and mathematics to politics, and Sheik Sadeek whose stories provide a colorful and lyrical evocation of the rural, Guyanese landscape. All this confirms Mr.

Balkaran’s extraordinary industry since he had to roam far and wide, among catalogues and indexes, in search of information for his Bibliography. More impressive evidence of his industry is his uncanny success in finding self-published volumes by contemporary authors who are still unknown, for example Joseph S. Persaud’s Across Three Continents: An Indo-Guyanese Family Experience, and Ann Wishart-Eudoxie’s A Guyanese Story – Steps in my Journey. This kind of research calls for boldness and originality, but these very qualities spell risk in being unable to spread the net wide enough to catch everything. In his Introduction Mr. Balkaran is aware of this risk when he states that his Bibliography is not exhaustive, and will be enlarged as more titles are discovered. One missing title is a collection of stories as follows: Derrick "John" Jeffrey, Demerara, New York, Seawall Press, 1992. Recent titles like this, either self published or published by small presses, can be very slippery. It is surprising though, that Mr. Balkaran misses several books by M. Shahabuddeen, most notably his From Plantocracy to Nationalisation, which appeared in 1983 and was printed in Guyana. This is all the more surprising because Mr. Balkaran accurately records the publications of S.S. Ramphal, Shahabuddeen’s partner in the crime of drawing up the Constitution that finally destroyed democracy in Burnham’s Guyana. At any rate, the editor acknowledges that the process of amending and enlarging his Bibliography has only just begun. Mr. Balkaran’s achievement is to have made the start.

And what an excellent start! As Professor Jan Carew writes in his "Foreword" to the Bibliography, it: "is an invaluable work for historians and other liberal arts scholars, and others far from those fields, as it covers a full spectrum of scholarship… It is also a priceless resource for anyone who would want to know more about Guyana and its people."

Mr. Balkaran is already the author of several publications on Business and Accounting; and he has written an autobiographical account of his family, Through Faith & Luck: The Story of an East Indian Family in Guyana. He has also published another A to Z Guide, Dictionary of the Guyanese Amerindians & Other South American Native Terms which appeared in 2002. He is nothing if not prolific

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, 18 Portsmouth Drive, Scarborough, Ont. M1C 5E1, 2004. 150pp. $45.00: E-mail lalbalkaran@rogers.com: Tel: 416-283-4051.

Model of the week

2006-06-06T13:40:00.000-04:00

This week’s featured model is Dominica-born; Brooklyn-based resident Shirl Peter, who was recently featured in the ‘Jump’ video by Jamaican artist Bruk Up. She is wearing a swimsuit from DIDS Fashions. (Roland Hyde/Rolmodel Media Image)

Guyanese Art At Top D.C-Based Bank

2006-06-06T13:38:00.000-04:00

PHOTO: This Carl Anderson piece is part of the exhibition. (IDB Image)

The exhibit features a wide array of pieces, from pre-Columbian utilitarian utensils made by Amerindians, to paintings, sculptures and leather and fiber objects created by contemporary artists.

And the South American nation’s cultural diversity and heritage of migration through the leather sculptures of Winston Strick, one of which was recently acquired by the IDB; the paintings by Carl Anderson; and the paintings and sculptures of Philip Moore, one of the most intriguing and multi-faceted artists of the entire Caribbean, still living and working in Guyana.

Also on display are some pieces by pre-independence art pioneers, Stanley Greaves, Patrick Barrington, Hubert Moshett and Ronald Savory as well as the fiber work of three promising young students at the Art Faculty of the University of Guyana: Carlesta Sutton, Stacia Pitt, and Brian George.

‘The Arts of Guyana: A Multicultural Caribbean Adventure,’ will run through August 11 and coincides with Guyana’s 40th year of independence from England and the commemoration of Caribbean American Heritage Month. – Hardbeatnews.com

Finding Nature In Your Neighborhood

2006-06-06T13:32:00.000-04:00

Wildlife Around
DailyOM

Because both cities and tightly packed suburbs offer wildlife bountiful nooks and crannies in which to hide, it can be difficult to spot the animals that live in our midst. Many thrive among paved streets, sidewalks, buildings, parking lots, and high-rises. There are animals in abundance burrowing in the soil of center medians and tiny backyard gardens, making nests in the trees that line broad and busy avenues, and buzzing round the flowers that beautify our parks. To find these creatures, we only need to stop, look, and listen. Nature's drama is continually playing out on the window ledges where weary birds stop to roost, in the shadowy places where cautious nocturnal mammals wait for night's mantel to fall, and the fountains where playful waterfowl splash and frolic. In observing the animals that share our habitat, we become a part of their beautiful, complex, and exciting world.

Season by season, cities offer diverse ecosystems for you to explore. If your search for urban and suburban wildlife is challenging, try to look at your community with an animal's eyes. Where there are shrubs and flowers, insects such as butterflies, ladybugs, beetles, and spiders can usually be found. The insects, in turn, attract the birds who feast upon them. Even the smallest green spaces are hosts to squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and moles. Decorative awnings offer falcons a place to raise their young. At night, a different community of animals wakens to the world. Raccoons, skunks, and possums emerge to examine our human leftovers for edibles. Even pets feel the call of the wild-it's not uncommon for well-fed cats in colorful collars to stalk the streets in search of prey. Signs of habitation, like nests or hives, and audible evidence, like chirps, will help you find them.

Recognizing that you share your city with a wide range of animals can make you feel like a part of the grand circle of life and help you appreciate the importance of a healthy urban environment. You can admire the hardiness and adaptability of the urban animal while developing a sense of stewardship that inspires you to become their champion. The shrill calls of birds, the hum of bees, and the sweet squeaks of city-dwelling mammals can be a symphony that help you develop a deeper connection with the nature world.

Lucky B launches Guyana Idol

2006-06-06T00:09:00.000-04:00

The Scene

Saturday, June 3rd 2006

Carlos Anthony

Local singer Carlos `Lucky B' Anthony who often does things his own way when it comes to music has embarked on a new project that is likely to bring similar unique expressions of vocal performances to the Guyanese public.

Before September this year, Lucky B hopes to stage Guyana Idol, a local version of the hit US series, American Idol. He already has nine singers lined up who are waiting to be discovered.

A record deal with LB records is up for grabs and US$1,000. Lucky B said he has a few commitments from people willing to sponsor the project but any additional assistance would be welcome.

The project is designed to promote hidden talents and the piece used by the contestants does not necessarily have to be original. A winner will be selected from each region and the grand finals will be staged in Georgetown.

Word has been out on Guyana Idol for a few weeks now and last weekend Lucky B braved the rains to be in Essequibo where several persons turned up for auditions. Next week he will be in Bartica, Linden and a few other areas.

Initially the idea behind Guyana Idol was to select persons talented in the areas of dance, singing, modelling and comedy but now the focus has shifted to just singing.

"Many of the persons who came out all wanted to sing, we barely had two dancers so it's going to be about singing now," Lucky B explained.

Auditions will run throughout June and the competition is expected to start in July. It should wrap up in August.

A registration fee of $1,000 is required on signing up for auditions. Forms are currently being handed out. ianaseales@yahoo.com

Stabroek News

The Entertainers record 'Independent Ladies'

2006-06-06T00:07:00.000-04:00

The Scene

Saturday, June 3rd 2006

Kerwyn Bollers

"Independent ladies, ladies put yuh hands up for me," is the first line of the chorus for a new song which DJ Kerwyn Bollers and Ryon Evans have recorded using the new 'Boom Drop' music.

Kerwyn and Ryon, who call themselves 'The Entertainers', released the new song for Guyana's 40th independence anniversary celebrations.

Kerwyn told The Scene last week that "Indepen-dent Ladies" also features soca singer Marlon 'Malo' Webster and could be an anthem for independent, educated ladies and single mothers.

Kerwyn said the song, which was released on May 26, Independence Day, on the radio, is the second track that The Entertainers have released using 'Boom Drop' music.

"Independent ladies, ladies put yuh hands up for me

Sexy body ladies, ladies put yuh hands for me

Beautiful ladies, ladies, put yuh hands up for me

Educated ladies, ladies, put yuh hands up for me."

It was produced in the Dynamics Studio, which is owned by Eon Johnson. An "Independent Ladies" music video is said to be in the making.

Back in February, "Ah, Ah, Ah" was released for the Mashramani celebrations along with a video.

Boom Drop is a new music style conceptualised by the Fire Clan band. afeefah_stuart@yahoo.com

Stabroek News

Sarka Lee: Communicating On Canvas

2006-06-06T00:06:00.000-04:00

Scene Stealer

By Iana Seales

Saturday, June 3rd 2006

Sarka Lee who expresses profound sentiments in her acrylic work has a face which is barely recognized in her native Czech Republic. It is the same here in Guyana, where she has spent the last year and the simple reason is that her art is only sold to private collectors.

What is phenomenal about this is that exposure could do major things for her given the quality of her work, but on the flip side, the soulful pieces she has been churning out on canvas somehow deserve the quiet praise that connects with the underlying, personal stories they tell.

Her low-key profile hits you as being a tad bit stranger though when she reveals that her art is a way of communicating with people. The canvas is an instrument, which speaks to the observer in the same way that Sarka would and her language is as pellucid as it gets.

Mostly, her work involves children and often celebrates their innocence, happiness and carefree spirit. She has an obvious obsession with colours, so if you stand in a room surrounded by her work, it's a kaleidoscope. It's also the kind of setting you would not mind relaxing in for hours - sipping an espresso and biting into a luscious piece of cheesecake.

This happened on Tuesday when Sarka displayed some of her paintings at the Oasis CafÃ© in Carmichael Street and the unknown painter became the latest buzz. The serenity of the Oasis is transformed with Sarka's work; as you walk into the cafÃ© the art speaks to you. Now it is not going to be saying much to everyone and Sarka does not expect it to but some people will be drawn to the paintings.

Four of the eight paintings on display were sold on the first day and Sarka sees this as very promising. She is more interested however in whether she is communicating effectively with people who look at the paintings.

Among the most talked about pieces is one titled, 'Domino Players' which tells the story of a woman who always cheated to win by slipping her last domino under her breast. The second is called, 'A Smile' and this one is of a boy whose innocent, sweet smile represents that of every child.

Sarka sat down for an interview with The Scene on Wednesday at the Oasis and mid-way through the conversation she made it clear why she paints:

"I am interested in one's soul so I study people's feelings to show me the way. When I paint I listen to my intuition, I listen to dreams and even angels. Yeah I believe in angels. I am also inspired by young children, their spontaneity and carefree spirit."

Intuition is important to her. Sarka revealed that she used to be an art teacher several years ago, but gave up the profession after she realized there was no real feeling in what she was doing. A few years later, Sarka said, she recognised that to teach art is to develop intuition.

One of the things she often says to people who view her work is that the paintings bring her a lot of joy and it is her hope that they will bring them the same amount of joy or find a way into their hearts.

She said some of her paintings have two sides to them, which is something she believes most people can relate to. There is usually sadness and happiness and she explains this as having a good day and a bad day but still rejoicing in the fact that you were able to be around to experience the good with the bad.

As far as her art career goes, Sarka has had private showings in the Cook Islands where she lived for a number of years after leaving the Czech Republic. Many private collectors have seen her work and purchased several pieces.

She was a university Arts major in the Czech Republic and went on to teach art in New Zealand. Most of what she knows about painting people's feelings and getting various sentiments on canvas she credits to Judith Kunzle, a woman who she refers to as her mentor, friend and teacher.

Sarka said she could not see herself painting at the level she does today if she did not have the formal training, which took about six years in total. Though she has always been painting and experimenting, she said the training was integral.

Sarka lived in Australia before coming to Guyana just over a year ago with her husband who is here on a contract. She is a mother of two young children, aged two and five years old.

Since her arrival here, she has been a volunteer with Guyana Red Cross Society Children's Convalescent Home. She has also worked with UNICEF as a graphic artist designing posters among other things for the organization.

Sarka said she has about a year left in Guyana but there is a possibility she could stay on if her husband's contact is renewed. She leaves for Europe within a few months but is expected back here in August. ianaseales@yahoo.com

Stabroek News

The intelligence segment

2006-06-06T00:04:00.000-04:00

The Scene

Saturday, June 3rd 2006

The Miss Guyana Universe pageant competition kicked off on Thursday night with the intelligence segment and in keeping with recent history provided some much-needed comic relief for viewers.

The segment was aired live on NCN Channel 11, with the two interviewers for the night - NCN's 'Guyana Today' host, Indira Badal and the man behind Capitol News, Enrico Woolford - going easy on the delegates who did not seem to appreciate it.

They may have been nervous, the delegates that is, but that was no excuse for not answering the questions asked. Some of them chose not to think, rattling off answers that seemed to have been 'pre-recorded' in their brains. Otherwise, they gave responses like, "Yes, I think so..." and finished off with the 'beauty queen' smile as though they had said something very clever.

The Scene found it difficult to give any delegate a thumbs-up in this segment, although Omega Narine might just have been half an inch ahead of the others. Tall and stately, Omega has a presence and she knows it. Asked what was her best asset in the pageant the beauty gushed: "Ohhh, it has to be my legs". So judges please pay close attention to her legs during the swimsuit segment tomorrow. She did say afterwards that her intelligence is also an asset since she is, "highly intellectual."

Natasha Prakash, the girl from Washington DC, was a mess of nerves, faltering although she has a degree in communication. Her platform was the importance of children staying in school, but on Thursday night it seemed she had forgotten why they should. And she attributed this to her nervousness and to Woolford asking her a "hard" question. But if you must know she has two beautiful sisters and children don't necessarily have to stay in school to be successful.

Contestant Christa Simmons said her favourite colour of pink could be seen as a form of empowerment for women. Though she did say that women needed to educate themselves.

Shenella Bourne from the West Coast 'Demawawa' is in the city to obtain her degree in CXC. Added to which, she loves rice, Spanish rice, cook-up rice, fried rice, you name it; she loves it. Her platform is autism and she seemed to have rehearsed, uhmmm that should be researched it well. Should she have her way, as queen she would tell us more about it.

Lavonia Springer is interesting. A former national footballer, she said she played football because it kept her out of trouble and helped build her self esteem. Her platform is child labour but she should have focused on the question that was asked, instead of making use of the pre-recorded answer.

Lavern Spencer from New Amsterdam, hopes to one day become a psychologist and when asked what steps she has taken to achieve this goal, said the fact that she is a music instructor and nursery school teacher makes that goal reachable.

Allana Ernest is into prayers and she hates chocolates and ice cream. Why? Well, yuck, chocolate just does not "taste nice", and ice cream makes her upset. She is a trainee nurse and she chose the profession because she loves body parts and the diseases affecting the body.

The other contestants are Sonjie Marslowe, Queenith Dundas, Melinda De Santos and Rene Chester. One other, Ellen Ann Bellamy, dropped out of the contest. Well she just never returned to training and the pageant co-ordinators have heard nothing from her in weeks.

Stabroek News

It's a Boom Drop thing!

2006-06-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

The Scene

Saturday, June 3rd 2006

Members of the Fire Clan Band

The New Court yard will be brighter than ever tonight as local artistes launch their own music form called the 'Boom Drop'.

The launch is a collaborative effort between the Dynamics Studio and Fyah Gate Records.

Earlier this year word got around about the "Boom Drop music" and The Entertainers and other artistes took a try at it. Their music indeed boomed on the radio, in nightclubs and other places.

The Entertainers came out with "Ah, Ah, Ah"; Jermaine Brathwaithe (JB) did his dynamite piece "Fight No More"; Shelly Garraway who is now known as 'Shelly G' also took a try at it with "Party" and now persons are wondering if the sound of 'Alabama' is indeed Guyanese.

Today these artistes will celebrate their achievements at the launch and supporters will now have a chance to see them perform their pieces live. Showtime is 9 pm.

"Guyanese can now boast about their own music," Osley 'Spida' Hopkinson said in a recent interview with The Scene.

Hopkinson who built the "Boom Drop" rhythm said it came through inspiration and his love for music. "Jamaica has Reggae and Dancehall music, Trinidad has Soca and now Guyana has 'Boom Drop,'" said Hopkinson who is also the leader of the Fire Clan Band.

According to Hopkinson, Boom Drop is a little bit of everything; it's music that will make people dance.

Guyana Chronicle

Cancer Society honours survivors

2006-06-05T23:57:00.000-04:00

By Ruel Johnson


SURVIVORS: Mrs. Mitzy Campbell, left, with other Guyanese cancer survivors. (Delano Williams photo)

AT A brief but touching ceremony at the Cara Lodge hotel on Quamina Street, Georgetown on Saturday, the Guyana Cancer Society paid tribute to those in Guyana who have survived cancer in its various forms.

Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) Guyana Representative, Dr. Bernadette Theodore-Gandi stated that Guyanese cancer survivors possess a special courage and strength in that they survive within a health care system that does not have the optimum facilities for their survival.

She said that – in addition to treatment – internal strength, support and encouragement from loved ones as well as other survivors have been shown to clearly increase the chances of survival for cancer patients although there has been no scientific evident to support the phenomenon.

She stated that stories of survival also act as a support for and give hope to people suffering from cancer but most survival stories come from developed countries which possess far better facilities for dealing with cancer.

The PAHO Rep. said that a book loaned to her by PAHO Administrator Mr. Keith Burrowes, entitled ‘Our words shall live on’, gave a voice to cancer survivors in Guyana.


PAHO Representative Dr. Bernadette Theodore-Gandi, right, formally hands over a copy of “Our words will live on” a book of cancer survival stories written by Dr. Janice Imhoff, to Mrs. Mitzy Campbell, President of the Guyana Cancer Society. (Delano Williams photo)

Written by Dr Janice Imhoff, the book tells the stories of several survivors of various forms of cancer in Guyana from their personal perspectives. PAHO has purchased a number of copies of Imhoff’s book to be distributed to members of the Guyana Cancer Society as well as cancer survivors.

President of the Guyana Cancer Society, Ms. Mitzy Campbell stated, in her brief presentation, that for survivors of cancer, every breath taken is like winning the lottery.

A cancer survivor, she said, is any person who has fought the disease and is still living, even those whose cancers remain.

Herself a cancer survivor and founder of the Guyana Cancer Survivors Group, Campbell stated that whenever a survivor succumbs to the disease, the sense of fear and loss is devastating to those who are living with the disease. She acknowledged the invaluable work of Ms. Rosemarie Sealey, a member of the group who passed away recently.

Saturday’s audience was given the privilege of hearing five real testimonials of surviving cancer from close relatives as well as some survivors themselves.

Ms. Linda Tanner, grandmother of five-year-old Kemo Tanner, spoke about the discovery of a tumour on one of her grandson’s kidneys when he was just a few months old. After two years of chemotherapy, Kemo is today a healthy and otherwise normal young five-year old.

Ms Lynette Cunha spoke on behalf of her elderly mother, Ms. Doris Carr, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, and fought off the disease with help from relatives and the Guyana Cancer Society; unfortunately the cancer has recently returned and Carr is again undergoing treatment.

Mr. Winston Benn spoke of his own struggle with cancer – twice in the past five years – and how he came to become involved in the Cancer Society’s work because of it.

Cervical cancer survivor, Ms. Annette Kendall urged women to take pap smears to avoid the trauma of treatment that she went through, since the disease is more treatable the earlier it is detected.

The audience was particularly moved by the testimonial of Mrs. Farida Khan, of Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara, who discovered that she had cancer only in August of last year. A tearful Khan said that she has so far had five chemotherapy sessions, and her ongoing treatment has only been possible through the intervention of the society.

Cancer Society member Ms. Vanda Radzik, who introduced the survivors, congratulated them on the courage it took to both survive and to speak about it openly. She stated that while she herself was not a cancer survivor, she nevertheless knew the effects of the disease since her father succumbed to brain cancer during the mid-1980s.

In arguably the most heartfelt and touching moment of an evening defined by its poignancy, the society paid tribute to its Patron, Mrs. Hilda Cox-Bullen – wife of the United States Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. Roland Bullen.

Former executive member of the society, Ms. Lorna McPherson, recalled for the audience how Mrs. Cox-Bullen actually contacted the society to find out how she could help. McPherson stated that although Cox-Bullen has been in the position for roughly about a year only – having taken over from former patron, Mrs. Janet Jagan – it has been a year marked by vibrancy, dedication and a deep, no-nonsense involvement with the cause.

It was a teary Cox-Bullen who addressed the audience, saying that while it has been a real joy for her to be part of the association, it has also been very, very depressing for a number of reasons. The chief of these, Cox-Bullen stated, was the health system in Guyana vis a vis the level of treatment available for people living with cancer.

She stated that there needed to be a lot more public awareness of cancer and the significant work the Cancer Society itself was doing. She, however, also warned that the society must ensure that new blood must keep being injected into the organisation and that those involved must show a proven dedication to the cause, or make space for others who can be more committed.

With her husband’s tenure here almost over, Cox-Bullen has little time left time in Guyana and so will no longer be Patron.

Guyana Chronicle

Rapper 50 Cent To Ignite Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest 2006

2006-06-05T02:26:00.000-04:00

Carib PR Newswire, KINGSTON, Jamaica, Mon. June 5, 2006: Grammy winning hip- hop artist, 50 Cent, will thrill fans with his tales from the street, when he appears at the world’s greatest reggae show, Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest, in Jamaica, this July.

There has been a buzz on the streets of Jamaica since speculations were raised months ago that the hugely popular star would return to the island to perform at Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest.

After much anticipation promoters of the event, Summerfest Productions confirmed that the hip-hop icon would headline the festival’s Friday night event, “Ignition on July 21 in Montego Bay.

Jomo Cato Director of Marketing for Summerfest Productions said the show is expected to be tremendously exciting with 50 Cent’s inclusion.

“50 Cent is absolutely one of the most exciting personalities in music he has an aura that excites fans even before he touches the stage,” said Cato. “We expect this show to be tremendously exciting and a huge favorite with our fans, when you look at the line up for Ignition, it is an event that no one in Jamaica will miss, my advice is to get your tickets early!”

When 50 cent last appeared in Jamaica in 2003, the show set venue records and was the most talked about event that year.

Cato noted that 50 Cent is quite popular in Jamaica because he has a real connection with the Jamaican audience.

“Jamaicans admire his rags to riches story and his relentless ambition. Many Jamaican’s see a lot of themselves in 50 Cent, someone who is determined to make it despite the odds and has put in the work necessary to succeed,” Cato added.

Carlo Redwood, Group Marketing Manager at Red Stripe, the title sponsors of the event, explained that Red Stripe was instrumental in signing the rap mogul.

“Red Stripe is responsible for bringing 50 Cent to Jamaica for Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest,” Redwood stated. “Our decision to push for his inclusion in the line up this year grew out of our commitment to make this reggae show, the world’s greatest and Jamaica’s best. We thought that by including the rap star, who many Jamaicans admire and love, would only add to the explosive talent at this years showing.”

Ignition will also feature Jamaica’s explosive dancehall star Sizzla, hip hop duo Mobb Deep, Lloyd Banks Lady Saw, Vegas and Germany’s international reggae sensation Gentleman

Since he burst unto the scene, 50 Cent has sold over 20 million records and sold out venues in countries around the world. In its first week of release, his debut "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" sold 872,000 copies. The album was certified gold in its first week and platinum the next, and it broke the record for first week sales of any major label debut in the entire soundscan era.

Fans can expect, 50 Cent to roll out all his huge hits, from the comical ‘How To Rob,’ which first got him noticed, to the hypnotic ‘In Da Club,, ‘Many Men’, ‘P.I.M.P,’ ‘Candy Shop,’ ‘Wanksta,’‘21 Questions,’ ‘What Up Gangsta’ and to his latest burners, ‘Best Friends,’ the duet with Olivia and Outta Control, recorded with Mobb Deep. G-Unit members Tony Yayo and Young Buc are also expected to join 50 Cent on stage at Ignition.

This year, Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest is being presented under the theme, “Jamaica’s Greatest The World’s Best,” and will be staged in the ‘Vibes City,’ Montego Bay from July 16- 22 this year. Now in its 14th year, the event is recognised around the world as the premier reggae festival on the planet and is Jamaica’s largest and continuously running music event.

Among the other artists set to perform at Sumfest 2006 are Grammy winner Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley, the ‘Poor People’s Governor’ Bounty Killa and the self proclaimed ‘King of the Dancehall’ and Grammy award winner Beenie Man as well as Capleton, Buju Banton, Beres Hammond, Elephant Man, Baby Cham, Macka Diamond, Busy Signal and Wayne Marshall, Sizzla, Richie Spice, Mobb Deep, Chuck Fenda, Mr. Vegas, Leftside & Esco, Voice Mail, Gyptian, reggae’s legends, John Holt, Gregory Isaacs and and Pam Hall; Yellowman, Admiral Bailey, General Trees, Pinchers, Frankie Paul, Charlie Chaplin, Peter Metro, Courtney Melody and Flourgon.

Additionally, new themes and brand new concepts have been added to the 2006 show, which, kicks-off this year with the all new Vibe Island Beach Party on Sunday, July 16th, featuring Jamaica’s hottest selectors, the “Reggae on the Runway’ fashion segment, and the ‘White House Fish Fiesta.’

The party continues on Monday July 17th with ‘Mad Monday’s Mobay,’ staged in partnership with the Hip Strip community. This event will feature an arts and craft street fair, cuisine sampling for hip strip restaurants, and music from Jamaica’s biggest sound systems.

While on Wednesday, July 19, Summerfest Productions will stage “Top Ranking” a show that will highlight some of the best years of dancehall music. ‘Stormfront – the explosive dancehall night,’ follows on Thursday night, July 20 while the ‘Ignition’ concert will be the pulling card for Montego Bay on Friday July 21. Sumfest will climax with ‘The Summit’ On July 22.

Summerfest Productions has budgeted over $100 million to be spent on Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest this year in addition to the expenditure by the event’s major sponsors.

“Our investment in Western Jamaica is quite significant and translates into hundreds of jobs, new business opportunities and several other economic and social spin offs. As organizers of Jamaica’s greatest and the world’s best reggae music festival, we are proud to know that Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest is contributing to the development of Montego Bay ‘the Vibes city’ and the country’s overall economic progress,” Marketing Director Cato said recently.

Key sponsors this year include Red Stripe, the Jamaica Tourist Board, Air Jamaica, Digicel and Ocean Spray as well as media partners, the Jamaica Observer, CVM TV and Fame FM.

For travel packages and more information, log on to www.reggaesumfest.com.

The 2006 line-up is follows:

July 16th – 22nd - Montego Bay – The Vibes City!

Sunday July 16th – Vibes Island – Tropical Beach - J$600, featuring, Kurt Riley, Coppershot, DJ Liquid, Pure Playas, 3rd Degree and Pieces.

Monday July 17th – Mad Monday Mobay – Hip Strip – Free - featuring Swatch International, Fire Links, Pieces and Pure Playas.

Wednesday July 19th – Top Ranking – Pier 1 - J$1000.00 Presold / $1200.00 at Gate - with John Holt, Gregory Isaacs, Yellowman, Admiral Bailey, General Trees, Pinchers, Frankie Paul, Charlie Chaplin, Josey Wales, Peter Metro, Courtney Melody, Flourgon and Pam Hall with Lloyd Parkes & The We The People Band.

Thursday July 20th – Stormfront – The Explosive Dancehall Night – Main Venue - J$1800.00 Presold / $2000.00 at Gate featuring: Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Capleton, Elephant Man, Cham, Chuck Fenda, Macka Diamond, Wayne Marshall, Busy Signal, Leftside & Esco, Voice Mail, Spice, Gyptian, Fantan Mojah, Natural Black, Little Hero, Black-er, Conrad, Crystal & Suga Roy and Aidonia.

Friday July 21st – Ignition – Main Venue - J$2800.00 Presold / $3000.00 at Gate. With 50 Cent & G-Unit, featuring Lloyd Banks & Tony A-yo, Sizzla, Lady Saw Mase, Mr. Vegas, Richie Spice, Noddy Virtue, Andy Vernon and Jovi Rockwell.

Saturday July 22nd – The Summit – Main Venue - J$2800.00 Presold / $3000.00 at Gate featuring Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Beres Hammond, Rihanna, Buju Banton, Gentleman and Tarrus Riley.

ABOUT SUMMERFEST PRODUCTIONS

Summerfest Productions Limited is a privately held company owned by a group of shareholders including Johnny Gourzong, its executive director; Geoffrey Dwyer, immediate past chairman and Robert Russell, current chair. The group has been staging Jamaica’s biggest music event Reggae Sumfest for the past 14 years.

Through its events, Summerfest productions provide a significant contribution to Jamaica’s music industry, the tourism business in western Jamaica and by extension, the economy of Jamaica.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

JAMAICA: Ayesha Creary - Creative Marketing: 876 382 3739; email: creativemarketing@cwjamaica.com

INTERNATIONAL: Felicia Persaud - Carib PR: 718 476 3616

felicia@caribpr.com

Press Events and Accreditation: Marcia McDonnough
Touchstone Productions 876-927-3434;
email: marciamc@touchstoneproductions.net

STICKFIGHTING PART OF OUR CULTURE

2006-06-05T00:36:00.000-04:00

BAJAN CULTURAL ACTIVIST SAYS MULTI- RACIAL INFLUENCES IN IT.

By NORMAN FARIA


Indian Silambam stickfighter

I was deeply honoured to have been invited to represent the Guyana government and people at a recent public lecture by my old friend and cultural activist Elombe (formerly Elton Mottley) on the topic “Stickfighting”.

Stickfighting, called sticklicking in Barbados, is a type of sword fighting-like sport involving two or more participants using three to four foot long wooden sticks.

Held at the Barbados campus of the University of the West Indies, the lecture was most informative. It filled in the details about a working people’s grassroots activity many in the packed Lecture Theatre had only vaguely known about while growing up from the 1950s onwards.

It was a well researched delivery, drawing from sources as diverse as still practicing enthusiasts of the almost obscure art form to university academics. Elombe outlined the origins of stickfighting and the need to preserve it as part of our culture whether we live in Barbados, Guyana or elsewhere in the region..

The former Barbados government Director of Culture (1982) who now resides in Jamaica where he writes and hosts a radio phone-in programme, said the art form as used by people of African descent in the Caribbean and certain parts of Central and South America originated in parts of West Africa. Stickfighting skills were also brought to the hemisphere by indentured workers from India while European traditions further influenced it.

Aside from the preservation of cultural art forms as part of everyday life while relaxing and interacting with others, it was also used for defensive and other purposes. He cited for example, combatants of the 1816 slave rebellion in Barbados being armed with sticks.


Portuguese stickfighters

There were variations of it among the many islands and territories including Spanish speaking countries. The “rules” of stickfighting, Elombe explained, varied . For example in Trinidad where it is known as kalenda, the hitting of your “opponent” below the waist was frowned upon. In Barbados and some other places, any part of the body, including the testicles, could be a target..

The art form had different names. Aside from the kalenda, it was known as Setu in Guyana, Mani in Cuba, Mousondi in Haiti and Koko Makeku in Curacao. Among the other countries where research has been conducted on it are Suriname and Puerto Rico.

In some communities, the activity was accompanied by drums and singing. In Guyana groups sometimes took part in Setu activities in clearings in the canefields and forest areas, often at Christmas time.

For the most part, in its pure form, it was good natured, a sport-like activity instilling discipline and mental skills and “a certain bravado and indomitable spirit” as the lecturer put it.. A integral part of the art form, Elombe ventured, was its defensive skills. Indeed, the title of the lecture was “Cover down yuh Bucket”, a Bajan expression meaning “prepare your defence” or “watch yourself”.

Speaking before the Bajan audience, Elombe referred to what he described as the “martial” reputation of Bajans throughout the region during the heyday of stickfighting after Emancipation in the mid 1800s and well into the 1940s and 1950s. With labour shortages in English speaking countries, as well as Panama where they worked on the building of the Canal , Bajans spread out looking for jobs. Many worked as policemen There was a ripple of appreciative smiles, some would describe as an embarrassed reaction, in the audience when the speaker intoned: “Bajans headed out to B.G.. ! ”, referring to then British Guiana. In the early part of the last Century there were at least “four times as many Bajans” in the Guyana Police force as local non-commissioned officers, he said.

Bajans had a bad reputation.. In fact, he disclosed there was some similarity between the word “Bajan” and “Bad John” in Trinidad where they also went. They took stickfighting skills with them. They got caught up in gangs and lumpen elements including prostitutes and “wharf rats”or the “underworld culture” as Elombe described it. One police report described Bajans as being part of groups of “rogues and vagabonds”. As policemen, they were also feared.. Referring to research done by U.S.based Guyanese-born academic Juantia de Barros, Elombe said Bajans were found among the “Santapee” gangs in Guyana. He added other, more disciplined and focused individuals, including trade union leader H.N. Crichlow, were also involved in the early organized labour struggles.


Stickfighters in action

Stickfighting crossed racial boundaries and its origins reflected this, Elombe noted. “Stickfighting in the Caribbean (and Guyana) also absorbed European and Indian influences. Both European and Indian stick fighting seem to have long traditions.”, he said. In an interview after the lecture, Elombe told me he was informed that the word for stickfighting, namely Setu, in Guyana was a Hindi word. It is likely therefore, that the art form was practiced by Indo-Guyanese as part of their culture, but also incorporating local influences. It instilled discipline , learning and self defense attitudes.

The published author also paid homage to Joe Hoad, the son of a white Barbadian planter who tried to preserve the art form in Barbados during the 1940s and 1950s to the extent of organizing a competition in 1955 at one of the local cinemas.

Why did the art form become almost extinct? Elombe ventured that one of the reasons may be the “emphasis on American values and practices” instilled even more with the advent of television into the region in the early 1960s. One wasn’t sure whether his recollections as a teenager of (Australian/U.S. actor) Errol Flynn and his swordplay in movies such as “Captain Blood” and Robin Hood” as a “swordlicking god” was a criticism of the American culture’s influence or an appreciation of a skill similar to the indigenous sticklicking. Probably both, if I know Elombe.

The graduate from Canadian and US universities in Accounting and Finance praised the efforts of a small group of Barbadians led by sanitation worker Elvis Gill in establishing a Sticklicking Martial Arts School in 1987. Regrettably, Elombe said, the revelant sports and cultural authorities in Barbados had not provided any assistance nor encouragement to the art form. Instead, he lamented, they promoted such sports as fencing and archery. While these latter sports have a role, he felt activities which “define Bajan character” should also be preserved. He concluded his well researched and appreciated lecture: “Many of our (traditional) practices have been abandoned…it is imperative that we (as Caribbean people of all races) redefine ourselves for our survival. With imagination, we can create a new situation so as to revive these practices for future generations. It is not that what we have is archaic but that we don’t recognise our own expressions”.

Elombe is now working on a book “Cover down Yuh Bucket: the Story of Sticklicking in Barbados” and it should be released this year.

(NORMAN FARIA IS GUYANA’S HONORARY CONSUL IN BARBADOS)

Guyana Chronicle

The Arts of Guyana

2006-06-05T00:33:00.000-04:00

A multi-cultural Caribbean adventure


Joe Cabongo, 1967-81 by Philip Moore. Acrylic on plyboard, collection of the National Art Gallery, Castellani House.

Exhibit at Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Washington, pays tribute to Guyanese artists living and working in Guyana.

AN EXHIBITION of utilitarian utensils made by Guyanese Amerindians, paintings, sculptures, leather and fibre objects by contemporary Guyanese artists from different ethnic backgrounds, opened to the public at the gallery of the IDB Cultural Centre, Washington DC, on Thursday.

More than 50 works by the Amerindian population have been selected, as well as paintings and sculptures from private and public collections such as the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology, Castellani House, the Museum of African Heritage, the Roots and culture Gallery, the Burrowes School of Art, and the Faculty of Arts of the University of Guyana.

The exhibit titled `The Arts of Guyana: A Multicultural Caribbean Adventure’ pays tribute to Guyanese artists and culture and runs until August 11.

“The exhibition recognises the cultural contributions made, from pre-Columbian times to the present, by so many men and women of varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds, including regional indigenous Americans, Africans, Indians and Europeans. Their combined influence, at different times in history, has made culture part of a sustained effort to advance development in the country. This exhibition acknowledges their effort, and gives the IDB an opportunity to join in the 2006 celebrations of Guyana’s 40th year of independence an the commemoration of Caribbean American Heritage Month, which was declared for June by the US Congress,” Mirna Lievano de Marques, IDB External Relations Advisor.

The curator of the exhibition is Felix Angel, the IDB Cultural Centre General Coordinator and Curator, who is assisted by Elfrieda Bissember, Curator and Director of the National Gallery of Guyana, Castellani House., and Gerard Perreira, Assistant Director of the Walter Roth Museum, in Georgetown.

The IDB said it is fully aware of the challenges posed to the Caribbean nations by a constantly changing economic, political and social environment, each year more globalised than before. “But it is also aware of their accomplishments and potential, and of the role that culture plays in defining and clarifying them, as it does in the construction process of any great nation,” a release from the IDB Cultural Centre said.


Kings of the South, 2002-2004 by Winslow Craig. Samaan wood.

Angel stated in his introduction of the exhibition that it has been organised with the intention of showing the “multicultural composition of Guyanese society today, to give credit to the many people who have participated in the cultural definition of its nationhood as represented by architecture, and to recognise those contemporary artists who continue to work in the country, no matter how difficult the practice of the arts may be.”

The exhibition includes a number of objects created and manufactured by the descendants of the original inhabitants, and seeks to highlight their aesthetic and visual aspects.

“The catalogue includes a marginal reference to the architectural legacy of Guyana, one of the richest in the Caribbean. Examples of Christian, Hindu and Muslim faiths, and Indian, Middle Eastern, and European cultures abound. Residential architecture is particularly important. Many old houses have been taken over by insurance companies and other business, preserving them for future generations, while making convenient use of them due to their strategic urban location. Most of them bear the Demerara window, a trademark feature of Guyanese colonial architecture. Among the most impressive buildings is the residence of the Prime Minister, and the Guyana National Gallery, which bears the name of Caesar Castellani (who designed it), the famous architect of many structures built in the city of Georgetown during the 19th century. Although fire and the elements have damaged and destroyed many wooden structures over time, Guyana’s remaining examples of colonial Caribbean architecture are unique,” the release said.

It added that Guyana’s artistic Diaspora is spread all over the world, and previous exhibits in Washington have given ample testimony of this fact, featuring the work of many artists, some of whom live in the United States. However, the current display is intentionally focused on artists currently living in Guyana. A component to the exhibition in the form of the work of Stanley Greaves, Patrick Barrington, Hubert Moshett and Ronald Savory, has been added to “give an indication, nothing more, that some art pioneers existed at the time of emancipation from England, helping to establish a perspective for those deprived visions when narrating the `official’ history of the arts in the country…”

Among the outstanding pieces on display are Winston Strick’s leather sculptures, one of which was recently acquired by the Inter-American Development Bank; the paintings by Carl Anderson; and the paintings, sculptures and reliefs of Philip Moore, one of the most intriguing and multi-faceted artists of the entire Caribbean who is still living and working in Guyana. The exhibition also includes fibre work of three “much younger, promising students at the Art Faculty of the University of Guyana, Carlesta Sutton, Stacia Pitt and Brian George.

The IDB Cultural Centre has extended its gratitude to all those who have made the exhibition possible including Keith Booker of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; the Ministry of Tourism; Tamika Boatswain, National Museum; Dr. James Rose, National Trust; Dr. Desrey Fox and Gerard Perreira, Walter Roth Museum; Chairman and Management Committee of the National Gallery; Tota Mangar, University of Guyana, Faculty of Arts; June Dubisette, National Archives; Kathleen Thompson, Burrowes School of Art; R. Williams, Roots and Culture Gallery; Jenny Daly, Museum of African Heritage; Anna Correia, Women’s Artists Association; Patsy Ann Ramussen, Smithsonian Institution; Desmond Alli, artist; Winslow Craig, artist; and Carl Anderson, artist. Special thanks to the IDB Representative in Guyana, Sergio Varas-Olea, and Marco Nicola, Deputy Representative.

Pictures: Signs of the Zodiac, 1993, by Winston Strick.. Leather, with aluminum and galvanised wire, collection of the Roots and Culture Gallery.

Guyana Chronicle

40th anniversary production evokes laughter, tears solemnity

2006-06-05T00:28:00.000-04:00

By Neil Marks


Isaac Jerry, who led an expedition to plant the National Flag on Mount Ayangana on May 26, 1966 is honoured during the staging of the GT&T sponsored Independence production All in Wan.

SEASONED with reflections and memories and then put to fire in song and dance, costume, poetry, raps and rhythms, sights and sounds, All in Wan, wended its way through the past 40 years of Guyanese life evoking bellyful laughter, tear-filled eyes and sober thoughts of what keeps sustaining us at home – our vibrant and varied culture.


The Classique Dance Company excited the audience with this “cane cutter dance” at as part of the programme for All in Wan.

The distressing moments made you think you should have never put so much pepper in the pot “cause yo eye water guh run” but the pot would not have been complete without it. The ingenious comedy left you using your fingers to lick any remains in the plate. And, of course, the “bun-bun” was just as good as the rest of the meal.
Dave Martins was sure of what `All in Wan’ would achieve.


Dave Martins looks on with delight as his script for All in Wan is performed on stage.

He promised it would make you clap and laugh and jump, and maybe even shed a tear. It did all of that.

His script of the vibrant Guyanese culture over the past 40 years was brought to life on stage through Gem-Madhoo Nascimento’s vast experience in theatre production and the unstoppable prowess of Ron Robinson as Director.

The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) commissioned Martins to write the production “to create moments of nostalgia in some of us, to cultivate awareness in others and generally to remind us that, despite everything, Guyana is ours to love and to build.”

It was GT&T’s gift to Guyana on the fortieth anniversary of the country’s Independence.

METHOD
IT’S no use going in to ingredients for this pot; it was an All in Wan. Basically, what you do is that you find all that is digestible, throw it in a pot and set to boil.

The gala performance was staged on Independence Day itself, May 26, sort of a banquet of delicious dishes – metagee, roti and duck curry, callaloo, Iguana stew - for “the important people.”

No sooner had President Bharrat Jagdeo arrived than the tin cup band emerged from the foyer of the National Cultural Centre and into the auditorium.


Rhythm, rhythm: Chiney (Michael Ignatius) Archie (Howard Lorimer), Kaimchan (Ajay Baksh) and Geesh (Kirk Jardine) perform in All In Wan.

Tapping away their tin cups, the band made its way to the stage as Dave Martins’ `Rhythm, rhythm’ played. Accompanying them were the main performers of the night – Archie (Howard Lorimer), Geesh (Kirk Jardine), Kaimchan (Ajay Baksh) and Chiney (Michael Ignatius).
It was Archie’s birthday and the quartet already had “something” before tramping through the streets to his place for a celebration. When they settled down in his backyard and withdrew a bottle of XM rum, you knew it was going to be some serious “gyaff.”

They started off with one plain, simple truth, and that is that “plenty ting pass through dis country in de pas’ 40 years. It ain’t three cents ting.”

From that, they lunged into a hysterical, and at times, sober reflection, of what has happened in the country’s post-Independent history. But for the most part, it was a celebration of the things that make Guyanese happy at heart.

As the four reminisced about some of imaginative characters who are remembered for “Tryin’ a thing,” calypsonian Mighty Rebel took a “shot,” grabbed a microphone and told of all those who fit the category: If there’s “some kind o’ tricky business, the fella looking to swing, the contractor who build a stelling and it float away, the Georgetown clerk who buy a new truck and Hammie didn’t know, when the Army say it can’t find the guns, ‘dey only trying a ting.’”

Kaimchan is mesmerised by the “wicked” Classique dancers, putting members of the group on stage to a sizzling performance of African dance.

As the four sipped and moved on to the good Guyanese food, like metagee and roti, Geesh, who sported a good size stomach (real), changed the national motto to `One Nation, One People, One Belly’.

Ron Robinson was ace in his portrayal of an England-based Guyanese who sought peculiar English dishes from the Pegasus. The enterprising waitress, played by Nicola Moonsammy, found a Guyanese equivalent for each of the dishes.

The “fellas” next cracked jokes about an Indian national who was afraid that the Diwali lights from the diyas would blow up his gas station on the Eats Coast. That gave way to a performance by the Nadira and Indranie Shah Dance Troupe, who performed a tribute to the Hindu goddess of light.

The guys followed on, reflecting on how the different aspects of Guyanese cultures have developed and when fused make for a celebration of unity in diversity. This was aptly portrayed by the Classique dancers. First, one member of the group performed the Indian kathak dance to music from the Cove and John Ashram. Then, another member of the group performed an African dance to beats from the Congo Nya drummers. The music was blended and the two exchanged dances.


Dancers of the Indranie and Nadira Shah Dance Troupe perform a Diwali song as part of the programme for All in Wan.

This was followed by the showing of clips from a video by Mike Charles, showing the myriad waterfalls and waterways in the country. This was showed as Dave Martins’ `River come down’ played.

After that, the production took a poignant turn. Kaimchan and Archie reflect on the true spirit of Guyanese mothers and their love for their sons. They told familiar stories, of their mothers not sleeping until they got home at nights, however late it might have been. Then they reflected on all of those mothers who have seen their sons migrate in search of a better life for themselves and their relatives back home.

As Kaimchan talks of the agony on the face of a mother he saw embracing her son at the airport, just before his departure, Lianne Williams emerged on stage and rendered the soulful `Ow Bayta’. It was a moving tribute that resonated with not only the mothers, but the fathers in the audience.

“Nine long months ah carry yuh in me belly

Now you on de plane

Yuh chester drawer in de room sitting empty

No clothes dere again

Me and you planted bora and corailla

Livin’ Cove and John

Now as ah look in de yard and remember
All mi spirit gone.”


The Mighty Rebel joins Terry Gajraj on stage at the conclusion of All in Wan.

Kaimchan is overcome by his emotions and seeks to ease it by heading upstairs to get another bowl of ice. Archie goes with him.

Geesh thinks Archie’s birthday celebration is getting too “serious.” He talks about how the Guyanese who have gone overseas have indeed achieved a lot, becoming, for example, doctors and lawyers. “Some of them even become entertainers,” he says, and Terry Gajraj takes to the stage with `Guyanese Baboo’.

Another poignant moment of the evening followed when Isaac Jerry was elevated on a platform to take a bow as the man who led the expedition up Mount Ayangana to plant the national flag on Independence Day, 1966. He received tribute as the `Akawaio Man’ and Amerindian dancers added to the moment.

Soon thereafter, revellers in Mashramani costume celebrated to Rudy Grant’s `Mash in Guyana’.

After a brief intermission, the poem `Ah Dun wid Mash’ dramatised by Sheldon Braithwaite, well described the position Guyanese find themselves in the day after Mashramani – worn out and broke, and vowing never to tramp again. That is, until the bug bites them again the following year!

The highlight of the final session of the presentation was Keith Waithe’s rendition of the evergreen Indian classic movie song `Suhani Raat’. Using his flute, he transformed the song using Afro and Indian influences, using various techniques. He was helped by the Cove and John Ashram and the Congo Nya drummers. In the end, the stylised version of the song did not deviate from its poignant melody.

The presentation also paid tribute to renowned Guyanese of the past 40 for their contributions to national life, including former and late Presidents Dr. Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham, former President Mrs. Janet Jagan, late national poet Martin Carter, and renowned concert pianist Ray Luck.

Also featured on the programme were the Marigold Choir and the West Ruimveldt Boys Choir and the Joker’s Wild masquerade band.

The climax of the show was the singing of ‘All in Wan” by three-time calypso monarch, Lady Tempest.

Easter kite Jordanite, Diwali light, All in Wan

Mategee, duck curry, fricassee, All in Wan

Ballahoo, callaloo, guana stew, All in Wan

Koker door, greenheart floor, Atlantic shore, All in Wan

Cassava Bread, nappy head, iron bed, All in Wan

And of course, from a good All in Wan, how could you leave out the “bun bun?” When all the artistes came on stage in the grand finale and two female dancers in Mashramani costume held on to President Bharrat Jagdeo and ushered him to the stage, it made for a perfect end!

Guyana Chronicle

Dave Martins

2006-06-04T13:58:00.000-04:00

Preserving our literary heritage

by Petamber Persaud

HE IS de real-arrow, the real McCoy. He is the inimitable entertainer, composer, poet and playwright, Dave Martins. And he’s no copycat – e seh e goh waak into heaven, put down e roti an seh ‘wah happenin deh’.

That incomparable is Martins that he engineered his own heaven on earth. After living for a while in the maddening crowds of North America, Martins felt the need to return to the tranquillity of his roots. Midway to Guyana, he stopped to create his paradise. Living now in the Cayman Islands, he has transformed two and half acres of land into a replica of Guyanese society - Guyanese greenheart flooring and ceiling in the house, Guyanese painting and sculpture, Guyanese flora lining the driveway and surrounding the building.

But Dave Martins ‘is we own’. He was born in 1935 in Hague on the West Coast of Demerara, Guyana. He grew up between Pomeroon on the Essequibo River to Vreed-en-Hoop on the Demerara River, immortalising that period in the song, ‘Boyhood Days’. From his mother, Zepherina, he learnt never to procrastinate and more importantly to show respect to womanhood. His song, ‘Angel of the Ocean’ is dedicated to that wonderful woman. From his farmer father, Joseph Francis Martins, young Dave learnt to organise.

Those qualities are serving him well now that piracy is wrecking havoc in the music industry especially of the Caribbean and Third World countries. He contends that with technological advancement, piracy will not go away, so whatever redress is to be made to copyright infringement must be made with that in mind.

The proactive and organising qualities he acquired at home are serving him well as he keeps tight control on the fortunes of the ‘Tradewinds’ with his own label, Penny Records, remembering his cent an jill days.

Dave Martins refers to himself as a country boo-boo and thrives on the language of the grassroots even though he attended Roman Catholic influenced schools, Sacred Heart in Main Street (recently destroyed by fire) and St. Stanislaus College on Brickdam.

Dave Martins ‘is we own’ in literary works other than in his ‘Guyana’ songs like ‘Not a Blade of Grass’, defying mighty Venezuela’s claim to about two-thirds of Guyana. In 1988, his first musical, ‘Raise Up’, was staged, in Guyana, at the National Cultural Centre, to mark 150 years of full emancipation of slavery in Guyana. That play named best play of the year, later toured the Caribbean and North America. In May 2006, he wrote an elaborate musical, ‘All in Wan’, which was staged at the

National Cultural Centre to celebrate Guyana’s Fortieth Independence Anniversary.

Dave Martins ‘is we own’, growing up in Guyana, he wrote poetry and played music just for fun but both hobbies were to propel him to superstardom as a composer and performer.

In 1955, he migrated to Canada where he studied journalism, took courses in social sciences and humanities. He’s a self-taught linguist, anthropologist, sociologist, and historian. In 1962, he became a professional musician after studying towards that end. Wanting to do more, he gave up his song writing career with BMI label to form his first band, ‘The Debonairs’ and to operate his own entertainment club, ‘Wee Place’.

Music is in his blood; it entered his bloodstream since in his boyhood days in Guyana. It started in the home where his mother, a huge influence on his life, was constantly singing. Growing up in West Demerara, he couldn’t escape the pulsating, haunting melody of box guitars played in the dead of night by Joe and Jack Henry. And then there was radio bringing to him all strains of music especially R&B, country & western, Latin American, and some calypso. But for his song writing, he draws heavily on African music.

In 1966, he formed the ‘Tradewinds’ and the winds of change entered his life as the band gained instant success, feeding off the connectivity with the large West Indian community in Toronto. The group’s first song, ‘Honeymooning Couple’ was a runaway hit; forty years, later the band is still going strong and going places – performing annually in the region and in North America. The band performed at prestigious venues as Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, and Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

Martins wrote ‘Honeymooning Couple’ from a joke he heard while working on the air traffic system at Atkinson (now Timehri) Airport, Guyana, or in his own words, ‘de air base’. There were other sources of inspiration for writing songs. The highly entertaining ‘Cricket in the Jungle’ came out of a performance by Ken Corsbie. West Indians resident in the region and in the Diaspora would relate well to ‘Caribbean Man’, ‘Copycat’, ‘Civilisation’, ‘Mr. Rooster’, ‘Wong Ping’ and ‘Yuh can’t geh’. So far, Martins has written and recorded some 110 songs.

He dispelled the notion that he’s the conscience of the West Indies, saying he merely holds up a mirror to that society, no more, no less, for he is first and foremost and always will be just an entertainer.

In 1970, he won the CBC Canada Song Competition. In 1982, he was honoured by the Government of Guyana with the Arrow of Achievement Medal. In the 2002, the Guyana Folk Festival, New York, honoured him with the Wordsworth McAndrew Award, and in 2003, St. Stanislaus College recognised his contribution to music and culture.

And how would the change in music – from melody to rhythm base - affect his output? ‘No problem, dere man, I would continue to meet the needs of my fans’ – like in ‘All in Wan’.

And, of course, only Dave Martins could in a shrewd way pose the question, ‘where are your heroes’ Guyana….

Sources:

* Material from television interviews with Dave Martins, May 24, 2006, Guyana.

Guyana Chronicle