THE late Mohamed Fazloor Yasin was undoubtedly one of the greatest literary voices in Guyana. He passed away five years ago.

I met Mr. Yasin in 1999 when he was the secretary for the Association of Guyanese Writers and Artists and Mr. Roopnandan Singh was the President.
I was a young writer at the time, performing readings of my poetry and fiction and was able to get some of my writings published in some anthologies edited and published by Mr. Singh.
A few years later I became friends with Mr. Yasin when I was a judge for the Guyana Annual competitions. I encountered many of his short stories as a former judge for the Guyana Annual Short Story and Poetry categories. The contest was judged anonymously but the stories, myself and the other judges evaluated as the winning stories that won in the first, second, and third prizes in various categories for a number of years were written by none other than Mr. Yasin.

He also wrote some inspiring poetry and though poetry was not within his range of writings, the few pieces I read were filled with profound imagery and symbolism that left an indelible impression on my mind as a poet myself. He mastered the art and craft of short story writing like the Ernest Hemingway of Guyana and the wider Caribbean and won an award for his mesmerising short story ‘Crab-man’ in 1999 by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association.
Short Story competition – an immense feat very few Guyanese have ever achieved. Mr. Yasin was a very private person, a man of impeccable character and dignity who never spoke of his literary achievements and asked me to read his writings publicly on several prestigious literary readings among a great many literary scholars.

His stories are mostly written for young adults on a variety of themes he explored exquisitely with a great cast of characters from all walks of life. In 2001 he participated in a Cropper Foundation Creative Writing Workshop in Trinidad where he was taught in detail about fiction writing, including a number of genres in writing.
He especially enjoyed writing for children, which I believe he was gifted and inspired to do.
Mr. Yasin encouraged me to submit my writings to the editors of POUI literary journal that was accepted for publication several times.

In 2008 he won the Cheddi Jagan essay competition from 38 entries that was submitted from across the country. Mohamed Yasin carted off the $100,000 first prize. He was a very versatile and prolific writer and a keen editor in verse and prose. He wrote a fantastic introduction for my book of 300 poems: ‘The Revelation of Love’ published in May 2009; and was my editor for a number of years. I remember he would say to me: ”Don’t repeat yourself, change your metaphoric language in your poetry and let your poems be like a fresh rose”

The presence of Yasin was a warm one, full of humour, care and courtesy – one glance at him and his elegant smile like an Indian film star will make my day from all the stress and worries. He was a very kind, loving and open-hearted person who, though he embraced the Muslim faith he came for ten years at my church Bible College Graduation and sang our songs and prayed like a Christian.

It is my sincere hope that his spirit will live on through his legacy of work and that future generations will continue to be inspired by his immortal stories. I vividly recall a passage from one of his stories published from the book: TEK MI! NOH TEK MI!, which I quote here: ”He looked in surprise at the small, crystal-clear lake, which was unusual since most of the rivers and lakes in the country were filled with water the colour of molasses. The primeval beauty of the lake meant nothing to him. He didn’t appreciate the brazen rays of the brilliant sun bouncing off the glassy surface of the calm lake in a dazzling display of pristine beauty.” (From the story Edward’s Lake copyright 2008 Carlong Publishers)

The elegant poetic beauty of his language will be remembered in the generations to come, immortalised by fame.

I offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends he leaves behind; and hope his collected writings will remain as a literary legacy in the ages to come.

REV. GIDEON CECIL