THE TWELFTH consecutive issue of THE GUYANA ANNUAL magazine was launched on Labour Day, Saturday May 1, 2010, at the Theatre Guild in Kingston, Georgetown. THE GUYANA ANNUAL, formerly known as the Chronicle Christmas Annual, was resuscitated in 1998 by Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh. The Chronicle Christmas Annual,  launched in December 1915 “in the midst of the turbulence of the First World War … would continue, albeit in fits and starts, for at least another 75 years, with the last issue before this current number [1998] published in 1992.” (Nigel Westmaas).

Resuscitated in 1998, it had undergone a number of modifications to meet the need of both the producer and consumer of good literature. The main modification was the renaming process, instituted in order to give the magazine a perennial appeal.

The other modifications were the establishment of two recent prizes, namely: ‘The Martin Carter Essay Prize’ and ‘The Egbert Martin Poetry Prize’, specially designed to encourage writing by children under eleven years.

Other categories of competitions include providing reading material for children via ‘The Henry Josiah Writing Story for Children’ and ‘The Rajkumari Singh Writing Poetry for Children’.

This 2010 issue of the magazine features interesting articles, including ‘Adventure in Reading’ by Godfrey Chin; ‘Ganga Time’ by Roy Brummell; ‘Guyana’s Coinage’ by David Granger; ‘Photographing Guyana’ by Bobby Fernandes; ‘My First Test Cricket Match’ by Shan Razack; and ‘Domestic Violence and Suicide Prevention’ by Vince Ramcharran.

Other articles deal with our food culture, music of the Amerindians, protecting your PC from current fluctuations, Guyanese in the Diaspora, 100 years of scouting in Guyana, stories from Linden, women artist, and book reviews.

At the launch and award ceremony of the 2010 issue of the magazine, Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Clement Rohee, made the following remarks on the role of the writer in society:

“I want to say a few words about Government’s view of the artist, including the creative work of writers, since this view is often misunderstood.

“Politicians have to concern themselves with providing the basic necessities of life for the people – food, shelter, basic health services, jobs, education, security. It is very hard to do this basic work;  it is hard to find the resources to provide these fundamental needs.  It is a fulltime job in a still-developing country.   For that reason, politicians often seem to neglect creative people and their activities, with respect to art music, theatre, literature.  But it is not neglect; it is that when priorities are being considered, the basics must come first.

“When a nation begins to do better economically and financially, then a government can devote more attention and resources to the artists and writers. That is what you are seeing in Guyana today.  The country is doing better economically and financially —  and this despite the great global recession — and more resources can now be put into encouraging the arts and literature.  One recent example was the tremendous effort put into Carifesta and the resounding success of that festival of all the arts.

“And this, as you know, to give one example, was soon followed up by the establishment of The Caribbean Press, and the decision to reprint 36 classic Guyana books.  No doubt more will be done as the economy continues to grow and resources accumulate. But I want to make something very clear also.  Even in the worst times, no government can afford to forget or marginalise the role of the writer in our midst.

“That is why, for instance, even when the economy was in very bad shape, the Guyana Prize for Literature was introduced by the previous PNC government. And when the PPP government came to power, it had no hesitation in continuing the Prize, despite all the difficulties.  It was recognised by all that we must maintain the strong tradition of Guyanese writers, and continue to build on that tradition.  It was accepted by all that the spirit of our nation has always been strengthened by the work of our writers.

“Why is the writers’ role so important?  To put it at its simplest, it is because writers are the custodians, the guardians of language, and the best and most effective use of language is all-important in any nation.  The role of the writer is to protect the integrity of the language; make sure it is not corrupted, and to do everything possible to teach the value of language, the written and spoken words, at its best to the new generations as they emerge.

“Let me say a few more words about that.  The clear and effective use and understanding of language spread through the society from childhood is one absolutely essential requirement for national progress. This is not simply for the sake of producing great literature, though that is indeed one excellent by-product.  Nor is it for the sake of creating a generally more cultured society, though that also is a national good.

“It is simply that the widespread ability to communicate clearly and concisely, and to comprehend clear and concise communication is vital, because it is essential in the daily working lives of the farmer, the businessman and woman, the engineer, the administrator, the chemist, the accountant, the law enforcement officer, the banker and the thousand-and-one movers and doers in society.  The wheels of progress are oiled by the clear and effective use and understanding of language.  In this sense, can anyone doubt the absolute importance of fostering good writing in our nation?

“Let me say, in addition, that the ordinary citizen, in his daily life, simply functions better when he has ingrained in him or her the fundamentals of clear, good language.  All men and women, without exception, benefit in the ordinary course of their lives from the ability to understand a logical argument, comprehend the exact meaning of words, and gain the ability to use language, spoken or written, clearly in explaining themselves, describing events, and discussing his or her concerns or the nation’s affairs.   The writer is the essential facilitator in promoting this great national good.

“Dr.  Cheddi Jagan, then President of Guyana, at the Guyana Prize for Literature Award Ceremony on November 6, 1992, said: ‘The Guyanese writer has a major role to play in the rebuilding of our society… people engaged in the arts must see themselves as part of the development process.’

“And President Desmond Hoyte said: ‘We must treasure our makers of words as much as we treasure our makers of things.’ That is right.  As the English writer, Cyril Connolly said in his book, ‘Enemies of Promise’, the good writer, the true writer, ‘helps to unmask those pretenders which accompany all human plans for improvement the love of power and money, the short-sighted acquisitive passions, the legacies of injustice and ignorance, the  tiger instinct for fighting the easy desire to go with the crowd.  A writer must be a lie-detector who exposes fallacies in words and deeds before half the world is killed for them.’”

Tabulated below are winners of this year’s competitions:

Open Story:

First: Patrick George (The Choice)

Second: Mala Ramharak (Rustic Innocence)

Third (shared): Mala Ramharak (Entrapment Stymied) and Shonette Austin

Honourable Mention: Imam Baksh (Feeling)

Open Poetry:

First: Patrick George (The Champion Liar)

Second: Patrick George (A Matter of Pigmentation)

Third: Tivia Collins (Beyond Clouds
& Skies)

Fourth (shared): Patrick George, Tivia Collins, Mohamed Yasin & Omarnauth Bissoon

Honourable Mention: Pearl Lewis, Omarnauth Bissoon, Monica Thomas & Kenneth Daniels

Youth Story:

First (shared): Devi P. Sarju (Life Was Stolen Away) and Satesh Singh (Tara’s Life)

Second: Ian Mekdeci (Mabura Hill)

Third: Keisha Jeffrey (Stranger Husband)

Honourable Mention: Aruna Ramratan, Alana Gonsalves, Melisa Ramdeen and Michelle Ford

Youth Poetry:

First: Murtland Haley (Troubling Me)

Second: Murtland Haley (The Cold Days)

Third (shared): Murtland Haley (Caleon) and Kapil Lakra (Nobody Heard)

Honourable Mention: Shonette Austin & Alana Gonsalves

Henry Josiah Writing Story for Children:

First: Sheila King (Chatty Parrot’s Message)

Second: Iman Baksh (The Bring-back Machine)

Third: Mohamed Yasin (The Golden Apples)

Honourable Mention: Nil

Rajkumari Singh Writing Poetry for Children:

First: Pearl Lewis (Gilbert the Guinea Bird)

Second: Roger Hinds (Times Change)

Third: Nil

Honourable Mention: Imam Baksh

Martin Carter Essay Prize:

First: Stanley Ming (Crab Hunting)

Second: Zehira Yesreal (Untitled)

Third: Lerone Peters (Welcome to Guyana)

Honourable Mention: Beale Hasbrouck

Egbert Martin Poetry Prize:

First: Stanley Ming (63 Beach)

Second (shared): Dillon Sugrim (The Forest) and Ashlyn Roos (Splashmin’s)

Third: Nil

Honourable Mention: Kayla Beharry, Gabriella Safeek, Maysa Hasbrouck, Anisa Nasir, Rayshar Alli & Baele Hasbrouck