A morning with E. R. Braithwaite
‘A MORNING with E. R. Braithwaite’ was a morning well spent.
Despite the inclement weather, despite the pressing routine weekend chores, despite the much-needed, much-deserved break from weekday toil, all who experienced ‘A Morning with E. R. Braithwaite’ were awestruck, bubbling over with one phrase: ‘A morning well spent’.
The crowning moment of the morning was labelled ‘surprise item’ on the programme. And what a moment it was to be part of the conversation with Mr. Braithwaite in Washington, D. C. and Mr. Francis Quamina Farrier in Georgetown, Guyana.
Using current electronic devices, the connection was made between two worlds: A connection between a remarkable writer and an audience of proud Guyanese, proud of the achievement of a son of the soil; a connection between yesteryear and today.
As the surprise item unfolded, as realisation dawned upon the audience, there was a hush, a buzz, a subdued and mounting excitement. Braithwaite, too, was surprised, and couldn’t respond for a while, but he was pleased about the event to honour him. And we were very happy to have spent a morning with E. R. Braithwaite.
‘A Morning with E. R. Braithwaite’, subtitled ‘A Kind of Homecoming’, was an event staged on Saturday May 21, 2011 by the National Library of Guyana, paying tribute to the writer. It was a remarkable effort by the institution, rewarded with expressions of awe and expressions commendation.
The programme proper opened with an informative and inspiring talk, ‘The Man’, delivered by Mr. Alim Hosein. Apart from the well-known achievements of ‘The Man’, Mr. Hosein added some insightful titbits. For instance, Mr. Hosein claimed that Braithwaite wrote about discrimination in a humane way rather than in a confrontational manner. This treatment of the subject is perhaps the main reason why the work of ‘The Man’ sustains interest unto now. It was revealed that there were efforts in recent years, especially by the BBC, to script and air the work of Braithwaite. It was also revealed that Braithwaite came from a privileged background of books, literature, culture, and the ability to attend the prestigious Queen’s College (The audience was made up of a few current students of that institution).
To buttress Mr. Hosein’s elucidation were readings from various books by the author. The readings (robust, subdued and exacting) were done by facilitators and members of the library’s reading club, and participants of the library’s champion readers’ competition.
Following are the extracts and readers: ‘To Sir with Love’ – Ms. Lurine Meertins; ‘A Kind of Homecoming’ – Mr. Petamber Persaud;  ‘A Choice of Straws’ – Ms. Rita Lowell; ‘Reluctant Neighbours’ –  Mr. Dominic Park; ‘Paid Servant’ – Ms. Rosanna Bisnauth; and ‘Honorary White’ – Mr. Keon Heywood.
Here is part of the extract from ‘A Kind of Homecoming’, taken from Part I, pages 58 to 62; it is a conversation among a husband, his wife and the narrator. ‘A Kind of Homecoming’ is thus described on the programme: “… both an illuminating portrayal of contemporary Africa, and an enthralling account of an experience universal in its appeal — the return to one’s roots.”
Here, the wife is speaking:
“Oh what, Pierre,” she said, with some heat. “What’s all this talk about the African mind after all these years of European influence. Do you imagine that Africans are such supermen that they have remained unaffected by close contact with the British and the Germans and the Dutch and French and God knows what! Your difficulty is that you see a situation as a Frenchman and you fondly imagine that your view is peculiar and special to you, or maybe to Frenchmen. When an African speaks French, do you suppose that he is merely a kind of gramophone reproducing words? No, he is also expressing sense, overtones, nuances, all of which is possible only because something inside him has become identified with the words, and for ever more that will be a part of himself, and he is therefore never again only African. The same is true of English-speaking or Spanish-speaking or any other African. And all these indefinable things play their part in this drive towards independence. So when you resist, you are resisting the African plus; and when you co-operate, you are co-operating with something besides the African, something akin to yourself.”
Following the readings, there were two tributes. Before the tributes, there was a word of caution from the Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Francis Quamina Farrier, who advised the audience to disassociate itself from the trend that a tribute is done only after a person has departed this life. A more effective tribute, he said, is one done while the person is still alive.
The first tribute was a poem written for the occasion, and presented by Donna Sargeant. The other tribute was a fine dissertation on Braithwaite’s work, presented by Mr. Al Creighton, a tribute which was different — a departure from saying all the good things about the person, not that anything bad was said about Braithwaite!
The next item was a dramatised extract from ‘To Sir with Love’, a re-enactment of the end-of-term get-together, a poignant moment, bringing the novel to life, an extension of the film of the same name. This extract was scripted and enacted by staff members of the library. The rendition of the song was emotionally chilling.
Yes! ‘A Morning with E. R. Braithwaite’ on Saturday May 21, 2011 was indeed a morning well spent.

WHAT’S HAPPENING:
·    A UNESCO-sponsored one-week creative writing workshop is set for Monday, August 8, 2011, between 09:00h and 16:00h. This project will be supervised by Writers in Concert (WICK), headed by Mr. Petamber Persaud. Limited places are available on a ‘first-come-first-serve’ basis. Facilitators will include local and international teachers/writers. The venue is the national Library. In order to apply, please email me your intention.

(To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)