Contemporary Guyanese Literature (Part III)
(The conclusion of an interview with Juanita Cox on the Guyana Prize for Literature and contemporary Guyanese Literature, Georgetown, Guyana, 2011.
Juanita Cox is writing her PhD thesis on ‘Edgar Mittelholzer and the Shaping of his Novels’ at the University of Birmingham, UK. She is an Associate Fellow of the London Metropolitan University, where she lectures in Caribbean Studies and Black British History. She presented on Mittelholzer at the XXVIII Conference on West Indian Literature staged in Guyana in 2009. In 2011, she was a judge for the Guyana Prize for Literature 2010; the Prize was awarded in 2011.)
JC: No. I don’t think he was. Sylvia, as you have probably gathered, is my favourite Mittelholzer book. I just love it, but it is arguably a bit too long in places. Having said that, Western publishers also wanted him to omit references to folk culture. On that score, I hope he stood his ground, but would speculate (as there are gaps in the correspondence) that he might have felt the need to compromise. His later work was spoiled by the intervention of his voice… He became increasingly ‘preachy’ and expressed his views in a blunt, off-putting manner.
Many writers have strong views about society, and some cannot hold back on their desire to express these views via one of their characters. If they don’t handle these impulses with care, they can interrupt the natural flow of the narrative and kill off otherwise convincing characters. This is a key flaw in some of Mittelholzer’s later books; this is why an editor is useful: They can highlight passages of text that aren’t convincing. Editors — although they are frustrating from the point of view of the writer — are absolutely necessary. The other problem, of course, is identifying a good editor. A bad editor could just make matters worse.
PP: As part of the National Library Book Club, we are looking at books by contemporary writers; some of the books have gravitated to the CXC reading list, and I was pleasantly surprised by comments from young readers, some of whom didn’t like certain endings, and what they would do to fix those endings. Others raised issues about gender bias; some even opined a few books on the list were totally boring, giving reasons for their opinion etc. It was refreshing to hear these comments referencing books by George Lamming, Michael Anthony and others; books that were carefully selected by educators. I want to move in another direction…
JC: Petamber, before you do, I just want to make a quick comment. People need to be conscious. If you are a writer and want to earn money and want to be published, it could help to find out what topics are of interest to the reading public, and to remember that there are certain themes that appeal to publishers at different moments in time. You could write a brilliant book, but if its themes or storylines are not of present-day interest, it is possible you won’t find a publisher.
PP: I would agree with you here. When you are looking for editors/publishers, or even literary agents, you must match your material to suit that particular publishing house; the writer must know this; he/she must do their homework. Of course, if you want to be a writer, you must not only produce the work, but you must be able to market the material; you have to do your homework.
I said I wanted to move in another direction. I’ve just conducted an interview on film adaptation of great books. There is a move to film ‘Corentyne Thunder’. What other Mittelholzer book/s you’d like to see adapted to film?
JC: ‘Sylvia’ would make a great historical drama, particularly as Mittelholzer so successfully captures the sights and sounds of 1930s Georgetown. But I would love to see ‘My Bones and my Flute’ ; that would be fabulously scary. I can imagine it… the film. When I think of Guyana, my mind automatically turns to ‘jumbies’ and Dutchmen; this is entirely Mittelholzer’s fault [laughs], because his early novels are so evocative of this kind of thing.
PP: Have you heard the radio version of ‘My Bones and My Flute’?
JC: No, but many people have told me that it was very scary.
PP: It was an awesome production; done right here on local radio. In 2009, for Mittelholzer’s centenary, which coincided with the centenary of the National Library, we had cause to sponsor that radio drama, and the response was overwhelming. That radio drama was not visual, but it was effective. Look (pointing to my arms)!
JC: The hairs on your arms are already standing up… You’ve got goose bumps! Oh, my goodness!
PP: That’s how good it was.
JC: Every Guyanese person I have met in the Diaspora and asked about their favourite Mittelholzer book, referred to ‘My Bones and My Flute’. But when I ask if they have actually read it, most say no; they listened to the radio dramatisation.
PP: Let’s move back to contemporary writing; its shortcomings.
JC: What I would like to see are books with more local-specific details. This will sound daft, but, for instance, the dogs in Guyana are full of character; they are one of the first things that capture my attention whenever I’m in Guyana. They sleep by the side of roads fearlessly, and saunter across them as though oblivious to danger or perhaps unafraid of death. You just don’t see things like that in England. Dogs, cats, squirrels etc. all dart across main roads as though in terror! It’s tiny details like this that can make a book really rich, especially if they then take on symbolic importance. I also love the unique mix of sounds in Guyana… It should be remembered that setting is one of the most important aspects of any novel; providing its distinctiveness and atmosphere. This is something that Mittelholzer recognised when he imaginatively transposed the story of Moliere’s play, The Miser, into the Guyanese setting of Corentyne Thunder.
PP: David Dabydeen was meeting with a group of local writers, and the topic moved to stale writing, hackneyed writing, and he advised us to look for new arrangements to already explored subject matter; subjects already written on by great names in the field. The advice was to bring something new, fresh, to the discourse.
JC: If you ever think about submitting a book for a prize, you have got to think about what you are giving to the literary world that is different; what you are doing to the narrative structure that is different; what is it about the way you shape the novel that makes it fresh and exciting.
I like work to be experimental and innovative. Mittelholzer, for instance, wrote a novel whose structure was analogous to a programme symphony. That, for me, makes the work unique and exciting, particularly as it adds another level of meaning to the narrative. There are all sorts of different ways of being innovative, and it is up to the writer to use his/her imagination. You’re not just writing a story; you’re not just thinking about the plot; you are thinking about the shape of the novel, and how it is actually communicated.
PP: So, what you would produce is a dull, drab piece of writing if you do not come up with innovations?
JC: Not necessarily. But I think that is often what makes the difference between someone that wins, and those that are on the long/short list.
PP: Harrisian? There is a move now of writers talking back to other writers; many of our contemporary writers talking back to Wilson Harris; writers like David Dabydeen, Mark McWatt, Fred D’Aguiar and others…
JC: I love inter-textual writing; it is a fabulous way of building upon a tradition; developing ideas, arguing with or adding a twist to what has gone on before. I like, for instance, Stanley Greaves’s The Poems Man (directly influenced by his relationship with Martin Carter) as well as his artist’s response to Mittelholzer novel, ‘Shadows Move Among Them’. The best writers tend to be people who read a lot, and the outcome of that is quite often a form of ‘call and response’. Based on the overall standard of submissions to the Guyana Prize, I have come away with the impression that writers are not reading enough. It’s really important that people read as much and as widely as possible… Most people find that they learn a lot from other writers.
PP: I would like to thank you for these few but important tips about writing, and hope we can put some of these tips into effect…
JC: Never give up. Really, there is a lot of creative talent here… the aspects that need improvement (for example grammar, structure and style) can be honed through practise and creative writing courses. It might also help to set up writers’ groups (assuming they don’t already exist). Writers could critique each other’s work, or get friends to read their work. Anything to help improve…
PP: The bottom-line is: Never give up.
(To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)
