JAN Carew, the internationally known Guyanese author of novels like Black Midas and Ghosts in Our Blood, passed away at his home in Louisville, Kentucky, USA on Thursday. He was 92.
A nephew of Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Professor Nigel Harris, he led a rich and varied life as writer, educator, philosopher and adviser in various countries where he worked, including the USA, Europe and South America, as well as in Ghana.
Perhaps best known for his first novel, ‘Black Midas’, and his memoir, ‘Ghosts in Our Blood: With Malcolm X in Africa, England and the Caribbean’, Carew was Emeritus Professor of African American Studies at Northwestern University in the USA where he had taught for some 14 years.
In accordance with his wish, Carew’s remains will be interred with those of the family of his widow, Dr Joy Gleason, in North Carolina.
In addition to his widow, Carew is survived by two daughters, Lisa and Shantoba, son David; sister, Sheila Thorpe, nephews, Nigel and Michael and nieces Alexis and Denise Harris.