Greetings in the name of Haile Selassie I. I am an impoverished rastaman, a songwriter and musician barely ‘making ends meet’ to survive. I have been working for more than three years on a book of song lyrics, under the constant guidance of Professor David Dabydeen. I could have been involved in nefarious activities, but I chose to write. I am delighted that the Caribbean Press has nurtured my work over three years and has just now published my book. Hundreds of copies will be given free of charge to schools and libraries. Though the Caribbean Press will pay me a royalty, I have not asked for a cent; the joy of seeing my work in print, and knowing that our Guyanese youth will have books is sufficient.
Imagine my shock when I learnt that Ruel Johnson, the local writer/critic, was demanding from the Press the title of “Executive Director” and a salary in excess of three million dollars! In all my years of work, Ruel has never offered to print a single line which I, and many others, have written though he runs a press called Janus. Janus, in classical mythology, is a two-faced god, so maybe Ruel chose an appropriate name!
I am happy to offer whatever service I can for free, penniless as I am. It is only fair that I do so, since Brother David Dabydeen, Brother Ian McDonald and Sister Lynn Macedo work as editors of the Press without payment.