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That visit coincided with, and was marked by, a number of significant events.
That visit coincided with the staging of the second Inter-Guiana Cultural Festival, and was marked by investing Braithwaite with the title, ‘Patron’ of the Inter- Guiana Cultural Festival.
The visit was marked by the performance of the Guyanese version of ‘To Sir with Love’, to a packed house of the National Cultural Centre, an event at which Braithwaite was present.
The visit was marked by the Government of Guyana conferring on Braithwaite the country’s third highest national award, the Cacique Crown of Honour [CCH]. The award was for the man’s outstanding diplomatic service to Guyana when he was Guyana’s Ambassador to the UN, and Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela.
But more importantly, that national award was for the writer’s outstanding achievement as a novelist and author, whose books included ‘To Sir with Love’ (1959), ‘Paid Servant’ (1962), ‘A Kind of Homecoming’ (1962), ‘A Choice of Straws’ (1965), ‘Reluctant Neighbours’ (1972), and ‘Honorary White’ (1975).
All of the above came at a time when there was a renewed interest, especially by the BBC, in the work of the man. In Guyana, reference to his work is frequent. Of late, the National Library showed profound interest in Braithwaite by organising ‘A Morning with Ted’, and by devoting a month of activities to celebrate Braithwaite, his life and work and to celebrate his 100th birth anniversary.
Writer, teacher and diplomat, Edward Ricardo Braithwaite was born in 1922 in Georgetown, Guyana. His early education was at Queen’s College in “warm, sunny Georgetown” where he developed a ravenous hunger for learning and knowledge.
The conditions were conducive to learning “in a large rambling wooden schoolhouse, light and cool within, surrounded by wide, tree-shaded lawns on which I romped with my fellows in vigorous contentment, I spent rich, happy days, filled with the excitement of learning, each new little achievement a personal adventure and a source of satisfaction to my interested parents.” Braithwaite also attended City College, New York, Cambridge and London Universities. In America, he stoutly defended his British sensibilities.
After serving in the R. A. F. (Royal Air Force), he turned to teaching and social work. He also worked as a Communication Engineer in Aruba for Standard Oil Company.
In 1960, he was appointed Human Rights Officer for World Veterans Federation at the Federation’s Headquarters in Paris. He held the posts of Lecturer and Education Officer with UNESCO in the early 1960s. By the mid-1960s, he was Guyana’s Ambassador to the UN, and later elected President of UN Council for South West Africa.
He served as Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela from 1968 to 1969.
In 1966, Braithwaite was in Guyana for the first Caribbean Writers and Artists Conference, along with Jan Carew, O. R. Dathorne, George Lamming and C. L. R. James and others.
The magazine focussed on various aspects of Braithwaite’s life and work which came out in an interview with the man, tributes by educators and academics and review of his books.
This issue of the magazine also focussed on enhancing the role and creativity of the writer through copyright, intellectual property rights and cultural industries – all in the interest of encouraging more creativity in a way that would benefit both the producers and consumers of good literature, art, music, film, drama and other forms of art.
Also in the magazine, there is a feature on the future of books written by the well-known Caribbean publisher, Ian Randle. Other features included in this issue of the magazine are the oral traditions of Guyana by Gentian Miller, Guyanese Creolese, the rebirth of cinema in Guyana and recommendations by Vijay Kumar on how to deliver West Indies cricket from the doldrums.
The standard fare of the magazine remains intact via Open Story Section, Open Poetry Section, Youth Story Section, Youth Poetry Section, Writing Stories for Children Section and Writing Poetry for children Section. The Bookshelf Section runs to a healthy six pages as if to buttress the article on the future of books.
This 2012-2013 issue is another treasure trove and a further adventure in Guyanese Literature and Arts.
Brief history of The Annual
The Guyana Annual has a long and proud history. It was founded in 1915 bearing the title the Chronicle Christmas Annual. It has undergone numerous modifications to meet the need of its readership and to carry out its mandate which is to preserve our identity and cultural integrity.
The main noticeable change to the book over the years was its title; started as the Chronicle Christmas Annual, it was renamed the Guyana Christmas Annual and presently in the new millennium it was labelled The Guyana Annual becoming a perennial magazine instead of a year-end, Christmas-oriented publication.
From its inception there was a good run of The Annual until 1962 to 1965 when no publication came out. There were four issues between 1966 and 1992, one each in 1966, 1967, 1981 and 1992. So it was a lean period for The Annual until Dr. Tulsi Dyal Singh intervened. This Texas-based-Berbician-born Guyanese resuscitated the publication of The Annual in 1998 at a time when books were being jostled out by the television, when reading for pleasure was far from a desirable state and results in English examination unacceptable.
In another two years, The Guyana Annual magazine will be marking its centenary – a singular feat in Guyana, outliving scores of other magazines and journals that surfaced during the last century.
The longevity of this magazine cannot be diminished – it has certainly served to preserve our literary heritage. (To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)
WHAT’S HAPPENING:
• The Guyana Annual 2012-2013 magazine is now available at Guyenterprise Ltd, and at city bookstores. This issue of the magazine is dedicated to E. R. Braithwaite. The magazine also features articles on copyright, law of intellectual property, creative industries, and the future of books.
• Coming soon: ‘An Introduction to Guyanese Literature’, by Petamber Persaud.
