IN recent times, I’ve done a few articles, mainly book reviews, on Walter Rodney as a writer of children literature.

Here is something I had to say about the man as a writer: ‘Rodney knew the importance and value of writing our own history, against the distortions peddled by our colonial masters who reported a history in a conqueror/vanquish relationship.’
In 2005, I wrote a short biographical sketch of Rodney to mark the 25th Anniversary of his passing. Now, I am happy to use this column to pass on a significant initiative made in Rodney’s honour, to further enhance the literature of this country.
The Walter Rodney Foundation has established a literary award to sustain the legacy of Rodney. The name of that award is the ‘2014 WALTER RODNEY AWARDS FOR CREATIVE WRITING’. Please find below terms and conditions of the Award. For more information, contact: walterrodneyfoundation@gmail.com

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF 2014 WALTER RODNEY AWARDS FOR CREATIVE WRITING:
1. Name: The Walter Rodney Awards for Creative Writing (Short Story and Poetry Competition) 2014.
2. The Walter Rodney Awards for Creative Writing are named in honour of the scholarship, research and writings of Dr. Walter Rodney, a Pan-Africanist historian, educator and political activist, recognized as one of the Caribbean’s most brilliant minds. Rodney spoke about research, scholarship and creative writing, noting that even in challenging times, great literature has been produced.
3. The inaugural Walter Rodney Awards for Creative Writing (Short Story and Poetry Competition 2014) will be awarded to current UG students or UG graduates within the past three years that are currently living in Guyana.
4. All entries must be original unpublished works of the applicant in prose (2000 words or less) or poetry (a maximum of 60 lines). There is no restriction on the subject matter of the writing, i.e. writers are free to choose whatever themes/topics/subjects they wish.
5. Entries can be extracts from longer works.
6. Writers are invited to submit one entry only. A writer cannot submit for both categories.
7. Award Values: The winner of each category will receive a cash prize of G$100,000. The runner-up of each category will receive a cash prize of G$50,000. Up to six ‘Special Mention’ awards, each worth G$15,000, will be given to writers of merit and promise, from each category.
8. Entries must be submitted, via email, to walterodneylegacy@gmail.com with the subject heading: Walter Rodney Creative Writing Award – Short Story or Walter Rodney Creative Writing Award – Poetry, as appropriate for the type of submission.
9. Name, Address, Year of Study or Graduation, Email address, telephone and any required contact details must be placed in the body of the email.
10. Entries must be submitted on or before midnight on the 15th day of February, 2014. Entries will not be accepted after this date and time.
11. Winners will be notified at the email address stated in their entry.
12. Submissions will be not returned.
13. The Walter Rodney Foundation has ongoing permission to publish the works of all award winners in any format that the WRF determines. Copyright will remain at all times with the writers. Apart from publication by the Walter Rodney Foundation, writers are also free to publish elsewhere.
14. A total of 500 copies of the winners’ entries will be published. Twenty copies will be given to each prize winner; remaining copies will be donated to schools and libraries in Guyana.
15. Winners agree to participate in publicity events in connection with the competition.
16. Winners of the inaugural competition will be notified in March 2014, in conjunction with or at the 11th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium.
17. The decision of the competition judges will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
18. Judges will be provided by the Walter Rodney Foundation and include a minimum 3-judge panel; pre-judges may be used to short-list the entries depending on volume.
19. The Walter Rodney Awards project is a non-profit, non-commercial one.
20. By submitting an entry, the writer agrees to all terms and conditions of the competition.

Earlier, I had indicated my delight at promoting this Award because of my ongoing interest in local literature; all of my projects are biased towards the appreciation of literature, on the whole, and, in particular, the appreciation and enhancement of local literature.
Rodney was a man of many parts, but in my mind, in my book, I have always associated him with books; a gifted man of letters, since I came to the realisation that he triggered a ‘literary revolt’ in the Caribbean region.
And while in Guyana, attending Queen’s College, Rodney made the Carnegie Library (now the National Library) his second home, from whence he started a dialogue with local, regional and international thinkers.
This reading eventually led to his writing, expanding the dialogue for present and future generations. His literary output included ‘A History of the Upper Guinea Coast, 1545-1800’, ‘How Europe Undeveloped Africa’, ‘Groundings with my Brothers’, ‘People’s Power, No Dictator’, ‘Guyanese Sugar Plantations in the 19th Century’ and ‘A History of the Guyanese Working People, 1881 – 1905’.
His contribution to children’s literature included ‘Kofi Baadu Out of Africa’ and ‘Lakshmi Out of India’.
Rodney’s literary output has elicited numerous and varied responses, adding to our literature. And this new award for creative writing will add to 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:

• Your are invited to the launch of ‘An Introduction to Guyanese Literature’ by Petamber Persaud on Friday November 22, 2013, in the Conference Room of the National Library. Starting time: 5 pm (17 hours).
• ‘An Introduction to Guyanese Literature’ is an up-to-date guide featuring significant literary landmarks, from the 16th Century to the new millennium. This 150-page book, including over 100 photographs, is an attempt at bringing to the fore little known facts about lesser known aspects of our literature. The big books, the big authors and the big success stories in Guyanese Literature are also featured.