The Edgar Mittelholzer Lecture Series in Print
On Wednesday November 19, Dr Juanita Cox, the contemporary authority on Edgar Mittelholzer, delivered the 2014 Edgar Mittelholzer Memorial Lecture at the Theatre Guild Playhouse, Parade Street, Kingston, Guyana. The novel title of Cox’s talk read: ‘Edgar Mittelholzer’s Creative Genes(is) and the Geni(us) behind it.’ The substance and delivery of that lecture has ensured it a place in a series of publications by the Caribbean Press labeled ‘Beacons of Excellence’ edited by Andrew O. Lindsay.

The Caribbean Press recently published two volumes of the Edgar Mittelholzer Memorial Lecture Series. ‘Beacons of Excellence’: Volume 1 covered the period 1967 – 1971 which comprised four lecture series while Volume 2 covered the period 1975 – 1984 comprising an additional four lecture series.

Volume One
In Volume 1, the first series of four lectures was delivered by A. J. Seymour in 1967 under the theme, ‘Edgar Mittelholzer – The Man and his Work’.
A. J. Seymour was an exceptional man of letters with numerous publications to his name. He knew Mittelholzer very well.

The second series of four lectures was delivered by Denis Williams in 1969 under the theme, ‘Image and Idea in the Arts of Guyana.’ The lectures were namely ‘The Concept of the Ancestor,’ ‘The Complex Womb’, ‘Image and Idea in African and Caribbean Literature’, and ‘Image and Idea in the Arts of Guyana.’
Denis Williams was an artist, art historian, archaeologist, anthropologist, biographer and novelist. He is better known for his novel, ‘Other Leopards’.

The third series of lectures was delivered by Wilson Harris in 1970 under the theme, ‘History, Fable and Myth in the Caribbean and Guianas.’ The three talks in that series were namely ‘History, Fable and Myth in the Caribbean and Guianas,’ ‘The Amerindian Legacy’ and ‘Continuity and Discontinuity’.
Wilson Harris is a novelist, poet, short fiction writer and essayist. Harris and Mittelholzer were born in New Amsterdam, Berbice.

The fourth series of lectures was delivered by Martin Carter in 1971 under the theme, ‘Man and Making – Victim and Vehicle’. There were three talks in this series namely ‘The Question of Identity’, ‘The Victim Identified’ and ‘Victim as Vehicle’.
Martin Carter was an exceptional poet and gifted essayist. He is better known for his ‘Poems of Resistance,’ ‘Poems of Succession’ and ‘Poems of Affinity.’

Volume Two
In Volume 2, the fifth series of lectures was delivered in 1975 by Michael Gilkes under the theme, ‘Racial Identity and Individual Consciousness in the Caribbean Novel’. Those three talks were namely ‘The Divided Consciousness’, ‘The Associative Attempt,’ and ‘The New Caribbean Novel.’
Michael Gilkes is a prize winning poet and playwright. His other interest includes film making and imaginative literature. Gilkes has written extensively on the West Indian novel.

The seventh series of lectures was delivered in 1979 by Joycelynne Loncke under the theme ‘Norman E. Cameron – The Man and his Works’. That series was divided into six parts.
Joycelynne Loncke is a linguist and musician. For her sterling contribution to the University of Guyana, she was conferred with the title professor emeritus.

The eighth series of lectures was delivered in 1983 by Roy Heath under the theme ‘Art and Experience’. The three talks in that series were namely ‘The Sources of Fiction,’ ‘Art and History’ and ‘The Artist and His Work.’
Roy Heath was a prolific novelist. He was most noted for his ‘Armstrong Trilogy’ also known as the ‘Georgetown Trilogy’. His novel, ‘The Shadow Bride’ won the Guyana Prize for Literature.

The ninth series of lectures was delivered in 1984 by Denis Williams under the theme ‘Ancient Guiana.’
Denis Williams was an artist, art historian, archaeologist, anthropologist, biographer and novelist. He is better known for his novel, ‘Other Leopards’.

Edgar Mittelholzer was Guyana’s first internationally acknowledged novelist. Mittelholzer was born on December 16, 1909, in the town of New Amsterdam, British Guiana. He went on to live in Trinidad, Barbados, Canada and the UK. When Mittelholzer committed suicide in England on May 5, 1965, he had already published twenty five books, including 23 novels. Mittelholzer was also a poet, painter and writer of short fiction.

The Edgar Mittelholzer Lecture Series was started by Arthur James Seymour to ‘provide an apparatus whereby Guyanese writers and intellectuals abroad could be invited to come back home at a level of honour in order to serve the country by bringing new ideas to bear upon the community’s inquiring minds.’

Juanita Cox has done extensive studies on Mittelholzer and she has also written and lectured on the man and his work. Cox recently completed her thesis, ‘Edgar Mittelholzer and the Shaping of his Novels.’

All presenters of the Edgar Mittelholzer have distinguished themselves in one or more than one discipline of the arts.

(Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)

What’s Happening:
• Coming soon: ‘Love in the time of technology’ poems by Sasenarine Persaud. This is Persaud’s seventh book of poetry.
• ‘An Introduction to Guyanese Literature’ by Petamber Persaud is available from the National Library, Austin Book Service and the author.

(By Petamber Persaud)