Another shortlist, so what?

Well, for one thing, the 2014 Guyana Prize for Literature shortlist has added another set of imaginative writings to our literature. This is not to say that books are not being added all the time to our literature by means of other platforms and avenues. If the truth be told, books are being churned out frequently, all year round – there is no special season for the production of books although, some seasons give reason to book production. The creative juices and energies pour out whether the muses are present or not, whether the climate is conducive or not; that pent up story will out, sometime. Yes, there are some writers who write to win prizes, especially if they know the field. Writing for literary prizes is not a bad idea, if what is produced is assessed as good literature. Self publishing is another effort which is not such a bad gambit if it pays off.
Since the first awarding of The Prize in 1987, there were over 110 entries on shortlists, works authored by more than sixty writers. If each entry on the shortlists has the potential to be a winner, then The Prize is responsible for bringing to the fore over 100 outstanding books/manuscripts.
Additionally, The Prize is responsible for refocusing attention on the established writers and opening a world of opportunities for emerging writers, bringing them to public attention and a new readership. So the Guyanese bibliography has been extended and the who’s who of men and women of letters enhanced.
Fourthly, whether you subscribe or not to The Prize for varied reasons (and many are the reasons for seeing the machination of The Prize unfavourably), it evokes some interest. It must, if you are a writer or if you work in literature.
Another thing about a shortlist is that each work on the shortlist has the potential to be a winner and that, for at least the author of the work, is exciting, raising hope, fulfilling a wish.
Sixthly, another thing you can read in a shortlist is how many times a particular writer has being shortlisted for The Prize without winning. Well, that’s another story.
And persons interested in the Prize, Guyanese Literature, and literature generally, can make a game of choosing a winner. All adding something to the atmosphere in the run-up to the declaration of the winners.
Have fun with the shortlist tabulated below, in alphabetical order, for each category, as released the Management Committee of the Guyana Prize for Literature.

Best First Book of Fiction:
a. Rueben Latchmansingh, ‘A Dip at the Sangam’ (Westbow Press) …A work of historical fiction about the abduction of the protagonist, Raja, from his Indian home and wife, his transportation to the cane fields of Guyana, his experiences and success in Guyana and his eventual return to India.
b. Keisha McCammon, ‘Dancehall Lyrics : Top of the Charts’ … A fast-moving contemporary work of fiction centered around a much-acclaimed Dancehall singer, Aaron Mills (known as A.M.). The fiction casts interesting light on the Dancehall music scene in Guyana.
c. Subraj Singh, ‘Rebelle and Other Stories’…A first collection of wonderfully written short stories, rich with the flavour, culture and folklore of coastal Guyana.

Best First Book of Poetry:
a. Cedric Castello, ‘Rasta Lyrics’ (Caribbean Press) …A first collection by a Rastafarian teacher/singer/songwriter: these rich and very readable poems range over the author’s many interests and activities and celebrate Rastafarianism and its founder, Haile Selassie I.
b. Stanley Niamatali, ‘The Hinterlands’ (Caribbean Press)… A wonderful debut collection of poems centered around the author’s haunting memories of life on a sawmill in the Berbice river. The poet, now living in the US, straddles two cultures and his poems depict and question the values of both

Best Book of Fiction:
a. David Dabydeen, Johnson’s Dictionary (Peepal Tree) … This novel depicts and juxtaposes, in Dabydeen’s richly textured and sensuous prose, the two worlds of 18th century London and British Guyana (Demerara). It also contains several echoes of previous Dabydeen literary and scholarly works that depict the 18th century: William Hogarth, William Turner, Samuel Johnson…Adam Smith…The novel transforms past and present into the sensuous, imaginative world(s) of the author and is a tour de force of Imperial will, art, literature and human sensuality–a compelling read.
b. Jan Lowe Shinebourne, ‘The Last Ship’ (Peepal Tree)…A historically and culturally important novel about three generations of a Chinese family in Guyana. The physical conditions, the family myths and the invented traditions are powerfully evoked in a simple and direct language.
c. OonyaKempadoo, ‘All Decent Animals’ (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)… …Kempadoo’s fast-moving third novel is about a variety of characters and interests woven into the complex fabric of Trinidadian life and culture–prominently including Carnival. The language is rich and sensuous and will remind readers of their pleasure in the earlier Kempadoo novels, Buxton Spice and Tide Running.

Best Book of Poetry:
a. Cyril Dabydeen, ‘God’s Spider’ (Peepal Tree)…A collection of carefully-wrought and polished poems that celebrate the many places and cultures that have shaped the poet’s consciousness–including his native Guyana, Canada (where he now lives) and India. These physical/mental/cultural landscapes breathe extraordinary life and feeling into the poems.
b. Maggie Harris,’60 Years of Loving’ (Cane Arrow Press) …This is Harris’s sixth collection of poetry and it evokes her 60 years of life in Guyana and the UK. These 74 richly textured, mature and celebratory poems sparkle and impress with a language that resonates with original imagery and insight.
c. Sasenarine Persaud, ‘Love in the Time of Technology’ (Tsar Publications) … A fine collection of brief, succinct poems. The imagery is emotionally charged and reverberates with cultural memories: the references to the language, traditions and cultures of India are particularly poignant and interesting.

Best Book of Drama:
a. Harold Bascom, Desperate for Relevance… An interesting drama script in which most of the characters are dead Caribbean writers. Funny in parts, it is also in parts a sad and poignant commentary on the plight of our writers and societies…The writing makes the reader long to see it powerfully enacted on the local stage.
b. Milton Bruce, New York New York of Pieces of Dreams…A carefully contrived and interesting play about the lives, the dreams and the disappointments of Guyanese immigrants in New York

The Guyana Prize for Literature established in 1987 by the then President of Guyana, Hugh Desmond Hoyte who when making the original announcement on February 23, 1987, said, ‘the flowering of the intellect, the appreciation of man’s creative imagination are important’. He further stated that ‘There is a long tradition of outstanding writers in Guyana’s history. We should seek to nurture and extend that tradition. More than that, however, the encouragement of good writing has valuable spin-offs in society. It encourages clear thinking and clear expression is vital if success in solving problems is to be achieved…we must give stature and status to our makers of words as we do to our makers of things’.
Good luck to all the writers on the shortlist.

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