WHILE the majority of ‘Jubilee’ events may have passed, some are still reeling from the exposure received through ventures hosted in honour of our 50th Independence Anniversary. Among these was the Jubilee Creative Writing Competition, which welcomed entries from local writers in the categories of Prose, Poetry and Drama. Among the entries received, three winners were chosen from each category.
Emerging from this competition are eight talented writers, whose work were deemed the best of the lot. Some of them you may have heard of; others are now making their mark. But above all,

these young people have lauded the exposure provided through the writing competition, and expressed hope that the venture will give rise to more frequent platforms that will give local writers a chance to have their voices heard.
We interviewed the winners of the competition in each category, and will be featuring their thoughts and comments on writing over the next few weeks.

SUBRAJ SINGH, 24
Subraj is no stranger to awards, having won the 2014 Guyana Prize for Literature in the Best First Book of Fiction Category.
For this competition, Subraj entered the Short Story and Drama categories, and won First Prize in both categories for his short story, The Boy Who Loved Neesa Gopaul, and his one-act play, Laugh of the Marble Queen.
At a time when love of country was at its peak, Subraj entered the competition, feeling that it was fitting to showcase the type of work being produced 50 years after Guyana’s Independence. “Perhaps, fifty years from now, when people look back to this time in order to see the kind of writing that was being done, my own work might be a part of what they find to be representative of this era,” Subraj told The Buzz.
His short story, The Boy Who Loved Neesa Gopaul, interweaves with elements of the Neesa Gopaul story, and features a boy who has several encounters with what may be the ghost of the murdered girl.
Asked about his inspiration for the piece, Subraj said that the Neesa Gopaul murder stands as one of the most shocking crimes of its time. “In every decade of our country’s history,” Subraj said, “there is always some sort of particularly heinous crime that exists in the minds of people for a very long time.
“Examples include the Lilawatie murder from the 1950s, and the Lusignan Massacre in 2008.
“Neesa Gopaul’s murder also falls into this category, and it’s a story that reaches into so many corners of Guyanese society; everything; from family to the education system. I just had to write a story on it.”
His play, Laugh of the Marble Queen, uses a unique, post-modernist structure to tell two stories which are meant to highlight the importance of history, by showing how colonialism affected contemporary Guyana, while also acting as a commentary on race-relations in this country.
The plight of a modern, poverty-stricken family is juxtaposed with a family of slaves living on a plantation hundreds of years ago. “Like most Guyanese writers, I consider race to be an important literary subject. For the play, I wanted to try and offer some answers, in an attempt to explain where the racial tension in our country comes from, by looking at history.
“I wanted to try and offer an explanation, or an answer, instead of just writing a play that presents the problem; so I used a lot of historical imagery, symbols, and post-modernist/experimental theatre techniques to do so,” he said.
Laugh of the Marble Queen was staged at the National Drama Festival in 2015, where it became one of the most nominated plays, winning several awards, including Best Production.
While he is grateful for his win, and welcomes the exposure of the competition, Subraj also looks forward mostly to the possibility of having more training and workshops for writers; for copyright laws to be put in place; and for the establishment of proper publishing infrastructure in Guyana.
YERRODIN BOWEN, 25
Yerrodin’s five-piece collection of poems won First Place in the poetry category. Through his pieces, Black Sheep, Desperate Times, Hold Me Down, Black Woman and Raindrop, Yerrodin explored the topical subjects of race; the socio-political atmosphere in Guyana; brain-drain and love, and they contribute to what Yerrodin refers to as the ‘Comebackie Chronicles’, by sharing his perspective of Guyana as a re-migrant.
Moreover, as a known spoken-word poet, Yerrodin missed participating in local poetry slam competitions, and saw this competition as a means of diversifying his craft. “I like spoken word, and my poetry is usually known for how it’s delivered verbally. But I think there is a lot of meaning that is missed, until you get a chance to sit and read it,” he said.
Choosing pieces for a written competition turned out to be different than what the poet admitted he’d do for spoken word, as the audience is significantly different. “Spoken word is about hype and trying to get a reaction from people; written poetry is more structured, so I had to appeal to judges rather than to the regular audience I’m accustomed to,” he said.
Yerrodin says that winning the poetry category of the competition was extremely meaningful, because of the milestone it celebrates. Moreover, it gives his work validation, in that it lets him know that it has quality and worth in the eyes of others, by being chosen as a winner.
“I do think they should have more of these competitions; it gives you chance to have an outlet … But there are a lot of people who won’t go up for spoken word, because they don’t write for that audience; or they are too shy. But if you give people a chance to write and send it in, there are more people who would do that,” he said.
Yerrodin wishes to see poetry programmes taken into schools, so as to garner interest from that level; letting young people know that poetry can serve as an outlet.
He is actually considering establishing a programme in which he can be part of that process in helping young writers to create new work.