THE frenzy bickering of party politics has got to be alleviated before the important issues of developing the consciousness of the people can be seriously addressed. Having said this does not mean that I don’t understand what this task entails. We humans started to develop civilisation when there was enough to eat, the walls were high enough and well guarded, then our ancestors sculpted the Gods, cultivated symbolic language and wrote on papyrus, clay slabs and goat skins. Civilisation has a process and there was always the need to quell the rage of the barbarian within and without. Books have been a companion of Guyanese from our inception as a colony and before then with the instructive language of the Petroglyph that our own Archaeologist the late Dr. Dennis Williams (Artist, Novelist, Scientist) concluded was a written language that gave account on food stock habitats, designed by the nomadic Amerindians in their journey across the borderless lands of the Americas, before the age of colonialism.

When President Hoyte conceptualised the ‘Guyana Prize’ in 1987 as the foremost and only local literary competition, its purpose was to invite participation from accomplished Guyanese writers overseas to enter and upon winning, participate in workshops and meets with their local brethren to inspire participation and development, thus a resuscitation of such talents locally. I am not sure that any workshops were held, but I stand to be corrected. However local talent did participate and won. There was talk then of a general assessment of published and self-published items that included magazines, comic books (the term graphic novel was not used then) anthologies and to encourage short story competitions and publications, (the Chronicle did encourage short story writing accompanied by artwork they supplied), journals and non-fiction material, to be able to develop a constant reading habit of homegrown literature and general reading matter for students and adults about Guyana. But that energy never materialised in that anticipated context. The divisive politics overshadowed the space to construct any progressive movement like a national dialogue on the importance of books and local publishing, with a cadre from one side and no response from the other.

Today the global environment has become competitive in every area, culture impacts on fashion, science, education and the imagery our children absorb- not that it wasn’t always this way, but as economies change beyond the ability of governments, thus, swift awakenings are inevitable. The value of reading has eroded for many reasons. Modern preferential commodities hardly include books when home must-haves are discussed. I remember at the funeral of my friend’s father, the pastor lamented that at an open house service he drew attention, in as polite a way as possible, to the owners of the home that he did recognise the huge flat screen TVs, state of the art music system, desktop and laptop computers, but the ominous absence of even a vaguely stocked magazine rack, to substitute the absence of a bookshelf.

We have not done a real survey among our school age children to find out the percentages who have a favourite author, possibly because the downside of such a survey can cause any educator loss of sleep. These are the reasons why the Guyana Prize must experience a metamorphosis, and not remain an isolated creature. Today, people are not ashamed to say “I don’t read”. Some tell you that with an almost confidence that what they’re saying, is en vogue across the planet.

The current incident at Mae’s should resonate with our educators. The children who tormented that child on being authentic in his portrayal of Amerindian dress, are the children geared for high passes at University and top jobs. Their parents can afford them this school, nothing is wrong with that. But obviously, there is an absence of a rounded enlightenment that leaves a void, filled with the pretentions that stem from ignorance, due to a desolate cultural awareness from an anthropological helm, which is necessary to chart the course with knowledge rather than assumptions.

This is perceived as a top school, but can the school alone be blamed for the absence of a broader sense of cultural awareness? This is a national issue and responsibility. The alternative is to produce a legion of carriers of certificates with a delusional sense of entitlement without the faculties for much deeper analytical perception, is to be creating functional cogs that lack initiative and the broad reservoir of references that innovation requires. Former President Hoyte no doubt intended to circumvent the continuation of ignorance that held sway in the pre-independence era, where the self-loathing spectre that demanded a limited worldview and the preoccupation and contentment with conspicuous consumption rather than the substance of self-worth entangled our minds.

In the end this symbol of literature, whether an effigy in the true sense, it is nevertheless a foundation with tremendous potential that can be transformed into much more than the facade of a competition, the current terms of practice does not serve what is demanded in this day. The evolution of the ‘Guyana Prize for Literature’ must be, whatever it must then be called, it must become with state corporation the platform of local publishing from these shores to where ever people read.