EVERY one of us has endured the sleepless nights of unfulfilled aspirations. Let me give you an example. I was tutored by one of the best minds that colonial Guyana had allowed to unfold, and, more importantly, who returned to share in post-independent Guyana.
He was allowed to share his knowledge. I was an anxious young man, outside the family cloak, and, after some probing, I revealed one of the concepts I had struggled with as a writer/illustrator. It was a Friday afternoon, and the boss asked to look at it over the weekend. I conceded, and he smiled. We will talk on Monday after lunch.
The idea of becoming a graphic storyteller seemed simple then, until I was introduced to the business of everything in my field of self-creation. My boss taught me to develop an agreement for any idea that I could vouch for and prove that I was the legitimate owner of. Back then, I went to the archives to see if they had the forms to fill out for creative protection. However, the archives for protecting my ideas were not the place. I later learnt about the countries that would accommodate creative protection, regardless of country of origin, and hence I benefited. So, I closed that door and followed the rules.
The fact is, every idea you come up with should be documented in a location that allows it. But what I must advise creative persons is that you should read up as much as you can on the legal protections for ideas and imagery, and research past instances of extreme actions taken in defence of their work—you’ll be surprised.
Recently, during the annual Christmas clean-out, I found a UNESCO booklet given to me by my late friend and media tutor, Claudette Earl, in 1990. I thought that it was lost while moving sometime last year. The following is why I valued it and will share a few inspiring lines of its specific and relevant content:
“On the contrary, only through books can the material needs of humans be met, because with the help of books they will reason lucidly and make clear-sighted choices,” and here I quote Mallarmé, a poet not given to triteness: Everything in the world exists to be turned, ultimately, into a Book. The experience of books is what books have harvested from experience: the voice and cries of everyone, speaking to all of us.”
—Jorge Semprún Maura, writer, Spanish Minister of Culture, 1990.
Make haste. Copyright your expressions. We have witnessed the callousness of some worldwide and at home. Protect your sanity and gift to the nation. Do the right thing. Don’t steal from your neighbour, nor leave your yard unprotected.
