Guyanese literature covers works including novels, poetry, plays and others written by people born or strongly-affiliated with Guyana. Formerly British Guiana, British language and style has an enduring impact on the writings from Guyana, which are done in English language and utilizing

Guyanese Creole Guyanese English Creole (''Creolese'' by its speakers or simply Guyanese) is an English-based creole language spoken by the Guyanese people. Linguistically, it is similar to other English dialects of the Caribbean region, based on 19th-century ...

. Emigration has contributed to a large body of work relating the Guyanese diaspora experience.

History of Guyanese literature

European perspective

The first book written on Guyana, by Sir Walter Raleigh in the 16th century, was ''The Discoverie of the Large, Rich, and Beautiful Empyre of Guiana (With a Relation of the Great and Golden Citie of Manoa (Which the Spanyards call El Dorado) and of the Provinces of Emeria, Aromaia, Amapaia, and Other Countries, with Their Riulers, Adjoyning'' (Robert Robinson: London, 1596). Many travelogues have been published by explorers or missionaries from Europe. The sparsely populated, pristine hinterlands of Guyana continue to be a subject of interest for contemporary Guyanese literature - this setting can be traced to one of the nation's earliest novels, ''In Guiana Wilds: A Study Of Two Women'' (1899), by

James Rodway James Rodway (February 27, 1848 – November 19, 1926) was a British-born historian, Botany, botanist and novelist of British Guiana. Considered British Guiana's premier historian, Rodway helped to establish national institutions such as the The ...

Guyanese voice

Guyana's history has been substantially shaped by immigration, and writings often address the topics of slavery and indenture, as well as reflecting the culture of the various immigrant groups. One of the earliest and most notable Guyanese authors was Edgar Mittelholzer, author of ''Corentyne Thunder'' (1941). His works often deal with issues of interracial relations, particularly the strain between European and non-European Guyanese. Kyk-Over-Al literary journal, published in 1945 and edited by A. J. Seymour, collected poetry and other works from Guyana and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. A major contributor,

Martin Carter Martin Wylde Carter (7 June 1927 – 13 December 1997) was a Guyanese poet and political activist. Widely regarded as the greatest Guyanese poet, and one of the most important poets of the Caribbean region, Carter is best known for his p ...

, is considered Guyana's greatest poet. Mid 20th century, poetry served as a medium to express the Guyanese identity, in light of independence from British colonial rule and creating a style unique to the country. The political climate of the mid-20th century of anti-colonial and Proletariat attitudes fostered interest in socialism, and subsequently became a matter written about in the Guyanese context. Socialist literature was acquired and disseminated by the People's Progressive Party, leading to legislature to pass an Undesirable Publications Ordinance to ban such books. Political activists at the time, such as

Eusi Kwayana Eusi Kwayana, formerly Sydney King (born 4 April 1925), is a Guyanese politician. A cabinet minister in the People's Progressive Party (PPP) government of 1953, he was detained by the British Army in 1954. Later he left the PPP to form ASCRIA (A ...

, Cheddi and

Janet Jagan Janet Rosenberg Jagan (October 20, 1920 – March 28, 2009) was a U.S.-born Guyanese politician who served as the President of Guyana, serving from December 19, 1997, to August 11, 1999. She was the first female President of Guyana. She previou ...

, taught informal classes among estate laborers, expanding education and political ideology. Historian and intellectual

Walter Rodney Walter Anthony Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a Guyanese historian, political activist and academic. His notable works include '' How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'', first published in 1972. Rodney was assassinated in Georgeto ...

is most widely regarded for his book ''

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa ''How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'' is a 1972 book written by Walter Rodney that describes how Africa was deliberately exploited and underdeveloped by European colonial regimes. One of his main arguments throughout the book is that Africa develop ...

'' (1972). Travelling and teaching widely, he was a proponent of

Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...

and a supporter of the downtrodden. Rodney returned to Guyana in 1974 and was active in the opposition movement, leading to his assassination in 1980. Walter was involved with the New World Group, which was a collection of Guyanese academics notable for producing the ''New World Quarterly'', a journal published from 1963-1972. ''New World Quarterly'' was an outlet for academics within the Caribbean to examine development, socialism, and other regional issues, but also the "original publication of poems, reviews and commentaries". During his presidency,

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister of Guyana, Prime Minister from 1964 ...

promoted literature and art in Guyana, initiating the 1972

Caribbean Festival of Arts Caribbean Festival of Arts, commonly known as CARIFESTA, is an annual festival for promoting arts of the Caribbean with a different country hosting the event each year. It was started to provide a venue to "depict the life of the people of the Regio ...

which showcased the arts coming from the Caribbean. Michael Abbensetts was a noted playwright of works for the stage and television in the UK, whose work included the drama series — ''

Empire Road An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'', which

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

aired from 1978 to 1979.Michael Coveney
"Michael Abbensetts obituary"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 20 November 2016.

Amerindian influence and language

The

Indigenous peoples in Guyana Indigenous peoples in Guyana, Native Guyanese, or Amerindian Guyanese are Guyanese people who are of indigenous ancestry. They comprise approximately 9.16% of Guyana's population. Amerindians are credited with the invention of the canoe, as well ...

did not use written language at the advent of their interaction with the early European explorers, nonetheless, their oral traditions and culture have been documented to varying degrees since that time and continue to have a presence in contemporary Guyanese literature. Older accounts tend to betray the nature of the author's relation to the Amerindians, such as missionaries reframing indigenous spirituality to a Christian context or colonial authorities, however the accounts themselves are of great historical value. W.H. Brett and

Walter Roth Walter Edmund Roth (2 April 1861 – 5 April 1933) was a British colonial administrator, anthropologist and medical practitioner, who worked in Queensland, Australia and British Guiana between 1898 and 1928. Roth and his brother, Henry Lin ...

wrote significantly on their experiences with various Amerindian tribes in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Indigenous languages have been in decline in favor of English (as well as

or Portuguese), but revival efforts have included establishing a written standard as well as compiling dictionaries. The government, the bureau of Amerindian affairs, the

University of Guyana The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana, is Guyana's national higher education institution. It was established in April 1963 with the following Mission: "To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the highest standard for ...

, as well as various non-government organizations have been involved in language preservation. Christian missionary work has led to bible translations in various Amerindian languages.

Indian influence

The descendants of indentured Indians have also made important contributions to Guyanese literature. Significant writers include Joseph Rahomon and Shana Yardan.

Literature Awards

The Guyana Prizes for Literature were founded by President

Desmond Hoyte Hugh Desmond Hoyte (9 March 1929 – 22 December 2002) was a Guyanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Guyana from 1984 to 1985 and President of Guyana from 1985 until 1992. Personal Life and Education Hoyte was born on 9 March 1 ...

in 1987, with a view to promoting the development of local literature. Prizes are awarded biennially in categories including best book of fiction, best first book of fiction, best book of poems, best first book of poems, and best play. The Guyana Prizes are managed by a committee consisting of a number of university personnel, and the chief librarian of the Guyana National Library. Winners have included,

Wilson Harris Sir Theodore Wilson Harris (24 March 1921 – 8 March 2018) was a Guyanese writer. He initially wrote poetry, but subsequently became a novelist and essayist. His writing style is often said to be abstract and densely metaphorical, and his sub ...

Fred D'Aguiar Fred D'Aguiar (born 2 February 1960) is a British-Guyanese poet, novelist, and playwright. He is currently Professor of English at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Life Fred D'Aguiar was born in London, England, in 1960 t ...

David Dabydeen David Dabydeen (born 9 December 1955) is a Guyanese-born broadcaster, novelist, poet and academic. He was formerly Guyana's Ambassador to UNESCO (United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation) from 1997 to 2010 and the youngest Memb ...

, Roy A.K. Heath, D. Gokarran Sukhdeo,

Pauline Melville Pauline Melville FRSL (born 1948) is an English/Guyanese-born writer and former actor of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry, who is currently based in London, England. Among awards she has received for her writing – which encompasses short ...

, Ian McDonald,

Cyril Dabydeen Cyril Dabydeen is a Guyana-born Canadian writer of Indian descent. He grew up in Rose Hall sugar plantation with the sense of Indian indenture rooted in his family background (he lived with his mother and with a grandmother in an extended family of ...

and

Ruel Johnson Ruel Johnson is a Guyanese author. Johnson won the 2002 Guyana Prize for Literature for best first fiction manuscript for a collection of short stories entitled ''Ariadne and Other Stories'', which he self-published the following year with assist ...

Guyana Poetry Prize

Notable winners include

Grace Nichols Grace Nichols FRSL (born 1950) is a Guyanese poet who moved to Britain in 1977, before which she worked as a teacher and journalist in Guyana. Her first collection, ''I is a Long-Memoried Woman'' (1983), won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. In D ...

, Ian McDonald.

Guyana Prize for Caribbean Literature

In 2010, the government of Guyana provided funds to the Management Committee of the Guyana Prize for the first Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Award, in the categories of fiction, poetry and drama, with published books by citizens of Caribbean countries ( CARICOM States, the Commonwealth Caribbean, the Netherlands Antilles) being eligible."The Guyana Prize for Literature"
CaribLit, 10 January 2015.

Other

The

Wordsworth McAndrew Award The Wordsworth McAndrew Awards celebrate Guyanese who have made important contributions to the country's cultural life. Awardees' talents include broadcasting, cultural promotion, drama, music, painting, theatre, and writing. The awards, founded ...

, based in New York, awards literary and other achievements relating to Guyanese culture.

References

Sources

*Balkaran, Lal (ed.), ''Bibliography of Guyana & Guyanese Writers 1596-2004: An A-Z Guide of Books on Guyana by Guyanese and Non-Guyanese Writers and On Other Subjects by Guyanese Writers'', with a Foreword by Professor Jan Carew (LBA Publications, Canada).

External links

Petamber Persaud, "The long and short of The Guyana Prize"
12 January 2013.
Denis Scott Chabrol, "Guyana Prize for Literature winners announced"
Demerara Waves, 16 September 2013.
Guyana Prize Award winners
Focus on UG - August Edition, University of Guyana, 2007 {{South American topic, , literature South American literature English-language literature