Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 31, 2010 Features / Columnists, Guyanese Literature
By Petamber Persaud
(Extract of an interview with Prof. Miguel Nenevé Georgetown, Guyana, January 2010. Nenevé is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Rondonia, Brazil. He was visiting professor at the University of Texas, USA, and visiting professor at York University, Canada, where he did his Ph. D. on Canadian Literature. He has to his name two collections of short stories and one collection of poems. At present, he is visiting professor at the University of Guyana where he is working on a project titled, ‘Voices from the Border: Guyanese Literature from post-colonial perspective.)
Petamber Persaud (PP): The literature of Guyana started with the writings of the colonisers, missionaries, explorers, settlers, and this was the case for a long while until around 1831 when the local voice was heard through poetry. Poetry ruled the roost as it were, until the emergence of literary magazines that encouraged the writing of short fiction.
There was an upsurge of local writing after the Second World War and the period leading up to the Independence of Guyana. The novel gained momentum with the publication of Edgar Mittelholzer’s first novel, ‘Corentyne Thunder’, in 1941.
From then to now the literature of Guyana has been transformed in a such a way that many of our writers have gained international recognition by way of winning prizes like the Commonwealth Prize, the Whitbread Prize, T. S. Elliot Prize, the Casa de las Americas Prize, and our literature is being studied by scholars far and wide.
Let’s retrace the history of Guyanese literature and see what we find: first it was the empire writing out literature then the emergence of the local voice, followed by that voice writing back to the empire as it were. Now our literature has found a niche in world literature, adding to the flavour of world literature, and academics from abroad are delving into our literature; off the cuff – there are academics who have or are doing their Ph. D. dissertations on Martin Carter, Wilson Harris, Edgar Mittelholzer etc.
Now we take another look at our literature from a different perspective – we take a look at our literature from the Amazonian standpoint. And this is where Prof Miguel Nenevé comes in. From your background, it seems that you are looking at world or comparative literature and that means you are studying various types of literature. What attracted you to Guyanese Literature?
Miguel Nenevé (MN): That is a good question. In Brazil, when I started studying literature in the Department of English at the university, it was only English and American literature, we studied. Somewhere along the line, I asked myself why – this was sort of triggered by my visit to Canada.
Canadian literature was the first literature in English I studied, besides American and British Literature. Writing my dissertation on Margaret Laurence, from the postcolonial perspective, I could and should read many postcolonial writers from the Caribbean, from Africa and India. I attended lectures by Dr. Frank Birbalsingh, a Guyanese, teaching postcolonial literature at York University.
Dr. Birbalsingh was very important to me by directing my attention to Guyana´s literature.
Much later, I met Cyril Dabydeen at a ‘Postcolonial Education Conference’ in Ottawa. I still didn’t know he was from Guyana. I saw his books on the shelf and what drew my attention was the title: ‘Born in the Amazonia’. At the beginning I thought it was just another book written by travel-writers who want to condemn Brazilians for the burning of the forest, the destruction of life in the Amazon (books written from the perspective of ‘imperial eyes’).
By reading the book I saw it was a different book, poems written from other perspectives, sometimes satirizing the colonial view of the Amazon.
Then I talked to Dabydeen and found out that he was from here, from Guyana. So I thought this is good for us Brazilians that live in the Amazon. And it is written from a post-colonial perspective.
PP: In my introduction, I said that our literature was first written by our colonial conquerors…With the opening of the Takutu Bridge, the peoples on both sides are looking or prospecting for various financial interests. There is a possibility that the literature of the two countries will not be featured in this upsurge of activities.
We know the importance of literature; we know the role of literature in the all-round development of a nation. Having said that, the literatures of both countries will serve to open the cultures of each to the other, which will translate into enormous benefit in the long run and we, the custodians of our respective literatures, should ensure that our literatures are not neglected in this process….
MN: Yes, this is very important, because I think literature is a way of integrating much more than we think sometimes. If we want to start business, understanding of culture is important…There is a translation of Pauline Melville’s book, ‘The Ventriloquist’s Tale’, in Portuguese, so Brazilians are reading Guyanese literature. So translation of our respective literature is important.
Translation is an important bridge too, translation of Guyanese literature into Portuguese, for example. I am, in fact, translating Dabydeen’s book ‘Born in Amazon’ into Portuguese.
PP: Wow, that’s great news. This is indeed a great development. I know that there is a collection of poems by Martin Carter in Spanish and some of Seymour’s poems are in Portuguese. This is an area we must explore…I neglected to say in my introduction, that many of our books were/have been translated into other languages…
MN: I just remember that Wilson Harris’s ‘Palace of the Peacock’ was translated into Portuguese. The translator had some difficulties in translating some expressions from the original ‘Palace of the Peacock’.
The translator couldn’t reproduce some Guyanese terms and phrases into its context, it is necessary to know the context and the language in particular situations. For the mis-translation, the book was withdrawn from circulation.
PP: Did the translator produce a glossary?
MN: I think in this case translators are advised to do so. He should have done, but he did not.
Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@ yahoo.com
What’s happening:
· Look out for the second novel by Brenda Do Harris, ‘Calabash Parkway’ and the third collection of poems by Janet Naidu, ‘Sacred Silence’.
LISTEN HOW JAGDEO WILL MAKE ALL GUYANESE RICH!!!
Apr 23, 2024
Kaieteur Sports – Over the weekend, the prestigious Lusignan Golf Club played host to the highly anticipated AMCHAM Golf Tournament, drawing golf enthusiasts and professionals alike from across...Kaieteur News – Just recently, the PPC determined that it does not have the authority to vitiate a contract which was... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]