“National pride is in order”
The achievement of Guyanese and West Indian writers in the last 50 years is remarkable by any standard. The work of our literary people has risen above the petty politics and the endemic economic problems which have plagued the region. Long after the contradictions and difficulties of our post-colonial societies have been forgotten, the books produced by our writers will have found a permanent place among the valuable, enduring works of man.
– From Ian McDonald’s short essay on “The Meaning of the Guyana Prize for Literature”, in today’s Stabroek News. (The 2006 Guyana Prize winners were announced last Thursday evening.) Also in today’s Stabroek: an excerpt from the judges’ report delivered by the chair of the Guyana Prize jury, Sandra Pouchet-Paquet.
