The Ministry of Culture yesterday handed over copies of the Guyana Classics books to secondary schools. The books were released under the new Caribbean Press publishing house, established by the government.
Eleven books on various aspects of Guyanese people, culture and literature are the first set of a 36 Guyana Classics collection. Professor David Dabydeen is the honorary editor of the Caribbean Press, which was established in 2009 by the government of Guyana to reprint out of print and rare books on Guyana and to publish contemporary writings by Guyanese and Caribbean writers.
According to Dabydeen, the books were launched six weeks ago and the 11 books set were already handed over to the National Library and the University Library. Yesterday’s handing over was a presentation to the secondary schools.
Making remarks on behalf of the Education Ministry, Assistant Chief Education Officer Melcita Bovell stated that the schools were fortunate to be receiving the books, which she says will help to shape the citizenry of the country. “We are not really a people if we do not know our past,” she added.
Meanwhile, Culture Minister Frank Anthony stated that he was pleased to be a part of the process of the creation of space to publish past and encourage new writers. “A place where they can publish and use their creative energy” he added.
According to the minister, in the next three to four months, 12 additional books will be out, while in about two months the first 11 books will be on sale for the public. Bookstores identified to sell the books include Austin’s Bookstore and the Michael Forde Bookshop. The monies from the sale of the books, the minister said, will go to a fund which will be used for further works that the Press will undertake.
Anthony noted that the Caribbean Press is housed at the Ministry but, according to Dabydeen, the books are printed in England because it is cost effective. The Minister said that queries about the Caribbean Press can be made at the Ministry and he admitted that more can be done to explain how selection of works are done and the process potential writers have to go through. He added too that the Press was called the Caribbean Press because there are plans to expand the publishing house to other Caribbean countries and writers.
Anthony added too that consultations were made with scholars and historians both in the Caribbean and internationally when reviewing the works selected to be part of the Guyana Classics.
Meanwhile, at the handing over presentation, a poetry and short story competition was launched.
The competition is targeted for school children up to the age of 18 years. The poetry competition is intended for primary school students under the age of 12 years and poems should not be more than 30 lines.
The short story competition is for students between the ages of 13-18 years old and short stories should not be more than 1,000 words. The closing date of submission of entries should is July 15 and must be submitted to Petamber Persaud c/o Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. The stories and poems will be published in an anthology by the Caribbean Press. Persons wanting more information can contact Petamber Persaud on 226-0065 or email him at oraltraditions2002@yahoo.com.