Samuel Johnson, that great man of letters and heavyweight of good sense in eighteenth century England, commonly said the people whom we should most beware in the world are those who constantly insist on finding fault, those whose clouds are never lit by silver linings, those who everlastingly “refuse to be pleased.”
I am often reminded of Sam Johnson’s suspicion of such people and their moaning and gnashing of teeth when I read the newspapers or look at the news and commentaries and interviews and panel discussions on our TV channels. And I fear it is all much the same in other countries around the world.
Blight and despondency stretch as far as the eye can see. The litanies of misery and human perfidy, on this side and that, are unrelieved by even the faintest evidence of life being nudged in the right direction. Intentions are always bad, efforts always flawed or corrupt, the half-filled glass is always draining towards the sourest dregs.
In danger of losing ourselves in the endless lamentation and grim caterwaul of the reportage all around us, let us not completely lose hold of the sweet positives of life. I think of the joys and life-celebrations of Mashramani, Phagwah and Easter and those still to come in this special year of commemoration activities.
I think of the zest and powerful creative impulse of the youth of Guyana as shown in events at the Cultural Centre and the Theatre Guild workshops and productions. The superb performances and choreography displayed by our dance troupes add to the sum of what is regularly achieved. These all deserve praise week after week.
I recall, also, the creative and beautiful work of Guyanese artists constantly on show at Castellani House whose curator, Elfrieda Bissember, is one of the significant, mostly unsung, achievers in this land.
The Castellani House Exhibitions are an ever-present reminder of how much inspired work is being done in this nation. I would plead amidst all the angst for some headlines about these lovely displays of Guyanese talent and dedication. Over the last twelve months there have been exhibitions full of beauty and invention. There was the display of a superb selection of the paintings and sculpture of the late Philip Moore in tribute to that great master-spirit of our time. The astonishing work of Donald Locke and other artists of the independence era was shown in an acclaimed exhibition. In the exhibition of their work entitled Coastal Wanderings Nikhil Ramkarran and Michael Lam raised photography to an art form capable of holding its own anywhere.
There was also the important retrospective exhibition by Guyana United Artists covering the period 1997-2012 featuring the works of Desmond Alli, Betsy Karim, Francis Ferreira, Gary Thomas, Valentine Stoll, Ohene Kaoma and Lori-Ann Jacobs. And so much more on show at Castellani. The recent exhibition Innovations records trends in Guyanese art to help celebrate Mashramani.
There was, in addition, the hugely successful National Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition organised last year by the Ministry of Culture with Alim Hosein the organizer in chief in a dedicated management committee. The 200 paintings, sculptures, photographs and ceramics entered represented an outpouring of abundant talent which was subsequently beautifully displayed at Castellani and at the National Museum and catalogued in a superbly produced catalogue. Do we notice such things enough?
And there is the astonishingly varied and stimulating programme of events undertaken by the Moray House Trust since it was established at the end of 2011 to honour the memory of David de Caires.
His residence at 239 Camp and Quamina Streets has become a venue for lectures, slide presentations, book launches, poetry workshops, discussion panels, concerts, cultural group meetings, exhibitions and showings of documentary films.
Do we pay enough attention? Do we give enough credit? Praise be to the Trustees headed by Andaiye and the Board of Directors headed by Vanda Radzik and the administrator Joan McDonald for the imagination, organizational skill and hard work which has created this vibrant and life-enhancing meeting place.
Are we – I know I am not – as aware as we should be of the vibrant voices of the younger generation? For years, for instance, Upscale performance poetry has been making a cultural contribution of great value but one insufficiently recognized.
The lives of nations are full of setbacks, wrong turnings and dismal and even tragic and terrible events. And the lives of men never lack for distress and frustration. There is more than enough state disaster and individual misery if you look around. That is true and should never go unconsidered or be Panglossed over as we strive to live well and do better in private and in public forums. But surely that is not the whole story.
There is so much beauty in Guyana, so much has been achieved, so many services improved, and there is no country in the world with greater promise. Dreams and great plans can be fulfilled here I am quite sure. And in our individual lives surely all is not as bad as beings from the moons of Saturn might be led to believe if they just picked up the signals streaming through space from this land seemingly so horror-struck.
In the end there is more love than hate. I absolutely believe this. If it were not so life long ago would have become extinct. Who will deny that amidst the hells revealed in the headlines scores upon scores of thousands of individuals, families, friends daily enjoy the facts and fruits of love and that life is good because of that?
The individual experience of love multiplied a thousand – fold day by day describes the truth better than the wasteland we are instructed to believe surrounds us on every side.
