The Ministry of Culture on Wednesday held its annual Edgar Mittelholzer lecture at the Theatre Guild Playhouse in Kingston.
The lecture “Edgar Mittelholzer’s ‘Creative Genes (is) and the Geni (us) Behind it” was presented by Dr Juanita Cox, a University of Birmingham scholar who studied his works intensively. Mittelholzer, a Guyanese, was one of earliest novelists from the West Indies to establish significant readership in Europe. He earned his living almost exclusively from writing fiction and is considered to be the first professional novelist to come out of the English-speaking Caribbean. Dr Cox said the measure of his literary success could be deduced from his books being reproduced in over 20 different languages.
In her lecture, Dr Cox explored Mittelholzer’s novels for deeper meanings, particularly for religious themes. What she hailed as outstanding works in fiction, Dr Cox said Mittelholzer’s novels inspired several “would-be” West Indies novelists.
Meanwhile, in his address Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony said his ministry was again pleased to host the lecture series which were started in 1967 by AJ Seymour. He praised Mittelholzer as being the most prolific of Guyanese novelists and recalled that his were distributed in schools and libraries to familiarise children with history and Guyanese culture. Four of his novels have been featured in the ‘Guyana Classics Collection’ Mittelholzer’s books are sold by Austin’s Book Store.
In introducing Dr Cox, the minister said she had studied Mittelholzer’s writings and has amassed a wealth of knowledge on his style. Dr Cox completed her thesis on Edgar Mittelholzer (1909-1965) at the University of Birmingham. She also lectured for three years on Caribbean Studies and Black British History at the London Metropolitan University in England. Over the years she has also had several articles on Mittelholzer’s work published in the Stabroek News and Guyana Review including “A Caribbean Voice” which was published in both papers in 2008; and “Music and Symbolism in Edgar Mittelholzer’s The Life and Death of Sylvia.” Some of her forthcoming publications include a critical anthology “In the Eye of the Storm-Edgar Mittelholzer (1909-1965)” which is a compendium of Mittelholzer’s short stories, poems, plays and unpublished works.
Mittelholzer committed suicide in England in 1965.
