Dear Editor,
Calvin Holder died on February 7, 2022 and was buried one day more than a week afterwards. There was no tolling of a bell or blaring trumpet to announce his mortality because Calvin was not nationally known.
I met Calvin Holder in the late 70’s at the University of Guyana, where we were both students. He said that his father, ‘Black Boy’, and his two brothers, ‘Brown Boy’ and ‘Red Boy’, had come to British Guiana from Barbados to work as cane-cutters, and they remained in the country. Calvin’s dad turned to farming when he wasn’t cutting cane. This was exactly what my father did, and Calvin and I became very good friends. As our friendship grew, I learned that, while he lived in Melanie Damishana, his birthplace was the nearby Bachelor’s Adventure, and he took me to meet his mother who still lived there. Calvin had served as a teacher in different parts of the hinterlands and, after graduating from UG, he returned, giving more years before being transferred to work as an education official on the East Coast of Demerara. Calvin migrated to Antigua to teach, but he came back to UG to read for his Masters in English and later completed his PhD at the University of the West Indies, with his thesis being on Martin Carter.
I have been informed that Dr. Gemma Robinson of England has written a thesis on Martin Carter, but I don’t know of any Guyanese besides Calvin who has written a PhD thesis on Guyana’s national poet. Therefore, Calvin’s work is very significant. I’ve asked people whether they have knowledge of a Martin Carter biography, and they said no. Assuming there is no Martin Carter biography, the works of Drs. Robinson and Holder are even more important as they are the closest to that biography. I tried many times to get Calvin to write about his teaching experiences in the hinterland and to publish his thesis on Martin Carter. Neither was done. Nevertheless, his thesis should be available at the University of the West Indies. I’m aware that Calvin’s personal life was not ideal, which I regret, but I prefer to focus on my friend’s academic life. To the people of Bachelor’s Adventure and Melanie Damishana, who knew Calvin Holder as simply ‘Calvin’, I say that you will do well to embrace your son, Dr. Calvin Holder, and try to emulate, or better, his academic achievements.
Sincerely,
Roy Brummell
