Dear Editor,
It has been almost four years since my letter on the urgent need of a “Dictionary of Guyanese National Biography” first appeared in Stabroek News, followed by two additional letters in the four dailies since. Responses were overwhelming and enthusiastic but no concrete steps were taken, mainly due to the lockdown brought about by COVID-19. Now that things are reopening, I want to make a start, just as I did with my pioneering work on “Bibliography of Guyana” and “Encyclopaedia of the Guyanese Amerindians”, both of which are now used by some prestigious institutions around the globe, including both our own UG and UWI.
I have been compiling the names for potential entries in the proposed biography project and have managed to build a short profile of each gathered from the internet, Guyana’s newspapers, reference books, magazines, and other authoritative sources. I sincerely want to start this project while waiting on others to join, including support and funding for publication from UG and the Guyana Government. Once a first edition is out, it can serve as the foundation on which to build and expand. The thing is to get something out there which will motivate the submitting of profiles of other Guyanese who may have been unintentionally missed and who have excelled in their own disciplines.
So, I ask that you send me a profile of prominent Guyanese who you feel should be chronicled in this proposed “Dictionary of Guyanese National Biography”. A half a page might suffice. See a proposed entry below using Stan Brock as an example which you can use as a template for your own submission. Once I receive the profiles, I will start editing, validate the information, organize it alphabetically, ensure compliance with established documentation and publishing standards, and prepare in a format suitable for publishing. I am targeting initial completion by September of this year 2022.
Sincerely,
Lal Balkaran
