Tributes yesterday poured in for nationally acclaimed folklorist, poet, broadcast-er, one-time public rela-tions czar of the PNC, and Stabroek News decades-long columnist, Allan Arthur Fenty, who passed away yesterday in his sleep at his South Ruimveldt Gardens home.
He had celebrated his 78th birthday just last month.
Well known for his contribution to the pre-servation of Guyanese cul-ture, such as proverbs and cuisine, Fenty offered weekly satirical and thought provoking analy-ses of this country’s land-scape in his folksy grass-roots column “Frankly Speaking by A.A. Fenty”.
The Guyana Press Association (GPA) hailed Fenty for his contributions to the literary landscape, pointing out that he helped to produce material dealing with Venezuela’s spurious claim to Essequibo.
“Mr Fenty started his working life as a teacher on the West Demerara. He was a trained teacher. Former GPA executive and friend, Bert Wilkinson, recalled that Mr Fenty was Chief Information Officer at [the] close of the 1970s into the early 80s. Mr Fenty helped to produce a number of publications dealing with the Guyana-Venezuela border issue as well as others pertaining to other national events,” the GPA said in a statement.
Wilkinson told this newspaper that Guyana has lost in Fenty, a repository of history on a number of issues.
Fenty stayed close with his young adulthood friends who included Wilkinson, Lloyd Conway, Kirk Noel, Edwin Pratt, Rudy Bishop, Desmond Fraser of Chronicle Atlan-tic, Eze Rockcliffe, and Fairbairn Liverpool among many others including the late Lennox Canterbury.
Wilkinson echoed also that Fenty had published several booklets with Guyanese and West Indian proverbs. Additionally, Fenty played an active role in various editions of Carifesta over the decades. And up to the time of his passing he was actively involved in the production of the publication, “The Guyana Annual” and hosted his television show, “The Cook Up Show” on CNS Channel 6.
As he expressed condolences to Fenty’s surviving wife and four daughters, Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, Kwame McCoy, paid tribute to his friend.
“This morning I awoke to the sad news of the passing of my dear friend Allan Fenty, short story writer, story-teller, news-paper columnist, author, folklorist and poet. Allan and I shared a cordial and candid friendship spanning 30 years. ‘Frankly Speak-ing’, a blow has been struck to the media and communication fraternity as we all mourn Allan’s loss.
“Guyana has lost a true son of the soil. I express condolences to the Fenty family, most notably his wife, Myrna and four daughters as well as grandchildren. May his soul rest in peace.”
A household name to many, some reflected on how Fenty would reward his viewers with “a strapping hundred” when they translated the mean-ings of colloquial terms.
Others remembered a man who was always bright in spirit into his senior years “with some wutless and X-rated jokes.”
Former Mayor of Linden Carwyn Holland said, “This 78 youth whom we all fondly called Uncle Allan was always one of my biggest supporters, mentor, and friend, who never missed my boxing shows and visited me quite often in Linden.” He said that his visits to Guyana will be missing the fun times he spent with Fenty and he too extended condolences to Fenty’s family.
Another of Fenty’s close friends, Nicole Smith, said Fenty being a part of her life allowed her to share multiple stories of her life.
“I’m thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to engage in your life. Though not frequently, our time was, most importantly, significant. Even though death is inevitable, we can never become accustomed to it. You will be missed, a truly excellent mentor is hard to find, tough to part with, and impossible to forget,” she lamented in a Facebook post. She added that he was a true Guyanese icon in the fields he served. “Allan A. Fenty, a real icon for Guyana.” she added
Yet another friend, Neisha Prince Persaud in her tribute said she met Allan Fenty years ago through her business and they immediately became best of friends.
“He was a kind-hearted, caring, intelligent, hard-working, jovial guy. Today I’m saddened by the news of his passing & today I’m crying my deepest condolences to all the families and friends.”
Stabroek News Editor-in-Chief Anand Persaud extended condolences to Fenty’s family on his passing on behalf of the newspaper and its staff. He said that Fenty’s grass roots column – replete with sardonic humour – had built a following over 30 years and would be sorely missed. He said that while written in an engaging conversational style that was inimitably Fenty’s there was much profundity in what he interrogated and commented on even though he often protested that he was unlettered.
Persaud said that Fenty had always told him that the column was the only manifestation of discipline in his entire life and he would religiously hand-deliver his handwritten column weekly with all of the pen flourishes that underlined his beginnings as a teacher. Even when he was abroad he would ensure that a relative called the newspaper to make certain that the column had been delivered electronically as he said he didn’t trust emails.
The Editor-in-Chief said that Fenty had called him on Friday to relate that one of the topics he had covered in his last column had coincidentally been taken up that same day by a public figure. Persaud said that Fenty had recently earnestly addressed the matter of public procurement and the need for this to be explained to the public and for the authorities to be held accountable. Persaud said that the sign-off bullet points to his columns were often withering one-liners that skewered and penetrated deeply.
The Editor-in-Chief said that in tribute to Fenty, the newspaper will run some of his earlier columns in the Friday slot that he occupied for 30 years.
