The month of January has its origins and owes its name to literature. It arises from oral literature – to be specific, Classical literature and the Roman mythology. There were ten months in the Roman calendar before January was added on to replace March as the first month of the year, and it was named after the Roman god Janus – whose name means “doorway. Archway or arcade”. Janus was the god of beginnings, gateways and of the rising sun. he had two faces – one looking forward and the other looking behind; so he could see both the future (the new year ahead) and the year that has passed. The word January is from Middle English and was in use by the year 1,000 AD.
January is therefore, traditionally, a year of reflection when the year that has just ended is reviewed and assessed, sometimes measuring that against projections. The tradition developed in the theatre of year-end revues, which are usually satirical, looking with a humorous but critical eye. Yet there is also plain serious documentation of what took place and what was wrong or commendable about it. At this time also, many organisations in different disciplines begin to consider who were the best performers and who are to be given awards for the year. That is what we will now do in these pages, in a review of what transpired in Guyana in the field of culture in 2023.