Dear Editor,
It is with a heavy heart I read of the passing in England of celebrated writer Lakshmi Persaud (nee Seetaram) who taught for a period of time at Queen’s College when she lived in Guyana with her Berbician husband, Prof Bishnodat Persaud who pre-deceased (2016 at age 82) her. She also taught in Trinidad and Jamaica and spent time in Barbados where her son is a prominent economic advisor. She was admired for her writing skills and her articulation of views and positions on issues. Lakshmi had a large following of Guyanese and Caribbean literary enthusiasts in UK, Canada, USA, Guyana, and the Caribbean. Those she taught at Queen’s said she was an outstanding teacher. She and her husband loved interacting with Guyanese and other West Indians wherever they traveled.
In New York, the diaspora honours the memory of Dr. Lakshmi Persaud and her important contribution to the field of literature and specifically of Caribbean women’s writing. Whenever she (and or her husband) visited USA, they were hosted by Guyanese writers for lectures. It was an honour for me to meet her and Bishnodat in London, New York, and Trinidad on multiple occasions and their sharing personal experiences. What a lovely couple! They were very good to Guyanese and other groups at home and in the diaspora sharing their books and experiences and hosting several of us at different locations.
Lakshmi was born in Trinidad and studied in Trinidad and at Queens University, Belfast where she earned her doctorate. There she met Canje born Bishnodat (called Vishnu) who was doing a doctorate in Economics, and they later got married.
Dr Lakshmi, who also did a postgraduate Diploma in Education at University of Reading, England, made immense contributions in the field of Indian Caribbean literature. Her novels were masterpieces depicting real life. She wrote with great feeling and warmth and her writings have helped to focus literature on Indo-Caribbean people. She elevated the reach of Indian Caribbean literature to a wider circle in the UK, North America, and the Caribbean where she had large number of admirers. Her novels focused on the Indo-Caribbean experience and she revealed to me her first-hand experience of the marginalization of Indians in Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica, and UK.
Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram
