Arts on Sunday

Sita and Jatayu                                      It was Jatayu who tried to pursue Rawan to save Sita, his treasured King’s wife, as she prayed to her Rama to free her from Rawan’s clutch, squeezing tight her spleen.

Resolution and Independence      I was a traveller then upon the moor; .

The Warau People Discover the Earth The Caribs were the first people on earth.

Among School Children                  I I walk through the long schoolroom questioning; A kind old nun in a white hood replies; The children learn to cipher and to sing, To study reading-books and history, To cut and sew, be neat in everything In the best modern way—the children’s eyes In momentary wonder stare upon A sixty-year-old smiling public man.

The Woman and The Jaguar There was this woman who took care of us when we were younger and our mother went to work.

September is celebrated as Amerindian Heritage Month in Guyana and there is an unfathomable depth of priceless heritage to celebrate.

Bass Culture                               (for Big Yout)   1 muzik of blood black reared pain rooted heart geared all tensed up in di bubbe an di bounce an di leap an di weight drop it is di beat of di heart this pulsing of blood that is a bubblin bass a bad bad beat pushin against di wall whey bar black blood an is a whole heappa passion a gather like a frightful form like a righteous harm giving off wild like is madness [.

Riddym Ravings (the mad woman’s poem) De fus time dem kar me go a Bellevue was fi di dactar an de lanlord aperate an tek de radio outa mi head troo dem sieze the bed weh did a gi mi cancer an mek mi talk to nobady ah di same night wen dem trow mi out fi no pay de rent mi haffi sleep outa door wid de Channel One riddym box an de DJ fly up eena mi head mi hear im a play seh   Eh, Eh, No feel no way Town is a place dat ah really kean stay Dem kudda – ribbit mi han Eh – ribbit mi toe Mi waan go a country go look mango   fah wen hungry mek King St pavement bubble an dally in front a mi yeye an mi foot start wanda falla fly to de garbage pan eena de chinaman backlat dem nearly chap aff mi hand eena de butcha shap fi de piece a ratten poke ah de same time de mawga gal in front a mi drap de laas piece a ripe banana an mi – ben dung – pick i up – an nyam i a dat time dem grab mi an kar mi back a Bellevue dis time de dactar an de landlord aperate an tek de radio plug outa mi head den sen mi out, seeh mi alright but – as ah ketch back outa street ah push een back de plug an ah hear mi DJ still a play, seh   Eh, Eh, no feel no way town is a place dat ah really kean stay dem kudda – ribbit me han eh – ribbit me toe mi waan go a country go look mango [.

God’s Grandeur  The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

The recent death of one of Guyana’s most acclaimed actors, the legendary Clairmonte Taitt, was marked by a number of tributes and remembrances.

The Republic of Haiti holds a very special place in the consciousness of Caribbean people.

The Woman Speaks to the Man who has Employed her Son   Her son was first made known to her as a sense of unease, a need to cry for little reasons and a metallic tide rising in her mouth each morning.

In the folklore of the Eastern Caribbean island of St Lucia there is a popular character known as Ti Jean.

By Harold A Bascom The Caribbean, including Guyana, has a population of close to 46 million.

Caribbean nationhood has been, through a history marked by colonial imperialism, plunder, triumph and glory, intricately associated with and profoundly defined by its literature.

[Daryll A Goodchild, Crassin De Rivvah: The Caribbean Flavour, Georgetown: Daryll Goodchild, 2019.

In You The Earth Little rose, roselet, at times, tiny and naked, it seems as though you would fit in one of my hands, as though I’ll clasp you like this and carry you to my mouth, but suddenly my feet touch your feet and my mouth your lips: you have grown, your shoulders rise like two hills, your breasts wander over my breast, my arm scarcely manages to encircle the thin new-moon line of your waist: in love you loosened yourself like sea water: I can scarcely measure the sky’s most spacious eyes and I lean down to your mouth to kiss the earth.

[Gabrielle Mohamed, Is You Madness, Nah Me Own: A Short Collection of Creole Poetry, Georgetown: Gabrielle Mohamed, 2019.

[Neaz Subhan, Coming Back: An Escape From Suicide, Georgetown: Neaz Subhan, 2020. 

By Alim Hosein Arts On Sunday this week presents a study on the art of photography in Guyana by Alim Hosein, Coordinator of the Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition, linguist, artist, literary and art critic, and English lecturer at the University of Guyana.