2014 Winners of Godfrey Chin Prize for Heritage Journalism

From http://www.guyfolkfest.org
The Blog was nominated for the the Godfrey Chin Prize for Heritage Journalism which is being managed by the Guyana Cultural Association of New York Inc and won Second Prize.

The first Prize went to Gaiutra Bahadur for her amazing blog around her book Coolie Woman : The Odyssey of Indenture.

The second prize was shared with Dmitri Allicock who authors Oh Beautiful Guyana.

The third prize went to Ingrid Griffith for her one woman production Demerara Gold 



A brilliant writer had told me a few weeks ago that he could not do a blog because he could not bear to write anything which people would not read.

Most of the posts on this blog do not get 40 visits, and I am not sure how many of those are those spammers.

I would never pretend to be call myself a journalist, but it seems that the definition of journalism is evolving in terms of story telling and writing about being in a place even if few people are interested.

My head is swelling with the idea of the high grass I am grazing in, but there is a kind of consciousness now of taking this a bit more seriously than just put down anything which comes to mind and not edit for mistakes.

There is a kind of feeling about responsibility too as a citizen, to keep writing something about this place which is not about its politics but about things which we do  to make it liveable, writing in a way that says that we are here because we want to be and not because the PPP has made it paradise, or the PNC continues to restrain the development of the pardise or because we cannot make it anywhere else or because we are bound here by some idea that 'we could make a difference' and it is easier to make a difference here than in Iraq or Afghanistan or the United States.

Writing that says that Guyana is beautiful and is ugly and that it is possible to experience both the ugliness and the beauty at the same time.


I am glad that others are writing in and about Guyana - Youth Blogs Gy is a recent collaboration among young people.

I hope that others would write more, especially those who feel constrained by their situation.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Turpentine mango madness

Image
Some of the mango was stuck on the stubble around my mouth. I looked at the mirror, a bit of shame because I had just collected an invitation from a well dressed guy and I wonder how I must have looked to him.. look at dis big man .. he cyan eat mango good . Thing is.. wiping off mango from stubble is difficult.. and the casual swipe with a hand which might have some juice is also useless. The turpentine mango is useless when it is green - it tastes awful, like turpentine.  Mother Nature works a miracle because the ripe one though, is sweet, juicy, no strings and no turpentine taste. And the colours on the skins are bright yellow/orange/pink/purple/red shades that are probably meant to draw all species of mango lovers. The trouble with turpentine is that you cannot pick it green or 'turnin' ' to ripen like say how they do it with Spice mangoes.  You have to leave on the tree until there is some point.. when there is no taste of turpentine. So you look at the m
Read more

Re-writing Irfaan Ali's disgraceful statement after accepting his comrade's resignation

Image
  (President Irfaan Ali made a Facebook post in which he accepted the resignation of his comrade Nigel Dharmlall from the Cabinet and the Party. This is an imaginary rewriting of that statement) Fellow Guyanese, as you’re aware, I am in Trinidad and Tobago attending the 45th session of the Heads of Government meeting of CARICOM and the 50th anniversary of CARICOM.  Tonight I want to address you in relation to the allegation that was made multiple allegations of rape and sexual violence which have been made against Minister Nigel Dharamlall.  From the inception, I advised the population that I would allow the system to work.   I would never and the government would never intervene in the system. We’ve allowed an independent investigation; the minister proceeded on leave to ensure that an independent investigation was conducted. I recognise that many survivors of rape and other forms of gender-based violence do not trust the system to work because it has failed many times.  I ad
Read more

My experience with depression - Dr Raquel Thomas-Caesar

Image
(The University of Guyana held Turkeyne & Tain Talks 2 on Monday 12 September, 2016 on Suicide Prevention . Dr Raquel Thomas-Caesar made a presentation based on her experience. This is the text of the presentation) by Raquel Thomas-Caesar I am not an expert on the issue of Suicide and Depression but this is my personal journey dealing with such issues. I have never spoken publicly about this at such a forum and I hope that it serves to help others even if only a small way- Dr Raquel Thomas-Caesar South East London,  June 9, 1995 As I sit under the tree, hidden from all eyes…I wait….to go. I wait to die. Then it hits me…OMG. I really don’t want to die. What have I done? My head is swinging, fuzzy, I can hardly walk. But I barely make it up and up the hill…I see two young black men in the distance…they come towards me, I could only imagine they thought I was on drugs..I beg for help. My Angels.  I wake up in the hospital. This was me- 21 years ago.  In a foreign land, drea
Read more