– candid comments by Rupert Roopnaraine,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, Al Creighton and othersBy Kiana WilburgSince the announcement of the Caribbean Press in 2009 by Ministry of Culture, calls have been made to the press to disclose information on its accessibility since early April.Dr. Rupert RoopnarineBut instead of a response to these burning questions that still remain unanswered,Cheap Jerseys, the Public was greeted by a letter written by Dr. David Dabydeen, (Most of the Poetry sent to the Caribbean Press is doggerel)the contents of which have attracted mixed reviews from prominent writers and critics within our Diaspora.One of Dabydeen’s comments that certainly drew much attention was “the fact remains that the writing coming out of Guyana, with notable exceptions is poignantly poor.”Barrington Braithwaite, a writer and artist who was also mentioned in Dabydeen’s letter, said that he is of the strong belief that Dabydeen’s remark is one that is designed to camouflage the real issue at hand and leave many trying to prove themselves.Literary critic, University Lecturer, and Secretary of the Guyana Prize for Literature,Discount Football Jerseys, Al Creighton, referred to Dabydeen’s statement as “not the whole story.”Creighton stated, “I can easily identify many local writers of merit and as an ambassador of Guyana, Dabydeen is only limiting his attention to one thing. Over the past years, at the Guyana Prize for Literature, I have noted that some of the submissions needed improving but at the same time, many of the judges have pointed out the works of many writers who reflect impressive potential.”Supporting his comment was also APNU’s Vice Chairman, and accomplished writer,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine,Cheap NFL Jerseys, who said, “Though we are living in a situation which in my opinion, is virtually collapsed literacy, we need to look at the environment.“We are in a far graver issue than what Dabydeen is highlighting and I feel pity for him. If it is that he is saying the work he reads which would have been submitted to the Caribbean Press is of no quality, well then I’m sorry but I was at Moray House in May, when Publisher, Jeremy Poynting of Peepal Tree held a workshop and based on the questions asked by the aspiring writers, it was clear that they were keen on improving their craft.“As an ambassador of Guyana and with the experience that he would have gathered over the years I expected that he would emphasize on our positives.”Dr. Roopnarine declared that “the letter Dabydeen wrote was regrettable and despairing in its tone .The Caribbean press has done invaluable work as it relates to reprinting of books.Al CreightonHowever, the work Dabydeen claims to have seen which he refers to as “doggerel or puppyrel”, cannot be used as an overall indicator of the depth reflected in our writers. Further, if you know these are the issues, as the ambassador, what can we do to help move this forward?Dr. Roopnaraine stated that the real issue that needs addressing is “What measures are in place that will assist us in achieving improvement?”Creighton said, “While it is true that we really have a few highly distinguished writers in Guyana, this is only so because of the lack of facilities that should be available daily to young writers so that they may be able to improve their craft. However, I wish to make it known that the Guyana Prize for literature has requested funds to address this issue and is currently working on this.“At the moment, the Drama School has put in place training programs that focus on creative writing as well as the University of Guyana, which will soon be implementing programs to help writers.”Despite an inordinate number of attempts that were made to contact Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Culture and Director, Dr. James Rose, all have proved to be utterly futile as this publication sought to address with the Minister, the unanswered questions with regard to the Caribbean Press.Dr. Roopnaraine said, “I have no idea where the Caribbean press is. How can one access the press? Where can the work be submitted and how does one engage the press for advice on other issues of relative concern?”Those very sentiments are shared by his colleagues, Creighton and Braithwaite who advocate that the information on the company needs to be readily available. But as Dr. Roopnarine “poignantly” puts it,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, “it is obvious that the Caribbean Press has an issue with governance.”
