The Mission

To organize an event that would contribute an appreciation of the history and direction of Guyanese expressive culture, especially the verbal & scribal traditions. Specifically, the event will encourage the exploration and celebration of Guyanese oral traditions and spoken word, writing (fiction and non-fiction), songs, and cartoons.

Rationale

In the dedication to the Section Edition of A Festival of Guyanese Words, the editor, John Rickford noted: To those before us, Who kept what words they could, borrowed and made up what they needed, and buried what had outlived its usefulness.  And To those after us, who will continue the process Words have had an important place in Guyanese life throughout the ages. They define us, articulate our aspirations and our disappointments, reflect on our landscape, document our achievements, celebrate our multicultural heritage, and help us envision preferable futures.  Guyanese writers have contributed to Guyanese international profile. Guyanese words will help to heal the nation.

Objectives

Specifically, the symposium will:

• Support the thrust of Guyana Folk Festival 2004
• Identify, discuss and demonstrate the scope of oral and scribal traditions in Guyana during the 20th century.
• Explore the role of radio in diffusing and promoting Guyanese words.
• Collect materials for dissemination in the popular Guyana Folk magazine and the academic press; and to support scholarly research, for storage in the Caribbean Collection of the University of Guyana, and for immediate use in radio and television programming
• Showcase current trends in Guyanese words.

Guyana folk Festival Statement on Use of Copyrighted Material

Guyana Folk Festival (GFF) is a Not For Profit entity committed to the preservation, propagation and promotion of the cultural heritage of the people of Guyana.  In furtherance of this effort and its related activities, GFF will from time to time solicit contributions from various artists reflecting the rich mosaic of Guyana. GFF is resolute in its commitment to respect the intellectual property rights of all contributors to GFF sponsored activities.

GFF will in all instances of commercial use of contributors' works seek to negotiate reasonable compensation for the contributing artists.  In other instances of non-commercial use where GFF uses, adapts, translates, modifies and/or distributes the contributions of artists or any parts thereof in furtherance of its goals, GFF will endeavor to ensure that such use constitutes ""Fair Use" of such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of Title 17 of the United States Code.

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Ohio University’s Department of African American Studies
College of Arts and Sciences

There is an ever-increasing demand for college graduates who are equipped to work in global and multicultural environments. Ohio University's Department of African American Studies offers a distinctive program that focuses on the African American experience regionally, nationally and globally. It offers a solid program of study that draws from a range of academic fields including history, sociology, psychology, political science, economics, literature, art, music and media. 

Established in 1969, the Department of African American Studies at Ohio University is one of the oldest programs in the United States. For more than three decades the department has been enriching the educational experience for all students at Ohio University. Many of our majors have gone on to graduate school and carved for themselves influential careers in a variety of fields including law, the performing arts, international affairs, religion, politics, education, and business. Our faculty members have made valuable contributions to the field of African American and Africana Studies in the United States and around the world.

And therefore the Department of African American Studies, Ohio University is pleased to be a sponsor of the Guyana Folk Festival 2004 Symposium, Guyanese Word: Spoken, Written, Sung, Drawn

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The Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University:
An Archive and an Institution 

The Center for Ethnomusicology is a unique institution in the discipline and at Columbia University. Founded in 1967 by Professor Willard Rhodes and Prof. Nicholas England, the Center was an institutional home to the prominent mid-century music collector Laura Boulton during the late 1960s and early 1970s. A major portion of Boulton's huge collection of field recordings from around the world (but especially strong in Native American and African materials) forms the core of the Center's archival holdings, a collection known as the Laura Boulton Collection of Traditional and Liturgical Music. Some of Ms. Boulton's many recordings are also housed in other archives, at Harvard University, the Library of Congress, The University of Arizona, and the Indiana University Archives of Traditional Music. In fact, Boulton's original recordings from her Columbia deposit collection (on a variety of media) are now held at Indiana, for safekeeping and access, although Columbia University maintains the rights to these materials. The Center holds reel-to-reel copies of these originals and now CD copies of most of them. An additional set of bar-coded and cataloged reel-to-reel copies is now held by the Columbia library system at an offsite storage facility under archival climate-controlled conditions. The Center also holds significant collections of historical recordings of American folk music (especially recordings made by Walter Garwick and George Hibbett), the Collection of Contemporary and Traditional Turkish music, a large collection of videotaped documents of Spanish Flamenco music, and the field recordings of many scholars who have been affiliated with Columbia's program in ethnomusicology as students or faculty members. Finally, the archive contains numerous significant commercially released folk and world music recordings, most of which are long out of print. Several current acquisition projects are now underway to add to the archive. From 1971 until 2003, the archive was directed by Professor Dieter Christensen, who oversaw extensive acquisition and systematization efforts. For most of those years the Center was also the home of the International Council for Traditional Music, of which Prof. Christensen was the Director General, and of the ICTM's flagship journal, The Yearbook for Traditional Music. (In 2001, the ICTM and its journal moved from Columbia to UCLA.)

In recent years, at first under Prof. Christensen's Directorship and now under the Directorship of Prof. Aaron Fox, the Center has been moving toward a new mission, and a new model for the dissemination and use of its archives and scholarly resources. As an archive of magnetic audio and video tape and a large volume of associated paper records, the Center, like all such archives, faces a challenging and pressing set of demands to preserve its holdings and to explore means of making its holdings available to the scholarly community, the university community, and the communities in which the music it curates was recorded, while observing uncertain and emerging technological and ethical standards. We are currently involved in a major project to digitize our entire audio collection, amounting to several thousand reel-to-reel tapes, with an eventual goal of making significant portions of this archive available over university and global networks for students, scholars, and communities with interests in this material. At the same time, we are working to "repatriate" selected portions of our archive to the communities from which the music was taken, under circumstances that are sometimes ethically disavowed by contemporary scholars. 

The two projects, of course, are fundamentally related and are being undertaken in tandem. They also entail enormous labor and great expense, and will take us years to complete and require significant external funding. At the same time, we are seeking to acquire new collections under modern ethical standards and with agreements in place with source communities and researchers governing the digital publication of these materials. In the interim, researchers and students are always welcome to use the Center's holdings as they always have, by visiting our facilities in 701A and 701C Dodge Hall on the Columbia campus and working with the physical tapes (now mostly copied onto CDs) and paper collection records. While our collection is completely cataloged in paper records, we have also begun to catalog the collection electronically, and a preliminary tape-level online catalog is available. This catalog details the accession numbers for each tape in the archive, the name of the collector, a rough description of the area of the world or the culture from which the recording was collected, and occasionally notes on the location of duplicate copies or the condition of tapes. It is by no means a complete finding aid for our collection. Visitors to this site may find it useful as a way of determining if we have holdings in a particular musical culture or style, or made by a particular collector. But you must visit the Center to work with these recordings and to view the contents of particular tapes. Inquiries from credentialed scholars and students concerning the contents of particular tapes, and especially from representatives of communities whose musical heritage may be held in our archive, are welcome and will be answered as promptly as possible. There may be a charge for labor and materials if such a request entails research by Center staff (whenever possible such charges will be waived, however, if a request concerns potential heritage or intellectual property claims.)

The Center also houses a significant collection of musical instruments acquired by Laura Boulton in East and South Asia and Africa, and the Leonard C. Holvik Collection of traditional Japanese instruments. Many of these instruments are in need of significant repair work, and the Center is actively seeking funding to begin this work. If you are interested in supporting this work, please contact Prof. Fox.

What Else Happens at the Center . . .

The Center is more than an archive of tapes and instruments. It is also the hub of the graduate program in ethnomusicology at Columbia, and of musical activity on the Columbia campus. We support the work of our graduate students and enrich the content of our undergraduate classes by sponsoring talks and performances by major scholars and musicians. We provide tools for and training in field research in ethnomusicology (for example, equipping our students with audio and video recording equipment), and we provide a technologically sophisticated facility for working with audio, video, and other kinds of documentary material, including several audio/video computer workstations, an image-processing workstation, and a separate, well-equipped Digital Media Lab in which Center staff and trained graduate students work to digitize our archive, produce digital teaching materials, and support research and teaching in our program, department, and university with high-quality media production work. The Center's main facility, in 701C Dodge, is the headquarters of the graduate program, where you can always find students studying, writing, and holding meetings. The room is equipped with technology to enable visiting speakers to present sophisticated audio-visual materials and computer-based projects, and over the past few years we have improved the room physically to make it attractive, comfortable, and inviting, as well as to make it a safe and appropriate place to store and work with rare audio tapes, paper materials, photographs, etc. The room is in constant use, but can be reserved for functions (especially multi-media presentations, film screenings for small groups, academic seminars and colloquia, etc.). . Note that there will be a charge to parties outside the music department for the use of the Center's facilities, although we will waive the charge for events we co-sponsor. If you have an idea for an event related to cross-cultural music research or performance and need a small but elegant and technologically sophisticated space in which to hold it, get in touch with us to discuss it.

Thus, in keeping with our mission, The Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University is pleased to be one of the sponsors of the Guyana Folk Festival 2004 Symposium, Guyanese Word: Spoken, Written, Sung, Drawn.

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eCaroh Caribbean Emporium, Boston, Massachusetts

eCaroh Caribbean Emporium is a premier web site of recognized brands, local and international partners and unique cultural content established in 1997. PanOnTheWeb.com is the Place for Pan – Steelband music born in Trinidad and Tobago and now a musical icon of West Indians. Many stalwarts of West Indian cricket from Jamaica to Guyana inspire BourdaMarketPlace.com. It was at Bourda, in Guyana, where George Headley, a Jamaican, led the West Indies to its first Test match victory in 1930. His sterling personal performance also had it own hallmarks of greatness. In the next sixty years, several impressive men would play the game and through their performances, in the only consistent manner, make all of us proud to be West Indian.

A personality was shaped in the West Indian cricketer and he could be from the most northern island, Jamaica, or any one of the islands in the archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, or from the southern landmass of Guyana, in South America. They have a common spoken language - English - and a set of distinct and distinguishing social characteristics. BourdaMarketplace.com aims to represent and display those attributes.

PanOnTheWeb.com and BourdaMarketPlace.com form an electronic commercial cultural center. The people of the West Indies have their roots in the indigenous folk of the respective lands and all the major peoples of the world. West Indian arts reflect these characteristics.

We offer them to you through high quality content, easy navigation, and secured shopping. While our content is primarily recorded steelband and classic calypso music, we present eleven other genre; spoken word recordings; fine art; magazines and books; reviews; information on live performances; and host selected entertainment and carnival costumes web sites. Press Releases and What’s New announce events and additions to our web site.

West Indians have many other distinguishing features and we aim to convey examples of leadership, commendable action and thoughtful, insightful commentary. The subject titles LEAD/ACT and THINK/REFLECT carry, respectively, examples of leadership and thought-provoking opinion.

At eCaroh Caribbean Emporium we focus on our customers wherever they are and we give them choice. They tell us that we are an impressive single source for high quality cultural products. Our partners commend us for defining the Steelband music space on the Internet since 1997, and for maintaining a fine track record and a respected brand. To maintain those two important relationships, we are continually deploying our community and ecommerce strategy. We will continue positioning West Indian arts on the world stage through innovative approaches using technology. We will do our utmost to uphold the high regard for our content, responsiveness, products and services.

PanOnTheWeb.com and BourdaMarketPlace.com celebrate the West Indian personality through the eCaroh Caribbean Emporium. Here, You’re Home.

We are pleased, therefore, to be one of the sponsors of the Guyana Folk Festival 2004 Symposium: The Guyanese Word: Spoken, Written, Sung, Drawn.

Ronald H. Lammy
Founder & CEO

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THE SYMPOSIUM COMMITTEE:

• Dr. Vibert Cambridge
• Dr. Aubrey Bonnett
• Dr. Juliet Emanuel
• Dr. Aaron Fox
• Mr. Ronald Lammy

Caterer: GINGER ROOT CAFÉ

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PROGRAM

Friday, September 3, 2004
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM

All Sessions On Friday, September 3: Philosophy Hall, 301
Displays And Sales: Philosophy Hall 301
Sales Coordinator: Muriel Glasgow
(a)    Newspaper Cartoons in Guyana 1900-2004: Curator Vibert Cambridge, Ph.D.
(b)   Covers of Books and CDs by Guyanese

General Literature.

General Sales.   The safeguard of all materials is the responsibility of authors. Please adhere to the previously distributed instructions concerning sales.

12:00 PM - 3:00 PM LOBBY
Registration
Registrar: Juliet Emanuel
Assistant Registrar: Lorna McKenzie

Registration Fee is $25. This Fee Is Waived For All Presenters.

Registration badges must be worn by all persons throughout the Symposium.

All authors who are reading must sign in as specified.

All media including photographers must sign in at registration desk.

Press passes required for all media.

Photographers must obtain clearance from GUYANA FOLK FESTIVAL COMMITTEE (718-209-5207).

Registration continues on Saturday.
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Refreshments are Available.

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Friday, September 3, 2004
1:00 PM The Symposium Begins

Introduction:

Vibert Cambridge, Ph.D., Chair,
Department of African American Studies, Ohio University.

Remarks:

• Aubrey Bonnett, Ph.D.
  State University of New York, Old Westbury College

• Ronald Lammy, CEO,
  eCaroh Caribbean Emporium, GS ‘80, Columbia University

• Aaron Fox, Ph.D.
  Director, Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University
• Prem Misir, Ph.D.,
  Pro Chancellor, University of Guyana, South America

Declaring The Symposium Open:

• His Excellency, the Honorable Bayney Karran,
  Ambassador of Guyana to the United States of America.

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Session A

Roundtable: And how do we say and see the WORD? A Discussion.

Moderators:    

• Juliet Emanuel,
  D.A. Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY and

• Kojo Nnamdi,
  National Public Radio Program Host 

Participants:

• Cyril Dabydeen, Ph.D. (Dept. of English, University of Ottawa)
• O.R. Dathorne, Ph.D. (University of Kentucky)
• Michael Gilkes, Ph.D. (Visiting Scholar, Ohio University)
• Stanley Greaves, A.A. MFA, BA (Honors), Fine Art
• Peter Kempadoo, Ph.D. (Hon.)
• Paloma Mohamed, ABD
• Gokarran Sukhdeo

3:30 - 3:35 PM: Response
Dennis Francis Douglas, Ph.D. (Manchester, UK)

3:35 - 4:00 PM: Meet And Greet.

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SATURDAY, September 4, 2004
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Philosophy Hall, 301

 9:30 AM
Registration Begins.
Registration continues throughout Conference. 

Registrar: Juliet Emanuel
Assistant Registrar: Lorna McKenzie

PROGRAM

SESSION ROOMS (No eating in the Auditorium)

1. DAVIS AUDITORIUM, 412 CEPSR, in Morris Schapiro Hall
2. SEMINAR ROOM 414 in Morris Schapiro Hall, next to Davis Auditorium
3. PHILOSOPHY HALL, 301

10:00 AM
Concurrent Sessions Begin

SESSIONS B1, B2, B3
10:00 -11:10 AM

Session B1
Davis Auditorium, 412 CEPSR, Morris Schapiro Hall

The Lexicon of Guyana

Chair: Aubrey Bonnett, Ph.D (SUNY, Old Westbury College, New York)

Panelists:

• Ian Robertson, Ph.D.,
  University of the West Indies (St. Augustine).
  "Eastern Ijo Presence In Berbice."

• Desery Caesar, Ph.D.
  University of Guyana.
  "Zauro' nodok Agawaio yau: Ways of Speaking in Akawaio."
• Walter Edwards, Ph.D.
  Wayne State University:
  "Reduplicative Compounds in the Guyanese Lexicon."
• Travis Bristol, M. Ed:
  "Putting in de Balance to End the Episode: An Examination of the Oral Histories of Gladstone Adji Crowther as Story."

Respondent: Ovid Abrams

Session B2
Philosophy Hall, 301

The Language of Identity

Chair: Juliet Emanuel, D.A. (Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY)

Panelists:

• Ken Corsbie
  "Story Telling As A Cultural Force."
• Joyce Harte, Ph.D, (Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY)
  "And Always the Sound and Scent of Daffodils"
• Derrick Jeffrey
  "Guyanese Buse: First Class and Second Class."

Session B3
Seminar Room, N414, Morris Schapiro Hall

The Word and the Radio

Moderator: Claud Leandro

Panelists:

• Lynette Baptiste
• Maurice Braithwaite
• Pat Cameron
• Cuthbert Monschoir
• Balwant Singh

Facilitator: Angela Massiah

Francis Farrier: “Reflecting on Susanburg and other adventurers of Radio”.

SESSIONS C1, C2, C3
11:25 AM - 12:35 PM

Session C1
SEMINAR ROOM 414, Morris Schapiro Hall,

Addressing the Other: Woman and the Word

Chair:   Cicely Rodway, Ed.D, Queens College/CUNY.

Panelists:

• David Hinds, Ph.D. (USA):
  "Sex, Gender and Morals in Queh, Queh.'
• Romanee Kallicharan, M.A. (USA)
  'The 'voice' of dance and the Performing Arts."
• Taij Moteelall, M.A. (USA)
  "Breathe me in: The Indo-Guyanese Woman and the Word."
  (A multi-media presentation).

Session C2
Davis Auditorium, Schapiro Hall, 412

Diaspora: Crossing boundaries?

Chair: Gary Girdhari, Ph.D

Panelists:

• Annan Boodram, Caribbean Voice
  "Liminality in the Writings of Indo-Guyanese Diaspora Writers."
• Claud Leandro, Presenter:
  “Woman Of The Mahabarata”, An Original Leela By Pritha Singh. (Video)
• Robert Ramraj, Ph.D.
  "Guyanese Culture And Folklore In A Work Of Non Fiction."

Session C3
Philosophy Hall, 301

Art? Magic? Form? The Word Dress Up?

Chair: Aubrey Bonnett, Ph.D (SUNY, Old Westbury College)

Panelists:

• Kampta Karran
  "Changing Kali: The Guyana Sojourn."
• Romesh C.D. Singh
  "Traditional Guyanese birth/marriage rituals and customs -exploring Magic and Rituals."
• Paloma Mohamed
  "In The Beginning There Was Myth: A Preliminary Psycho-Social Perspective On The Role Of Myth On Guyanese Social Consciousness."

LUNCH
12:40 PM - 1:25 PM
A listing of restaurants provided courtesy of The Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University.

All Afternoon Sessions Are Staggered In Time.

Sessions D1, D2
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Session D1
Davis Auditorium

Roundtable and Discussion: Tanta Lies and Tanta Facts

Moderator: Kojo Nnamdi, National Public Radio, Program Host

Panelists

• Aubrey Bonnett, Ph.D.
  "The Political Rhetoric of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham."
• Calvin Brutus, Ph.D
  "Violation of the Idea and the Search for Truth: Guyana, Martin Carter and Walter Rodney."
• Errol Brewster (Barbados)
  "Related Rhythms: Denis Williams 1923 - 1998." (Read by committee member, GUYFOLKFEST)

Respondent:

• Charlotte Williams, Ph.D.
  "My Father, Denis Williams."
• David Hinds, Ph.D. (USA)
  "Walter Rodney and the Rhetoric of Race, Class, Defiance and Revolution."
• Maurice St. Pierre, Ph.D
  "Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham and the Language of Political Independence."

Discussant:

• Prem Misir, Ph.D.
  Pro Chancellor, University of Guyana, South America.

Session D2
Seminar Room 414, Morris Schapiro Hall
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Readings And Book Signings
This Session Continues As Session G In Philosophy Hall, 301, 4:00-4:50 PM
Coordinator: Juliet Emanuel

List Of Confirmed Writers In Alphabetical Order
 

• Joan Cambridge
• Cyril Dabydeen
• Norman Datt
• Michael Gilkes
• Stanley Greaves
• Peter Jailall
• May Rose Kempadoo
• Henry Muttoo
• James Richmond
• Romesh C. D. Singh
• Gokarran Sukhdeo

Session E1
Davis Auditorium
3:05 PM - 3:30PM

In His Spirit: A Tribute To Wordsworth McAndrew

Facilitator: Ron Bobb-Semple

Participants:

• Alan Khan
  "Reflections on Wordsworth McAndrew."
• Rudolph Shaw: Caribbean Repertory Theatre
  "Ole Higue," "Miss Ting-a-Ling."
• Romesh C. D. Singh
  "A Light Hearted Commentary on Guyanese Society Public and Private Social Interaction."

Session E2
Philosophy Hall
3:05 PM - 5:00 PM

Realizing the Hinterland: The Imagination and the Word

Facilitator: Clement Goddard, M.A.

Presenters:

• Paloma Mohamed
  "On Ivan Forrester." A reading.

Session F
Davis Auditorium
3:45 PM -5:00 PM

Interior Land, Interior Langue: Multimedia Presentations

Chair: Loris Holland

Presenters:

• Vibert Cambridge, Ph.D.
  Ohio U: Political Cartoons and The Daily Argosy during 1953."
• Peter Lauchmonen Kempadoo
  "Jarai's Our Kind of Folk."
• Des Lorimer
  "Illustrating Guyanese Words."

Session G
Philosophy Hall, 301
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Coordinator: Juliet Emanuel

Readings and Book Signings continued

The Guyana Prize Considered
Meet The Guyana Prize Winners

• Stanley Greaves
• Michael Gilkes
• Paloma Mohamed
• Gokarran Sukhdeo

Session H
Seminar Room 414, Morris Schapiro Hall
5:10 PM - 5:40 PM

Film and Discussion

• Michael Gilkes: The Music of El Dorado.

Session I
Davis Auditorium
5:45 PM

• Presentation by eCaroh.com to the Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University: Inaugural gift for the West Indian Music Center.

Session J
Davis Auditorium
6: 00 PM - 8:00 PM

De-All-Ah-We Penny Concert

Master of Ceremonies: Ron Bobb-Semple

• The Traditional Penny Concert
  Audience Participation

Performing the WORD

• Spoken Word: Rudolph Shaw.
   
• Spoken Word:  Keep Rising ...: Revolutionary Writings, Performances and Media Productions by Guyanese Youth Living in New York, Taij Moteelall, producer.
  • Barry Games (Razor Cain) Hip/Hop/Reggae Artist
  • Moses Pertab, (Genius Blaze) Reggae Artist
  • Manauvaskar Kublall, Media Artist
  • Simone Jhingoor, Spoken Word Artist
  • Taij Kumarie Moteelall, Spoken Word Artist
     
• Spoken Word: James Richmond
   
• The Word: Man, is how we does sey tings!
  • Ken Corsbie
  • Peter Jailall
  • Henry Muttoo

8:00 PM
Symposium 2004 ends.

The members of the committee for the Guyana Folk Festival announce the theme for the Symposium, 2005:

Celebrating Guyanese Dance

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SHORT BIOGRAPHIES

ANNAN BOODRAM

Annan Boodram is a public school teacher in New York City. He recently completed a masters in education and is working on a second masters. He is the founder and head of the non-profit group, The Caribbean Voice, Inc. which published the paper and website (www.caribvoice.org) of the same name, as well as the Caribbean Heritage Awards and the CARICOM Day Expo and Business Awards Dinner.

AUBREY W. BONNETT

Aubrey W Bonnett is a Professor of American Studies at SUNY College at Old Westbury. He also served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Old Westbury; Dean emeritus of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at California State University, (CSU), San Bernardino; Chair of Sociology at Hunter College, the City University of New York, (CUNY); and deputy head of the PhD program at the Graduate School and University Center, CUNY. A Social Science Research Council (SSRC) fellow, he has written extensively in the areas of diasporic studies, migration, micro lending, race and ethnic relations and higher education.

In 1966, after gaining his first degree and on the eve of national independence, he served as an administrative cadet (civil service) in the Office of then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham and was responsible for conceptualizing a number of community independence projects (CIPs) to be completed a year after independence in 1967.As a clerk of the Court in the early 60s in the West Demerara judicial district, he was also an unobtrusive observer of the efficacy of Burnham's rhetoric in a legal context.

ERROL ROSS BREWSTER

Errol Ross Brewster is a multi-media artist and cultural activist who has served as adviser to the Guyanese Minister of Culture and as Director of Studies of the National Art School. Currently he resides in Barbados where he serves on the adjudication panel of the National Independence Festival of Arts and is a regular contributor to the tri-lingual arts journal Cariforum and the E-journal Caribarts. He makes really nice sugar-cake and other favourite childhood snacks.

CALVIN BRUTUS, Ph.D.

Calvin Brutus works as an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He did his undergraduate work in telecommunications management at Syracuse University, and graduate work in communications, world politics, and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, the main foci of grounded work and research are analyses of and education into democratic social-civic change at the community level.

JOAN CAMBRIDGE

The experience of living, researching and writing in the rainforest for most of the last two decades of the 20th Century has led Joan Cambridge to her thesis that: the colour of gold is now green and that Guyana's rainforest is the location of the continuing Marches of El Dorado. Cambridge is author of the critically acclaimed novel: Clarise Cumberbatch Want To Go Home; Ticknor & Fields, N.Y. 1987; Women's Press, U.K. 1988. She is the widow of African American Novelist, Playwright and Political Activist, Julian Mayfield.

VIBERT C. CAMBRIDGE

Grew up in First Street, Alberttown. Attended Comenius Moravian and Queen's College in Guyana. Studied in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. He was responsible for starting the Folk Festival in Guyana 22 years ago. He is presently Chairman of the Department of African American Studies, Ohio University. His current research is on the role of music in Guyana's 20th century history.

CYRIL DABYDEEN

Cyril Dabydeen is the Sandbach Parker Gold -Medallist poet and fiction writer with eight books of poetry, five of stories, and three novels. He also edited A Shapely Fire: Changing the Literary Landscape and Another Way to Dance: Contemporary Asian Poetry in Canada and the U.S. His work has appeared in over 60 magazines in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Asia and the Caribbean, and anthologized in over 20 volumes in five countries, including in The Penguin Book of Caribbean Verse. A former Poet Laureate of Ottawa, he's an editor of the Journal of Caribbean Studies (US). He has read from his books across Canada, UK and Europe, the US, the Caribbean (Jamaica, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Trinidad, Guyana) and India. He is now with the Dept. of English, University of Ottawa.

O. R. DATHORNE, PH.D.

NORMAN N. DATT

Born in Guyana, from humble beginnings, taught schools for over 15 years and now living in Canada as a real estate agent. A prolific writer and avid reader I spend my spare time writing poetry, essays and novels. My second love is fishing; I feel at home fishing in the wilderness, amidst the quietude and nature. My favourite quote is: "He who tries to ride two asses, bound to fall on his own."

JULIET EMANUEL, D.A.

Juliet Emanuel, D.A. (English), St. John's University, is an associate professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College. Her interests lie in the area of postcolonial studies.  She is the co-editor of a forthcoming volume derived from the proceedings of Anatomy of Violence, a conference sponsored by the New York College English Association.

FRANCIS QUAMINA FARRIER

Francis Quamina Farrier - Born in Georgetown, grew up on the East Bank of Demerara, and traveled to most of the Coast lands, the Hinterland and the Savannahs of Guyana before age 20. He still travels extensively around Guyana and the world, on a regular basis. Won many prizes for his writings and acting, including First prize at Guyana's National Independence Playwriting Competition. Wrote Guyana's first ever Radio Soap Opera, The Tides of Susanburg. Received the National Award of The Medal of Service.  Now retired after being Director of Drama at the Department of Culture, Farrier is now very active in Television news in Guyana.

MICHAEL GILKES, Ph.D.

Confirmed Mudhead, longtime academic, literary critic and cultural activist. Born in Guyana 1933, left (for the first time) in 1961. Never strayed far from the country, or the rest of the Region. Taught at 4 universities (U.G. UWI, Warwick and Kent) and is a playwright, actor, director and film-maker. First book of poetry, Jonestown won the Guyana Prize in 2002.

GARY GIRDHARI, Ph.D.

Trained in Life Sciences, Gary Girdhari, who was a typical country boy from Leguan, taught in the public school in Guyana where he aspired to be a good teacher in the tradition of older revered teachers.  He received his Ph.D in 1974 researching the in vitro growth of the mammalian embryo. His independence of mind and spirit, his observations of the many variations in the human continuum, have all led him to this point.  As Editor and Publisher of GuyanaJournal, a monthly magazine, he provides a forum for those individuals whose voices may not be heard.  His interests lie in community related activities, with  the advocacy of democracy, grassroots activism, good governance, care for the environment.  He espouses a balance between feeling and action.

STANLEY GREAVES

Taught at Sacred Heart R.C, St. Stanislaus, Berbice High, Queen's, and the Burrowes School of Art. Was Head of Creative Arts Division at University of Guyana. Studied art with E.R. Burrowes and at University level in the UK and USA (Fulbright Award). Has exhibited artwork in the Caribbean, S.America, USA, UK, France. Has won several prizes and awards and National Honours A.A. Winner of the Guyana Prize for Literature.

JOYCE HARTE, Ph.D

Joyce Harte, Ph.D. (English,) NYU, is an associate professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College/CUNY.  Her interests lie in the area of post colonialism, autobiography and biography particularly as the latter relate to the explication of "home."  Several of her grants and awards have been given to enable her to continue her investigations within these contexts. Currently she is compiling a volume on the question/issue of "home." Her essays have appeared in several scholarly journals.  She has developed and taught successfully courses in biography and children's literature.

DAVID HINDS, Ph.D.

David Hinds is an Assistant Professor of Caribbean and African Studies at Arizona State University and a political commentator and activist. He writes extensively on Guyanese and Caribbean politics and is a host of North America's most widely viewed Caribbean television program, CaribNation. Dr Hinds, a Buxtonian, is also a cultural activist with an interest in the preservation and promotion of African Guyanese cultural forms.

PETER JAILALL

Peter Jailall - Poet, Teacher, Teacher Trainer attended Government Training College for Teachers (1963-65) and the University of Toronto (BEd, M.A).  He taught at Enmore Govt. School (1963-65) and with the Peel District School Board in Canada. (1975- 2004). He is a full member of the League of Canadian Poets. His third book of Poems - When September Comes was published by Natural Heritage Books (Toronto) 2003.

KAMPTA KARRAN

Kampta Karran is a Postgraduate research fellow with the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations at the University of Warwick, Coventry. His current research focuses on Kali Mai and other religious practices in Guyana.

PETER LAUCHMONEN KEMPADOO

Born and bred on a sugar plantation in Guyana. Over the past fifty years has lived/visited some thirty Third World countries, plus about 20 in the North. Greatest joy is giving 'hands-on' service to the 'poorest of the poor' as a Gandhian 'grass-root' worker. Author of Guyana Boy, which is recognized as a Caribbean Classic.

CLAUD LEANDRO

At 19 years old, Claud started her radio broadcast career at Guyana Broadcasting Service, and has worked in radio at Radio Antilles in Montserrat and on WBAI and WWOR in New York. She also worked on the editorial page of New York Newsday and as an editor in the financial district. A published poet and playwright, one of her plays toured the Caribbean in the 1990s to critical acclaim. As a stage performer, she has worked with such playwrights as Sullivan Walker and Pritha Singh.  She is a co-founder of Claudron Productions

DES LORIMER

A Lindener, alumni and former employee of MHS. Graduated with a B.A. degree from UG in 1987- awarded the Joyce Alder Literature prize for the best graduating student in Literature. In 1991, while employed by the NDMA, completed the First International Programme for Trainers of Information Analysts at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India conducted in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London. For a brief period, was a member of the national Theatre Arts Awards panel. Currently employed by the Financial Services Division of a consulting engineering firm, Stantec, at its Head Office in Edmonton, Alberta. Special inspiring interests at this time include acrylic painting and the creation of computer graphics.

PALOMA MOHAMED

Paloma Mohamed was born in Georgetown, Guyana. She was educated at the University of Guyana, Harvard University and the University of the West Indies where she is currently completing a Ph.D. She is a, poet, essayist, playwright and prizewinning director. Paloma Mohamed has won the coveted Guyana Prize for Drama on two occasions. She has taught creative writing and drama in Guyana and has drafted parts of the current drama curriculum in Guyana.

She is very active in the cultural life of the Caribbean and has published two books of poems - Come Fiah (Pavnick Press, 1992) and Song (The Majority Press, 2000). She has written Condoned by Our Silence: Issues Impacting the Abuse of Children in Guyana, (UNICEF, 2000) and Caribbean Mythology and Modern Life: 5 One Act Plays for Young People (The Majority Press and UNESCO, 2004). Ms. Mohamed has also written and published research on the media in Guyana and currently works as a communications strategist for development projects.

TAIJ K. MOTEELALL

Taij K. Moteelall is Director of Development & Communications, East Harlem Tutorial Program.

HENRY MUTTOO

Award winning stage actor, director and designer Henry Muttoo is a graduate of Croydon College of Design and Technology (UK) and the UWI (St. Augustine) Summer Arts School. Recognized as the Caribbean's finest Theatre Designer and one of its leading theatre arts practitioners and educators, Henry was Senior Tutor in Design and Technical Theatre at the Jamaica School of Drama (1980 - '84 and 19-86 - '88) He has been Artistic Director of the Cayman National Cultural Foundation, since 1989. He has edited books on art, poetry and plays and is currently at work on his first novel, Duh Is Um.

PETAMBER PERSAUD

Poet, children writer, television producer/presenter of ORAL TRADITION & BETWEEN THE LINES. In October 2002, staged A SYMPOSIUM ON GUYANESE LITERATURE. In March 2004, coordinated THE JOURNEY - An Evening of Literature. In June 2004, coordinated AN ODYSSEY IN GUYANESE POETRY, a-three-day-recital (celebrating Wordsworth McAndrew - one evening).

ROBERT RAMRAJ, Ph.D.

Robert Ramraj was born and brought up in Triumph, E.C.D, in Guyana. An accomplished and lifelong educator, he possesses a PH.D. in Geography, undergraduate degrees from UG as well as degrees in Education. He won the Bill Sheppard Master Teacher Award for Teaching Excellence at Winston-Salem State University. In 2003, he published GUYANA: POPULATION, ENVIRONMENTS, ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES. His works of fiction include an unpublished collection of poetry and short stories on Guyanese culture. He currently lives in North Carolina where he teaches Geography.

IAN ROBERTSON, Ph. D

Berbician by birth and early childhood, Leguanian (or should that be Leguanese) by primary education. Attended Queens College. Studies at the University of the West Indies (B. A. English (Special Honours). Teacher at Campbeellville Government School and Indian Education Trust College. He has held several appointments at the University of Guyana and the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad. The appointments have included Lecturer in Linguistics UG 1973 -1985, Lecturer in Education UWI 1985-1995, Lecturer in Linguistics UWI 1995-, Head English Dept UG 1980-1985, Head Dept of Teacher Education UWI 1990-1995. He is currently Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education UWI St. Augustine.2000-

His research Interests are Creole languages, (discovered indigenous Dutch lexicon), Creole languages in Guyana, oral traditions in English Language Teaching in the Caribbean, use of Indigenous Resources in Caribbean Education.

ROMESH SINGH

Romesh Singh lived in First Avenue Subryanville before immigrating in the 70's to Trinidad thereafter making his home in Essex, United Kingdom. He started writing about Guyana society and politics in the early 90s and after his first e- publication "Guyana-Land of Milk and Honey" he became a regular contributor to the Internet Newsgroup Soc.Culture.Caribbean and other online discussion forums. In Guyana he played rugby for the All Blacks and Hornets Rugby Clubs. He now lives in the US and works as a Telecommunications Specialist at the AT&T Research Center, New Jersey.

GOKARRAN SUKHDEO

Gokarran Sukdeo is a Guyana Prize for Literature Winner.

MAURICE ST. PIERRE, Ph.D.

Maurice St. Pierre was educated at London University, McGill University, and the University of the West Indies. He has taught at the University of Guyana, the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and at Morgan State University in Baltimore where he is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. He also served for a period of time in what was then British Guianas Civil Service and, later in 1969-70, at the Ministry of Economic Development where he worked on the Development Plan. Among his recent publications are a book titled, Anatomy of Resistance: Anti-Colonialism in Guyana, 1823-1966 (1999), a co-authored book titled Giving Voice to the Poor: Poverty Alleviation in West Bengal and Bangladesh (2002) and Dr. Cheddi Jagan: The Making of a Movement Intellectual in Perry Mars and Alma Young, Caribbean Labor and Politics: Legacies of Cheddi Jagan and Michael Manley (2004).

CICELY A. RODWAY, Ed.D.

Is an Assistant Professor in the English/SEEK Department at Queens College, CUNY. She taught in high schools in Guyana and St.Lucia. One of her major areas of interest is poetry and her first collection, Sunstreams and Shadows was published by Africa World Press in 2002. She is currently working on a collection entitled: Women Who Laugh At the Wind.

CHARLOTTE WILLIAMS, Ph.D.

Dr. Charlotte Williams is a writer and academic. She was brought up in North Wales, the daughter of the renowned Guyanese artist and writer Denis Williams and his first wife Catherine. Her personal memoir, Sugar and Slate (Planet 2003 and Ian Randall Press, Jamaica) won the Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Book of the Year 2003. It was voted one of the top five books that best reflects contemporary Wales for World Book Day 2003.

Dr. Williams works at the University of Wales, Bangor as a Senior Lecturer in Social Policy/Womens Studies. She is the author of several academic publications, including ÜA Tolerant Nation: Exploring Ethnic Diversity in Wales and ÜSocial Work and Minorities: European Perspectives. She is currently working on several of her father’s unpublished short story manuscripts.

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About Us

The Guyana Cultural Association NY Inc, sponsors of Folk Festival 2004 is a Not-For-Profit organization committed to promoting our culture through the annual Guyana Folk Festival

ORGANIZERS:

• CAROL BAGOT
• MAURICE BLENMAN
• NEGLA BRANDIS
• PATRICE BRITTON
• VIBERT CAMBRIDGE
• GODFREY CHIN
• TANGERINE CLARKE
• CLAIRE DOUGALL
• DESIRE EDGEHILL
• FRANCIS FARRIER
• ASHTON FRANKLIN
• CLAIRE A. GORING
• MALCOLM A. HALL
• PHYLLIS JACKSON
• RONALD H. LAMMY
• MARGARET LAWRENCE
• CLAIRE PATTERSON
• HAZEL SHURY
• PRITHA SINGH
• PATRICIA TRIM
• BOBBY VIEIRA
• VERNA WALCOTT