‘Give the Ball to the Poet’ Racism in Caribbean Literature?

By Sasenarine Persaud

Part II

The facts of this anthology again: Three (3) poems by three (3) Indian poets out of 90. Not a single one (do we ever need redundancy!) of these three Indian poets have more than a single selection.

By contrast, a staggering sixteen (16) of the other poets have more than one selection; of these sixteen, there are four (4), who are represented with five (5) selections each (super poets, these are not – and, as if to underscore this, neither Derek Walcott, nor Martin Carter – our greatest poets – are in this group); one poet has four poems; eight poets have three) poems and two poets have two poems each.

Fifty-four (54) poems, more than half in the volume, by sixteen (16) poets, with only three (3) Indian poets included, and several other fine non-Indian poets excluded, is inexcusable.

The exclusion of Cyril Dabydeen, who – like myself –  has published more than eight poetry collections primarily with the two most important and established publishers of West Indian poetry in the World (TSAR/Mawenzi in Toronto and Peepal Tree in Leeds – “Home of the best in Caribbean and Black British Writing”!) is incomprehensible.

Cyril Dabydeen has received awards – like me – for his poetry. He has also received the Guyana Prize for Literature; granted, that this prize – like most literary prizes – is a corrupt, self-serving and incestuous one, with judges who become entrants/winners, then judges again, then entrants/winners again, then judges again should be abolished and reorganized, as should its Caribbean Award – why should Guyana alone bear the entire Caribbean on its destitute shoulders – and the Committee dissolved and reconstituted in a diversity that reflects Guyana (a la the current Academy Awards diversity).

After almost 30 years, in a country where people of Indian ancestry form the largest ethnic group, the Guyana Prize Committee has yet to have an Indian secretary, or Chair. But more on this subsequently.

Of West Indian poets writing today, there can be no question that Cyril and I are among the major and preeminent poets from the region – and I didn’t say among Indian poets. Invoking Richards again, who has noted that there wasn’t a bowler that he could not face – a batsman with supreme confidence in himself! This does not mean that Richards did not play his share of injudicious strokes and did not have his share of bad scores and, yes, ducks in international cricket and Test matches.

I have noted elsewhere; there is no poet writing in the English language who is better than I am. I didn’t say I am better than anyone else. This does not mean that there has not been injudicious and even, like Richards, ducks along the way – the same as with any great and prolific artist. I suspect it is the same with Cyril’s work.

Let us look at the facts of this anthology from another angle. There are 42 poems in this anthology by Jamaican poets – almost half the anthology – perpetuating yet another fallacy of the region and its culture.

Many outside the Caribbean tend to equate Jamaica, and more specifically Afro-Jamaica and Afro-Jamaican culture as the Caribbean. That Afro-Jamaicans have been among the most aggressive of West Indians, and, in promoting themselves have, no doubt, contributed; this is also apparent in this anthology. The West Indian editor of this anthology is based at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.

Perhaps, I should consider myself lucky to be included in “Give the Ball to the Poet” and just be quiet! To be fair, the Chair of the project, the Caribbean Poetry Project (CPP) sought a last minute accommodation. It is easy to forget that only by chance in January 2013 did an acquaintance who heard of the Caribbean Poetry Project (CPP) send me a note asking why I was not a part of this project and why no Indian poet from the Caribbean was involved in this project.

One of the odd things regarding the advisors of the CPP was that three of the seven advisors (all West Indian writers) know of me, have met me, and are aware of my work. I am sure they also know Cyril and/or his work. Was it a coincidence that these three writers/advisors are Jamaican?

Another advisor was a poet of African ancestry born in Guyana. There could be, can be, no excuse for the almost total absence of Indo-Caribbean participation in this project.

In May of 2013, a note, with a link to a Stabroek News article that the project was in Guyana and Guyana was to benefit from this project found its way into my inbox. The 10 facilitators of the project in Guyana included the following: “Dr Jennifer Obidah, Director School of Education, UWI Cave Hill; Professor Morag Styles, Chair of Caribbean Poetry Project, Cambridge University; Dr Georgina Howell, Cambridge University; Professor Mark McWatt, Poet/Facilitator; John Agard, Poet; Grace Nichols, Poet; Esther Phillips, Poet/Facilitator; Sam Soyer, Facilitator; Dr Sandra Robinson, Coordinator, Caribbean Poetry project, UWI Cave Hill and Gina Burnham, Project Research Assistant.”

There is no Indian name among these ten persons. But then, Indians have been known to anglicize their names, or have had their names anglicized during colonialism. The three Guyanese poets/facilitators on the team being Agard, Nichols, and McWatt.

Perhaps, a coincidence that this last was the chief judge in the Guyana Prize concluded two months ago in which my poetry collection, and Cyril’s, were shortlisted. These three poets (none Indian) read from their work during this trip to Guyana.

What is wrong with this picture? People of Indian ancestry still constitute the largest ethnic group in Guyana (and Trinidad). We don’t forget and yet we do forget to “let trifles got to trifleland”* All of this is almost as three decades ago.

 We retreat to our quiet corners. Who amplifies thoughts of the unvoiced? It is said that no one should take anything for granted. No one should feel entitled – except, perhaps, the entitled who say: no one should feel entitled! You give the ball to the poet; he opts for the bat.

That this anthology originated out of the Caribbean Poetry Project at the University of Cambridge in conjunction with the University of the West Indies with the aim of fostering the teaching of Caribbean poetry in the UK and the West Indies is laudable. But teaching and perpetuating the same old biases of what is the West Indies, and who is the West Indies, most certainly, isn’t.