There aren’t a huge number of books from Guyana translated into English. Because of that, we didn’t receive any suggestions this month meeting the club’s criteria of books written by native Guayense about Guyana. Therefore, the vote this month only includes our suggestions as well as some additional reads we think round out the selection of books nicely.
But before we get to the vote, I wanted to bring up the topic of slavery in Guyana. Slavery was sanctioned there from 1650 to 1834. When it ended, it was replaced with an indentured labor system bringing in workers mainly from India which continued until 1917. As the Guyana Chronicle notes, indentureship was incredibly harsh & showed remarkable similarities to slavery in terms of control, exploitation, & degradation.
While looking into this history, I came across a chilling poem from a Guyanese poet written in response to JMW Turner’s painting, Slave Ship which is a stunning piece of art despite its topic. If you’re unfamiliar with it, this 4-minute video is a quick intro.
The poem then focuses on what is hidden in Turner’s painting:
“Stillborn from all the signs.
First a woman sobs
Above the creak of timbers and the cleaving
Of the sea, sobs from the depths of true
Hurt and grief, as you will never hear
But from woman giving birth, belly
Blown and flapping loose and torn like sails,
Rough sailors’ hands jerking and tugging
At ropes of veins, to no avail. Blood vessels
Burst asunder, all belowdeck are drowned.
Afterwards, stillness, but for the murmuring
Of women. The ship, anchored in compassion
And for profit’s sake (what well-bred captain
Can resist the call of his helpless
Concubine, or the prospect of a natural
Increase in cargo?), sets sail again,
The partborn, sometimes with its mother,
Tossed overboard.
Such was my bounty
Delivered so unexpectedly that at first
I could not believe this miracle of fate,
This longed-for gift of motherhood.
What was deemed mere food for sharks will become
My fable. I named it Turner
As I have given fresh names to birds and fish
And humankind, all things living but unknown,
Dimly recalled, or dead.”
Such a powerful poem with horrifying imagery depicting the brutal treatment of slaves.
None of the books included in our vote focuses on either of these periods in Guyana’s history, but it’s important to know especially since Guyanese history is not usually taught outside of Guyana.
Now onto the vote.
THE VOTING
You can vote from now until Sun., August 29 at 11:30PM on which book you’d like the club to read next. (That's NYC time. See this converted to your local time below.)
To participate:
1. Review the books.
2. Then, click here to vote.
We'll publish the anonymous results afterwards so you can get the book in advance.