‘Years of High Hopes’

The Shaping of Guyanese Literature

By Petamber Persaud
Extract of an interview with Dorothy Irwin, Georgetown, Guyana, March 2017. Ms Irwin compiled and edited the book “Years of High Hopes: A portrait of British Guiana, 1952-1956” from family letters, mostly written by her mother.PP: Guyana is a relatively young nation, but its history is tied to the history of other countries, countries which at one time or the other had a say in its affairs. Our literary history is also tied to the literary history of other countries. The history of Guyana and the history of its literature are unfolding as we would witness when new information comes to light. An apt example is this new book, “Years of High Hopes: A portrait of British Guiana, 1952-1956”. I like what you said earlier about the production of this book, which is your way of giving back to Guyana a slice of its heritage. This is a huge ‘slice’ – over 700 pages. Where did it all start? DI: I think is started with my trip here in 1994 with my dad, who had taught at Queen’s [Queen’s College] during the period covered in the book. In 1994, Queen’s had its septuacentennial and the past masters were invited back. My father invited me and I said to myself that I may never know my birthplace if I didn’t go with him. I wouldn’t know what to look for. So we came together and it was extraordinary being here, but was a confusing trip for me as I was trying to get my bearings.  PP: Mainly because you left Guyana at the tender age of…DI: Five months. Concerning the trip, I think we were here for about ten days, but it was enough to whet my appetite. My mother died in 2001 and I inherited the letters she had sent to her parents; they were in a box and all numbered in order. They were clearly considered valuable for who knows what because no one ever thought of throwing them out. And one winter, in my apartment in Brooklyn, unable to go out because of the snow, I sat down and took quite some time to take each letter out from its envelope and read it. It was a funny thing to read what your parents were like before you knew them; personally it was a strange and interesting adventure. My sister was five months old when they moved down here; I found that’s a captivating thing but that’s family story. However, when I was rereading the letters I thought this was not just a family story; they had such a sense of what was going on here – different people who appeared and then they were gone for a while and then they came back… Some of them were trades people who showed up at the house to polish the floor or to work in the kitchen. My sister’s nanny was a marvellous character in the letters; I don’t even know her last name. The relationship my parents had with various Guyanese I found compelling.And when they observe things during the years they were living on Parade Street, there were so much to see – the Coronation Ceremony, the Princess Royal’s visit – and they could see all of this from their windows. Sometime neighbours and colleagues from Queens would come to get the view – it was wonderful, all of it in the letters. Then there were the interacting of all those people – there was so much life in those letters. So I thought it was wrong of me to be the only one to know of this – the people who wrote them were not around, the people who received them were not around, it was just me reading them and that’s no good; they really belong here.  And I would not have come to that conclusion if it weren’t for them who covered significant years of Guyana’s history – ‘52 to ‘56, pushing towards its independence. And I said this has to be published; I had to make this happen. Well, it is fun to have the conviction; it’s difficult to make it happen.    PP: What factors assisted in seeing it to fruition?DI: I just felt intuitively that it was important to do. I didn’t have the support of friends who felt it was confusing, thinking I was writing a novel. My dad was supportive of the idea and that helped me along. He read the transcript and so did his second wife – that was good for me to get their response.   PP: Any particular goal or goals in mind preparing the manuscript? DI: I had two goals in mind: the first was to get it in the hands of Guyanese, and the second was to try to capture the interest of Americans. PP: Are there some things in this story that Americans can relate to? DI: Well, that was part of the chore: figuring out how to get them to connect… Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com