photo by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
Guyanese author Jan Carew says a few words to the delight of his wife Joy. The author was fêted at a dinner held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Monday.
Teacher, author, scholar and motivator Jan Carew was feted at a small dinner party last Monday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
The mastermind who produced such classics as Black Midas, Green Winter and Children of the Sun is 85 years old now, and though Parkinson's disease has slowed him down, his mind remains active, his wit and his wits, intact. Guyanese to the bone, Carew has lived in numerous countries, including Jamaica when he wrote for The Gleaner for a time.
Some guests decided to say a few words to a man whose work they had read while in their, ahem, formative years. UWI Vice Chancellor Nigel Harris, who is Carew's nephew, had nothing but praise for Uncle Jan.
"He has meant so much to so many
people. He's touched many lives. We value him as a caring being," he said to nods and applause. After a few more accolades, with wife Joy holding his right hand, the master spoke.
"Nigel was more of a son than a nephew. I haven't met anyone close from home in a long time," he remarked. Everyone in the room sat in stony silence as Carew reminisced on his life back home and his tenure at Princeton University. Dr. Yvette Williams read excerpts of one of his pieces, 'The Burial'.
Guests at the private little soirée
included Prof. Rupert Lewis and wife Maureen Warner; Honorary Consul to Guyana Indera Persaud and husband Dr. Persaud; Prof. Freddie Hickling and wife; Sheila Graham; Joy Pilgrim; Marcia Erskine; Prof. Raymon Iyttle; Susan Francis-Brown; Prof. Claremont Kirton; as well as Hilton McDavid.
