Richard Allsopp (1923 – 2009)

Sep 20, 2009 Features / Columnists, Guyanese Literature

By Petamber Persaud

In his poem, ‘Lost Lines’, Richard Allsopp regurgitated the essence and the import of his life’s work in a refreshing and entertaining manner. That is poetry – the purest form of a language, offering the scope to create new approaches to old subjects and themes, for the writer to connect to the reader in a more intensive and a more extensive manner, in a more exciting and pleasing manner.
Allsopp had fun composing ‘Lost Lines’, pulling out all the stops in linguistics and education to inform by making use of academic and creative writing at its studied best. Supporting the above is his brother, Philip Allsopp, who said of Richard that “it is important to note, however, that the circumstances of literary activity in the country at the time undoubtedly motivated Richard in the development of his intellectual maturity which later found expression in his writings.
Edgar Mittelholzer had made his mark on the international scene. A.R.F. Weber wrote a ‘Centenary History of British Guiana’. Rodway and Seymour both wrote historical sketches of Georgetown. Norman Cameron, a colleague and former teacher of his, wrote a ‘History of Queen’s College’ and a number of plays and books. Frank Pilgrim wrote the play, ‘Miriamy’, in which Richard was the principal actor. Richard was not only involved with some of these literary works but was undoubtedly stimulated by them. Later he produced his own ‘GUYANA TALK — Early Essays in the study of a Caribbean Creole”.
His life’s work included his magnum opus, ‘Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage’, his contribution to education and his exposition on Afrogenesis.
And it all started, according to his brother, Philip Allsopp, in Richard’s “early years … spent in a neighbourhood with people of varying social and cultural backgrounds; racial mixtures were as typical as they are today and so were their modes of expression and usage of language in a manner which granted ease of understanding among them. He became versed in the art of mimicking their mannerisms and modes of expression which he frequently exhibited to the delight of his friends… a great mimic of character, particularly if a person had any peculiarity in speech, and he could imitate almost any Caribbean accent. This talent he inherited from our father and he used it very effectively in histrionic exercises”.
Richard Allsopp was born in 1923, in Georgetown, British Guiana, the eldest of four sons born to Stanley and Eloise Allsopp. He attended St. Stephens, gaining a scholarship to Queen’s College. He read for the B. A. (General) at the University of London as an external student then was awarded by the British Council a scholarship to the Institute of Education of London University where he graduated with a Teacher’s Diploma. He subsequently attended University College, London, where he read for an Honours Degree in French. In 1959, he received an M.A. degree with distinction in Linguistics from the University of London and subsequently a Ph. D. in 1962.

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: [email protected]

What’s happening:
The Guyana Annual magazine is inviting entries to its eight literary competitions namely Open Story and Open Poetry, Youth Story and Youth Poetry, Henry Josiah Writing Story for Children, Rajkumari Singh Writing Poetry for Children, Martin Carter Essay (under 13), Egbert Martin Poetry (under 13) and to its art and photography competitions. Closing date for entries is September 30, 2009. For further information, please contact me via above.

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Richard Allsopp (1923 – 2009)

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