Norman Cameron, part one (1903 – 1983)

Nov 08, 2009 Features / Columnists, Guyanese Literature

By Petamber Persaud
(Queen’s College celebrates its 165th anniversary this year 2009; one of the activities for this occasion is the honouring of Norman Cameron who had a special affinity to Queen’s College as student and teacher.)

Some writers go to great lengths to spread the word. N. E. Cameron was concerned that his writings should not linger between two covers or gather dust on shelves. This constraint found him on many occasions going from door to door trying to sell his books.
Those ventures were extremely satisfying in that he was able to review his books (even if he didn’t sell many at the said time), share his opinions and leave quality impressions with whom he came into contact. In this way, he laid the foundation to execute many of his future projects, bringing people together in various organisations for uplifting of communities and country, forming a literary society and founding a school in the process.
Cameron did what had to be done, filling the lacuna in many areas. His magnum opus ‘The Evolution of the Negro’, a subject shunned by thinkers on the British colonial portion of the world, published while yet in his 20s, was one such significant feature of his contribution to society. Another was ‘Guianese Poetry’ a collection of a century of Guianese poetry from 1831 to 1931, making him the first Guyanese to do so.
Cameron was not satisfied with just talk, he acted – turning to drama to effect the empowerment of his people, producing a number of plays to induce pride of ancestry and to elicit concerted action for a better future because he opined ‘those who are disloyal to their ancestry have less chance of creating something with a truly distinctive mark’.
For his contribution to drama, he was called the father of modern drama in Guyana. Other labels thrust upon Cameron were: ‘a true son of Guyana’, ‘the man selling the books’, ‘distinguished author’ and ‘Professor Emeritus’.
Educationist, mathematician, historian, poet, dramatist, sportsman, cultural activist and social reformer, Norman Eustace Cameron was born in New Amsterdam, Berbice, on January 26, 1903, not far from the birthplaces of Edgar Mittleholzer and Wilson Harris. Although Cameron was blessed with a ‘light but pleasant tenor voice’, he was a trailblazer, pioneer and pacesetter. All of this due in no small way to the fact that his father’s great thirst for knowledge rubbed off on him and his mother’s wonderful organising ability grounded in religious tenets was foisted on him.
In 1916, while at Christ Church Primary School, Cameron won the Government Junior Scholarship, paving the way for him to enter Queen’s College. In 1921, he became a Guiana Scholar and went on to the University of Cambridge. It was while at this institution of higher learning with massive library and climate for research that Cameron felt the need to write, going on to produce remarkable scholarships.
Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: [email protected]

What’s happening:
• Casa de las Americas will be hosting ‘The First Encounter of Caribbean Magazines’ in November 2009 to coincide with its 50th anniversary. Presentations on Guyanese magazines with emphasis on The Guyana Annual (formerly The Chronicle Christmas Annual) will be made by yours truly.