Prof. Jan Carew was respected and admired

Dec 11, 2012 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I write to condole the passing of literary icon Jan Carew.  I knew about him through my studies at CCNY in Harlem. He was well liked and admired by many for his tell-it-like-it-is approach in his writings. He was never a man to hold back his views on social issues, although he did not speak out openly on his personal disappointment on Guyana politics. He praised Cheddi Jagan and was disillusioned with Forbes Burnham, describing him as “depraved”.
Prof. Carew had a huge readership at CCNY where I studied. When I was active in student government, I helped organize, promote and coordinate lectures for several well known Guyanese and Caribbean nationals. In addition to Carew, other noteworthy Guyanese personalities that spoke at CCNY as visitors during my tenure included Fred Wills, Ivan Van Sertima, Joey Jagan, Cheddi Jagan, Janet Jagan, Eusi Kwayana and his wife Tchaiko, and Chaitram Singh. They all stood out at a time when attention was focused on human rights violations in Guyana and election rigging. In addition, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and Michael Manley also spoke at CCNY and made references to political abuses and the murder of Dr. Walter Rodney in Guyana.
With regards to Jan Carew, student friends and Professors at CCNY praised his novels which were prescribed in college courses. Jan was familiar with other Caribbean nationals who studied in England and taught at CCNY, including Ed Scobie (of Dominica), with whom he spent a lot of time while he was on campus.
I first met Dr. Carew during the early 1980s while I was serving in the Student Government. During the few occasions we met, we discussed politics in Guyana. Prof. Carew was regularly brought to CCNY by Prof. Len Jeffries (then Chairman of Black Studies) during the annual Harlem Renaissance week celebrations which were co-sponsored by the student governments and the Black Studies Department.
I served in both the Undergraduate Student Senate and in the Graduate Students Council and used my presence to advocate for Guyanese, Caribbean and Indian lecturers at CCNY to reflect the diversity of the student body – I succeeded in getting approval for Profs. Ken Ramchand, Brinsley Samaroo, Chaitram Singh and Anand Mohan (India) to deliver lectures at CCNY.
In addition to Prof. Carew, two other prominent Guyanese (Prof Fred Wills, who served as Foreign Minister and Prof Ivan Van Sertima (the great anthropologist) made regular visits at CCNY during my tenure in student governments.
Credit for their presence at CCNY goes to Dr. Len Jeffries and James Small (plus others) who led the student government at one time and was a part time lecturer in Black Studies as well. Small, like myself, promoted and/or sponsored several lectures and I worked briefly under his stewardship when he was deputy head of Student Life under Ed Evans who was Director of Co-Curricular Life.  Small, as well as Evans, spoke glowingly of Profs. Carew, Walter Rodney, Fred Wills and Ivan Van Sertima, describing them as among the best in their fields of endeavour. Their lectures were sponsored or co-sponsored by Black Studies (like Prof. Samad Mathias, Ed. Scobie, etc). Their discourses were well attended, impressing the audience with their knowledge.
Jan’s discussion on Guyana’s politics left an indelible impression on me. He came across as a man of integrity, courage and decency who would not condone wrongdoing. He was deeply disturbed about the murder of Rodney, as indeed several scholars were. Jan told me the killing of Rodney was a terrible blow to Guyana and to studies on historical issues relating to Africa. Apparently, Jan knew Forbes Burnham well. He said during a visit to Guyana, he went to visit Forbes and gave him an earful over his lust for power and the murder of Rodney. Jan made it clear to Burnham who he (Jan) thought killed Walter. He did not mix words on Burnham’s abuse of power and how he was viewed by the population and internationally. Jan said he refused to eat or drink anything Burnham offered and after the visit, when Forbes offered him his chauffeured car to drop him home, Jan rudely declined telling Forbes: “I don’t want to be shot under mistaken identity”. That was the end of the relationship between the two as Burnham did not take kindly to Jan’s outspoken terse language.  Prof. Jan said to me: “I told him like it is.  That is how I felt.  He ought to go like other dictators did”.
With regards to his writings, the Black Midas stands out.  It captures Guyana in transition from poverty to wealth and the failure of the government to manage the wealth for everyone’s benefit. All of his novels made for good reading. He is still well admired at CCNY and will be remembered for a long time.
Vishnu Bisram

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