SUNDAY 1ST FEBRUARY, 2015 – UWI TODAY
7
At the end of November 2014
, the Alma Jordan Library of
The UWI hosted a small ceremony to mark the handover of
the IanMcDonald papers. The simplicity of the event could
not mask the enormity of the occasion, or the significance
of this addition to the university’s growing literary and
historical collections.
Within this diverse range of material whichwas donated
by McDonald, is work from almost 50 years covering his
research, his publications and his professional life. The
papers highlight his literary activities, sport writing and
his involvement in the Guyanese sugar industry; including
correspondence, manuscripts of his work and those of
other Caribbean writers, critical works, and files relevant
to various aspects of his research.
The ceremony was attended by IanMcDonald, his wife,
Mary and one of his sons, Darren, as well as some of his
friends from Guyana.
“I can hardly find words to express my thanks to the
University for deciding to establish the Ian McDonald
Collection in the Special Collections division of the Library,”
he said when he took to the podium.
“This is a great honour and I am truly grateful to
those who had the idea and those who approved it. It is
a remarkable distinction to have one’s papers considered
important and valuable enough to deserve a Collection at
The University of the West Indies and I am, to tell the truth,
slightly overwhelmed by this accolade.
“I did not attend UWI as an undergraduate yet two
great honours paid to me have come from this University.
In 1997 I was awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Letters
and now there is this honour. I consider these distinctions,
very simply, as outstanding in my life as a Trinidadian and
West Indian.
“Perhaps I should say here that this great honour is also
a great relief formy wife, Mary, who has watched old files and
papers spread from room to room in our home with great
understanding but I think with increasing dismay. I’mafraid
that the staff here is going to have a big job sorting the gold
dust from the dross–though I do remember a wonderful
archivist friend of mine once tellingme ‘Ian, let enough time
pass and
everything
becomes of historical interest!’”
After the head of the West Indiana and Special
Collections, Dr Glenroy Taitt, talked about the process of
acquiring the collection, Dr KushaHaraksingh, former Dean
of the Faculty of Law, spoke of McDonald’s work at both
the Guyana Sugar Corporation and the Sugar Association
of the Caribbean, enriching his account with personal
recollections and observations made over their years of
friendship. Ms Vanda Radzik, who was one of the guests
coming directly from Guyana, spoke eloquently about his
work and life in Guyana. Together, they are hoping to revive
the literary journal which he helped to found, Kyk-Over-Al
very soon.
Professor Kenneth Ramchand, the feature speaker,
also spoke of the value of McDonald’s work to the literary
landscape of the region and gave an assessment of the kind of
material contained within the donated collection. Chairing
the proceedings was Dr Karen Eccles, who had travelled to
Guyana to help with the logistics involved in getting the
collection to St. Augustine. Her account of that trip gave
a sense of how much material there was, and what a truly
regional figure McDonald is.
His novel,
The Humming-Bird Tree
, which was first
published in 1969, and which has been made into a film,
has long been a part of the literature syllabus throughout
the region. His poetry, his
Ian on Sunday
news column
in the
Starbroek News
of Guyana, his sports writing and
his stewardship of the literary journal
Kyk-Over-Al
, have
all made the McDonald name a familiar one within the
region. He was one of the dedicated trio to have produced
what is commonly known as the Patterson Report, a
comprehensive analysis of the state of West Indies cricket
and recommendations for its future, which was presented
in 2007. The other two members were the former Jamaican
Prime Minister, PJ Patterson, and the former UWI Vice-
Chancellor, Sir Alister McIntyre. McDonald’s writings on
cricket have been universally regarded as among the finest
from the region.
Some of Ian McDonald’s work on display at the handover ceremony.
The
Humming Bird
Alights
Ian McDonald collection comes to rest
OUR CAMPUS
It was clear that he was very moved by the ceremony,
and when he spoke, he added much to his prepared text
to reflect what had just been said. As he mentioned his
appreciation that his work was being housed by the Alma
Jordan Library, he gave the university further cause to be
grateful as he donated over 100 of his unpublished poems
to the library at the function.
McDonald recounted how he felt bound to The
UWI, revealing that he had lived on Carmody Road, in
St. Augustine and reminiscing about his boyhood on the
grounds of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture.The
current site of his childhood home is a vacant lot adjacent
to the UWI.
“This occasion is of special significance tome because I
was born and brought up here in St. Augustine. I was born
in Carmody Road not many yards from here. As a child
I knew every corner of the grounds of the old Imperial
College of Tropical Agriculture. As a boy this ground was
where I played and the surrounding countryside was where
I wandered with my friends. Where the University has
now risen I remember doing so many things that became
important in my life later on. I watched from under the
College trees my first games of cricket. I played some
of my first games of tennis on the College courts. And I
remember so well sitting on the steps of what I believe is
now the Administration building reading Derek Walcott’s
first book of poems, a very slim volume called “
25 Poems”
and, reading on those steps, I remember beginning to
hunger to write.
“So my memories flood back as I return here. I recall
those times and think what a marvel it is that all this time
– nearly 70 years of it – has brought me back here for this
special event in my life. What a wonderful thing to have
happened!” he said emotionally.
This collection joins those owned by the UWI St.
Augustine Campus including: Arthur Roberts (playwright
1930s), CLR James, Dennis Mahabir, Derek Walcott, Earl
Lovelace, Eric Roach, Isaiah Boodhoo, Michael Anthony,
Monique Roffey, and Sam Selvon. Persons interested in
consulting any of these collections can contact the West
Indiana and Special Collections department at wimail@sta.
uwi.edu.
(Vaneisa Baksh)
Librarian, Elmelinda Lara, with Ian McDonald and his wife, Mary, at the handover ceremony on November 27, 2014.
