February 2015


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At the end of November 2014, the Alma Jordan Library of The UWI hosted a small ceremony to mark the handover of the Ian McDonald 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 which was 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 Ian McDonald, 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 for my 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’m afraid 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 telling me ‘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 Kusha Haraksingh, 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.

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 to me 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)