There's no doubt about it. The Guyanablogoshere has seen a surge of new bloggers within the past year or so. Some came aboard quietly and gained readerships at varying paces. Some came on hot, sweaty, swift, downright offensive (though obviously capable of brilliant writing), and left just as swiftly. Some have a clear mission and give us lots of new and enlightening information. Others don't seem to have a focus, and aren't really informative, but nevertheless manage to captivate us with good humour, and frequent writing on their blogs, and almost everyone else's.
And I couldn't be prouder of them if I'd given birth to each and every one of them myself.
But before the busy, entertaining Stolid, the eerily familiar storytelling of Brass knuckles, and the saucy Raptus, there were (and still are, by the way) Guyana Gyal and Bakannal...the original Guyanese storytelling bloggers. And as much as I love Stolid and the others, nobody can tell a story like Guyana Gyal and Bakannal. At least not yet. Now of course that doesn't mean that Bakannal has an edge on any of the other writers mentioned when it comes to the short story competition. No way sir. Stolid, Brass, Raptus, and every prospective entrant in the competition are all equal until the judges say hell no. (I'm not a judge, by the way. This competition IS going to be a fair one.)
But more on the original storytellers in this Guyanablogosphere.
Bakannal: A comic genius with precise timing...
If you think it's easy to write a joke, then try it. Not easy at all. A well-written joke has to be a precise combination of timing and details. And this one is a true example of just that. Granted drunk people often do and say things that are an easy laugh, but Bakannal shows us that it takes talent to write about those drunk happenings, and still deliver the same punch one would get from witnessing the moment.
When he's not entertaining us with his tales from the bar, he's in the toilet . . . wimping out. But every now and then (as he gets older and closer to being a family man maybe) he hits us somewhere else besides the funny bone.
I read Bakannal's blog and marvel at a writer who seems so reluctant to write (he has made every ludicrous excuse in the book about why he doesn't write more often), but who obviously has the talent to go a long way with a writing career. Maybe this writing competition I'm hosting is just the kick in the tail he needs to get going.
Guyana Gyal: A throwback to the days when there was art in hooking the listener with a simple tale...
Once upon a time there was a gyal who had a thing for nature, especially trees, and when she wasn't hugging one, vexed with one, or spooked by one, she was trying to get frogs to show her some action, squealing at rats, or stammering at the sight of snakes. But if you thought a pastry couldn't melt in her mouth, try accusing her of being unspectacular, or watch her tell President Jagdeo how to do his work. (She probably inherited that spark from her mother.)
And although she may now be long-in-the-tooth (as they say), don't ask her about children or about hooking up with any of those "Buddy's Night Club kinda boys." You see, she's quite content chatting on the phone with Annie about her latest escapades, taking it easy by sewing, sitting on her throne admiring her pretty toes all in a row, and sipping a nice cup a tea. But don't let all that old-maidish tea drinking and sewing fool you, cause she's got that "very special friend," and every now and then you can catch her dancing naked in the rain...almost.
Gyal, but is wheh yuh deh?
