I am sure it's been raged and ranted on before, but today as I read and enjoy Raymond Ramcharitar's The Island Quintet, I feel the need to add my voice to the others who have raged and ranted against the unfairness of a "Canada and Caribbean" region in the Commonwealth Writers' Prize categories. Now how on earth did that come about? Which governing body decided that Canada (with all its resources for writers) and the Caribbean (with its limited resources) should be joined in competition for a literary prize?
Can anybody explain the logic there please?
And while I wait for a plausible explanation, I'll take this opportunity to once again applaud Trinidadian Raymond Ramcharitar on being shortlisted in the aforementioned category for his work in The Island Quintet. Hurray!
These lines from the first page of his "The Artist Dies," are a good reminder that despite the inequities we face, we should pause to enjoy the moment...
My mind caresses these moments, stroking each one that still holds its shape, that hasn't been deformed by the stretching of the years, or by the weight of other moments.
