MIAMI – Dr. Michael Anthony, eminent Caribbean author and historian, who has been named one of the “50 most influential people in Trinidad and Tobago will lead Trinidad and Tobago’s team presenting at the 32nd Miami Book Fair International, scheduled for Miami Dade College on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd November 2015.
Dr. Anthony author of more than 34 publications will moderate a panel discussion on Trinidad and Tobago Literature, entitled ‘The Pan of the 21st Century’
‘Just as the steel pan, fashioned in Trinidad and Tobago was the only instrument invented in the 21st century, so has the voice of Trinidad and Tobago literature evolved in the last 100 years. The voice of the Trinidad and Tobago author is strong and vibrant, whether the stories are weaved through the voice of historical or the contemporary protagonist.’
The prolific author has written 34 publications,including favourites:
The Games Were Coming (1963), A Year in San Fernando (1965),Green Days By The River (1967),Cricket In The Road (1973),King of the Masquerade (1974),Streets of Conflict (1976),Making of Port of Spain (1978),All That Glitters (1981),The Golden Quest: The Four Voyages of Columbus (1992),The Briefcase(2012),The Lamplighter (2013).
His seminal ‘Green Days By the River’ about growing up in his home village Mayaro, is currently being made into a movie in Trinidad and Tobago.
Also appearing on the panel will be Cecly Ann Mitchell, President of the Writers Union of Trinidad and Tobago and author of several historical fiction novels, including the cricket-themed ‘Kings of the Caribbean’, Colleen Selvon-Rampersad, poet, and June Aming, exceptional Trinidadian short story writer.
The presentation will conclude with readings from emerging historical fiction author, David King, poet, Kavita Ganness and Dr. Anthony, who will read from his latest publication.
A little history on Dr. Michael Anthony
Michael Anthony was born in Mayaro in 1930. He attended Mayaro R.C. School and from 1941 to 1942 spent a year at school in San Fernando. This turned out to be the inspiration for his novel The Year in San Fernando. By 1944, young Anthony won a bursary to attend the San Fernando Technical School. Two years after he began an internship at Trinidad Leaseholds Ltd. (also known as Texaco Inc). He trained as a moulder and worked in the iron foundry until he left for England. Anthony wrote some light verses for the Trinidad Guardian. He also wrote stories for the Barbadian literary magazine B.I.M. In 1954, he left for England. There, he worked in factories but he also found time for his literary pursuits contributing to ‘Caribbean Voices’, a literary feature of BBC’s ‘Calling the Caribbean’ programme . Unfortunately, Anthony and many other young authors were left stranded when this programme was taken off the air.
Later, Anthony responded to an advertisement by Hutchinson’s Publishing Company calling for young writers to submit stories. The publishers advised Michael Anthony to attempt a full-length novel. In 1963, Anthony published The Games Were Coming which was published by Andre Deutsch. The Year in San Fernando was published a couple years after the first novel.
Anthony returned to Trinidad and Tobago in 1970. He was closely associated with the National Cultural Council started by the late Prime Minister Dr. Eric Williams in 1971 and supervised by the late anthropologist Dr. J.D. Elder.
In 1979, Anthony was presented with Trinidad and Tobago’s Humming Bird Gold Medal for his contributions. He has produced 34 books to date, including the novel All that Glitters which was a One Book One Community choice in 2009 by the National Library of Trinidad & Tobago.
In 2003, Anthony was conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine for his contribution to literature in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. Anthony was awarded a NALIS Lifetime Literary Award in 2012.
The biennial Michael Anthony Mayaro Book Festival was launched in 2014 in the coastal village where the author was born. At the inaugural event the organizers, Writers Union of Trinidad and Tobago, announced the $20,000.(TT) ‘Michael Anthony Award’ which will be given to the author, resident in Trinidad and Tobago, for the winning submission of full-length fiction (50,000 words or more).
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