Jan Rynveld Carew (24 September 1920 – 6 December 2012) was a

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

-born novelist, playwright, poet and educator, who lived at various times in The Netherlands, Mexico, the UK, France, Spain, Ghana, Jamaica, Canada and the United States. Carew's works, diverse in form and multifaceted, make Jan Carew an important intellectual of the Caribbean world. His poetry and first two novels, ''Black Midas'' and ''The Wild Coast'' (both published in 1958 by

Secker & Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

in London), were significant landmarks of Caribbean literature then attempting to cope with its colonial past and assert its wish for autonomy. Carew worked with the late Guyana President

Cheddi Jagan Cheddi Berret Jagan ( ; 22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 19 ...

in the fight for Guianese independence from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. He also played an important part in the Black power movement gaining strength in Britain and North America, publishing reviews and newspapers, producing programmes and plays for radio and television. His scholarly research drove him to question traditional

historiographies Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term "historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific to ...

and the prevailing historical models of the conquest of America. The way he reframed

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

as a historical character outside his mythical hagiography became a necessary path in his mind to build anew the Caribbean world on sounder foundations.

Biography

Childhood in British Guiana

Jan Rynveld Carew was born on 24 September 1920 at

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the m ...

, a coastal village also called Rome, in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

, the South American colony of the British Empire that would become present-day Guyana. He was the middle child and only son of Ethel Robertson and Alan Carew. From 1924 to 1926, the Carews lived in the United States but Jan and his elder sister Cicely returned to Guyana after the kidnapping of his younger sister Sheila in New York in 1926. The child would be recovered and reunited with her family in 1927.Carew, Joy Gleason, and Hazel Waters (eds), ''The Gentle Revolutionary: Essays in Honour of Jan Carew''. ''Race & Class'', vol. 43, no. 3, 2001, p. 81. Carew's father lived on several occasions in the United States and Canada, working for a while with the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, and thus crossing the American continent from Halifax to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. His memories would fuel the imagination of the young Carew. From 1926 to 1938, he was educated in Guyana, first attending the Agricola Wesleyan School, then the Catholic elementary school, and then Berbice High School, a Canadian

Scottish Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pre ...

School, in

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

. He passed his

Senior Cambridge Examination The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations. History India The ...

in 1938. After leaving education in 1939, he became a part-time teacher at Berbice High School for Girls, but was called up to the British Army as the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out in Europe. He served in the Coast Artillery Regiment until 1943. From 1943 to 1944, he was a customs officer in Georgetown. At that time, he published his first text in the Christmas Annual and was working a lot on his painting and drawing. From 1944 to 1945, he worked at the Price Controls Office in

Port-of-Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. Carew felt himself to be part of the Caribbean world that for him included "the island archipelago, the countries of the Caribbean littoral and Guyana, Surinam, and

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

." He found the paradoxical unity of the Caribbean way of life in the "successive waves of cultural alienation" that shaped the Caribbean frame of mind from "a mosaic of cultural fragments –

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

, African, European, Asian."

The university years

At the age of 25, he left Guyana for the United States, where he studied science at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

and

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

(1945–1948), the predecessor of

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

, but left without graduating. Later, Carew attended

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

(1948–1950) and

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Exile and later years

In what he described as his "endless journeyings",Author page at Peepal Tree Press.
he lived at different times in the Netherlands, Mexico, the UK, France, Spain, Ghana, Canada and the United States. In 1951, while in the Netherlands, he was editor of ''De Kim'' (multilingual poetry magazine in Amsterdam). In Britain, he acted alongside

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...

"Jan Carew obituary"
''The Guardian'', 21 December 2012. and edited the ''Kensington Post'' in 1953. He also worked as a broadcaster and writer with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and lectured in race relations at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He was the first editor of the black-oriented publication ''Magnet News'', launched in London in February 1965. He always maintained his Caribbean links, and in 1962 served as director of culture in British Guiana under the Jagan administration. According to

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

Professor Emeritus Dr. Frank Birbalsingh, "He was a strong supporter of the late Dr.

and the People's Progressive Party. He was quite fearless when it came to politics.""Jan Carew ‘had a remarkable facility for narrating stories’"
, ''Share'', 12 December 2012. Between 1962 and 1966 Carew lived in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

with his then wife

Sylvia Wynter Sylvia Wynter, O.J. (Holguín, Cuba, 11 May 1928) is a Jamaican novelist, /sup> dramatist, /sup> critic, philosopher, and essayist. /sup> Her work combines insights from the natural sciences, the humanities, art, and anti-colonial struggles in ...

, subsequently moving to Canada for some years before settling in the US. During this period he served as editor of '' African Review'' in 1965, and in 1969 became publisher of ''Cotopax'' (a literary magazine). Carew taught at

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

, Illinois Wesleyan,

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

, Northwestern and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Universities and was

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of African American Studies at Northwestern University. Jan Carew died at his home in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, US, at the age of 92,"Renown Guyanese author Jan Carew dies"
''Guyana Chronicle Online'', 8 December 2012. survived by his widow Dr. Joy Gleason,Eusi Kwayana

''ChickenBones: A Journal''. his daughters Lisa St Aubin de Terán and Shantoba Eliza Carew, and his son, David Christopher Carew.Obituary: Jan R. Carew
''The Courier-Journal'', 9 December 2012. Carew's memoir ''Potaro Dreams: My Youth in Guyana'' was posthumously published in 2014. Envisaged as a first volume, covering the period from birth in 1920 to 1939 when Carew was drawn into the Second World War, the book was described by the author as "the prism" through which he would approach life.

Activism

The black movement and the problem of culture

Carew was a pioneer in the field of

Pan-African Studies Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

. Some of the noted figures to whom Carew has been connected are

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

Shirley Graham Du Bois Shirley Graham Du Bois (born Lola Shirley Graham Jr.; November 11, 1896 – March 27, 1977) was an American-Ghanaian writer, playwright, composer, and activist for African-American causes, among others. She won the Messner and the Anisfield-Wolf ...

Maurice Bishop Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenada, Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of the New Jewel Movement (NJM) – a Marxist–Leninist party that sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education and bla ...

Cheikh Anta Diop Cheikh Anta Diop (29 December 1923 – 7 February 1986) was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture. Diop's work is considered foundational to the the ...

Edward Scobie Edward Vivian Scobie (23 May 1918 – 14 November 1996) was a Dominican-born journalist, magazine publisher and historian. He is best known for his research into the history of black people in Western Europe and his 1972 seminal book ''Black Br ...

John Henrik Clarke John Henrik Clarke (born John Henry Clark; January 1, 1915July 16, 1998) was an African-American historian, professor, prominent Afrocentrist, and pioneer in the creation of Pan-African and Africana studies and professional institutions in acad ...

, Tsegaye Medhin Gabre, Sterling D. Plumpp and Ivan Van Sertima.

The invasion of Grenada and the redefinition of colonial history

In his book ''Grenada: The Hour Will Strike Again'' (1985), published two years after the

United States invasion of Grenada The United States and a coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in military occupation with ...

, "Carew unearthed and revealed sources of independence in the country itself.

he book He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter ca ...

went back to and beyond the struggles of the rebellious African captives, but to the epic resistance of the island's indigenous population."

The environmental issue

As noted by

Eusi Kwayana Eusi Kwayana, formerly Sydney King (born 4 April 1925), is a Guyanese politician. A cabinet minister in the People's Progressive Party (PPP) government of 1953, he was detained by the British Army in 1954. Later he left the PPP to form ASCRIA ...

, Carew "was an environmentalist long before it become fashionable" and made a recommendation to the government of Guyana for an international involvement for a million acres of forestland in Guyana, which inspired an Act on the Guyanese statute book to provide for approximately 360,000 hectares of tropical rainforest for the purposes of research "to make available to Guyana and the International Community systems, methods, and techniques for the sustainable management and utilisation of the multiple resources of the Tropical forest and the conservation of biological diversity and for matters incidental thereto."

Selected literary works

Carew wrote novels, short stories, plays, memoirs and other non-fiction, as well as children's stories and books, but he remains best known for his first novel, ''Black Midas'' (1958). He was a contributor of reviews, articles, short stories and essays to many periodicals, including ''

John O'London's Weekly ''John O'London's Weekly'' was a weekly literary magazine that was published by George Newnes Ltd of London between 1919 and 1954. In 1960 it was briefly brought back into circulation (writer Peter Green's biography lists him as having been f ...

Time and Tide Time and Tide (usually derived from the proverb ''Time and tide wait for no man'') may refer to: Music Albums * ''Time and Tide'' (Greenslade album), 1975 * ''Time and Tide'' (Basia album), 1987 * ''Time and Tide'' (Battlefield Band album), ...

ArtReview ''ArtReview'' is an international contemporary art magazine based in London, founded in 1948. Its sister publication, ''ArtReview Asia'', was established in 2013. History Launched as a fortnightly broadsheet in February 1949 by a retired country ...

New England Review The ''New England Review'' is an American quarterly literary magazine published by Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, ...

and Bread Loaf Quarterly,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, Saturday Review,

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

, African Review, The Listener, Journal of African Civilizations, Black Press Review, New Deliberations, Journal of the Association of Caribbean Studies,

Black American Literature Forum ''African American Review'' is a scholarly aggregation of essays on African-American literature, theatre, film, the visual arts, and culture; interviews; poetry; fiction; and book reviews. It is the official publication of the Modern Language Ass ...

, Pacific Quarterly,'' and ''

Race & Class ''Race & Class'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal on contemporary racism and imperialism. It is published quarterly by SAGE Publications on behalf of the Institute of Race Relations and is interdisciplinary, publishing material across the huma ...

.'' His many works include:

Novels / novellas

* ''Black Midas'' (London:

, 1958;

Peepal Tree Press Peepal Tree Press is a publisher based in Leeds, England which publishes Caribbean, Black British, and South Asian fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and academic books. Poet Kwame Dawes has said: "Peepal Tree Press's position as the leading pu ...

, 2009, ); published as ''A Touch of Midas'' in US (New York: Coward, 1958, ) *''The Wild Coast'' (London: Secker & Warburg, 1958; Peepal Tree Press, 2009, ) *''The Last Barbarian'' (London: Secker & Warburg, 1961, ) *''Moscow is Not My Mecca'' (London: Secker & Warburg, 1964, ); published as ''Green Winter'' (

Stein & Day Stein and Day, Inc. was an American publishing company founded by Sol Stein and his wife Patricia Day in 1962. Stein was both the publisher and the editor-in-chief. The firm was based in New York City, and was in business for 27 years, until cl ...

, 1965, ) *''The Riverman'' – novella (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1987) * ''The Sisters'' – novella (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1987) * ''The Sisters and Manco's Stories'' (Oxford: Macmillan Caribbean Writers, 2002, ) *''The Guyanese Wanderer: Stories'' (Louisville, KY:

Sarabande Books Sarabande Books is an American not-for-profit literary press founded in 1994. It is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, with an office in New York City. Sarabande publishes contemporary poetry and nonfiction. Sarabande is a literary press whos ...

, 2007, )

Poetry

* ''Streets of Eternity'' (privately printed, 1952, ) * ''Sea Drums in My Blood'' (Trinidad: New Voices,1981, ) * ''Return to Streets of Eternity'' (Smokestack Books, 2015, )

Juvenile / young adult fiction

* ''Sons of the Flying Wing'' (Toronto:

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

, 1970) * ''The Third Gift,'' illus.

Leo and Diane Dillon Leo Dillon (March 2, 1933 – May 26, 2012) and Diane Dillon (''née'' Sorber; born March 13, 1933) were American illustrators of children's books and adult paperback book and magazine covers. One obituary of Leo called the work of the husb ...

(New York: Little Brown & Co., 1974, ) * ''Children of the Sun'', illus. Leo and Diane Dillon (New York: Little Brown & Co., 1980, ) * ''Stranger than Tomorrow: Three Stories of the Future'' (London:

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in 1724 in London, England, which is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman ...

, 1976, ) * ''Save the Last Dance for Me, and Other Stories,'' (London: Longman, 1976, ) * ''The Twins of Ilora'' (New York: Little, Brown 1977) * ''The Lost Love, and Other Stories,'' Longman (London: Longman, 1978) * ''The Man Who Came Back,'' Longman (London: Longman, 1979, ) * ''The Cat People,'' Longman (London: Longman, 1979, ) * ''Dark Night, Deep Water'' (London: Longman, 1981, ) * ''Dead Man's Creek: Two Stories'' (London: Longman, 1981, ) * ''House of Fear: Two Stories'' (London: Longman, 1981, ) * ''Don't Go Near the Water'' (London: Longman, 1982, ) * ''Time Loop'' (London: Hutchinson Education, 1983, ) * ''Death Comes to the Circus'' (London: Hutchinson Education, 1983, ) * ''Computer Killer'' (London: Hutchinson Education, 1985, )

Non-fiction

*''Cry Black Power'' (Toronto:

, 1970) *''Rope the Sun'' (Third Press, 1973) *(Editor) ''Out of Time,'' illus. Howard Phillips (Cardiff: Adult Basic Education Centre, 1975, ) *''Indian and African Presence in the Americas'' (Atlanta: Georgia State University, 1984, ) *'' Grenada: The Hour Will Strike Again'' (Prague: International Organization of Journalists Press, 1985, ) *''Fulcrums of Change: Origins of Racism in the Americas and Other Essays'' (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1988, ) *''Ghosts in Our Blood: With Malcolm X in Africa, England and the Caribbean'' (Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 1994, ) *''Rape of Paradise: Columbus and the Birth of Racism in the Americas'' (Brooklyn: A & B Publishers, 1994; Seaburn Publishing, 2006, ) *''Potaro Dreams: My Youth in Guyana'' ( Hansib Publications, 2014, ) *''Episodes in My Life: The Autobiography of Jan Carew'' — edited by Joy Gleason Carew (

, 2015, )

Essays

* "Being Black in Belorussia is Like Being from Mars" (''

'', 19 September 1971) * "Look Bwana, in East Africa you carry a bicycle on the bus, eat crocodile tail and get to know the people who married the wind" (''The New York Times'', 24 October 1971) * "The Caribbean writer and exile" (''

Journal of Black Studies The ''Journal of Black Studies'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the fields of social sciences and ethnic studies concerning African and African diaspora culture, with particular interest in African-American ...

'', Vol. 8, No. 4, 1978, pp. 453–475) * "The fusion of African and Amerindian folk myths" (''

Caribbean Quarterly ''Caribbean Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering studies on the culture of the Caribbean, with its content comprising scholarly articles, essays, criticism, creative writing and book reviews. The journal is published ...

'', Vol. 23, No. 1, 1977, pp. 7–21 and ''

Bim Building information modeling (BIM) is an approach involving the generation and management of digital representations of the physical and functional characteristics of buildings or other physical assets and facilities. BIM is supported by vario ...

,'' Vol. 16, No. 64, 1978, pp. 241–257) * "Estevanico: The African Explorer" ('' Journal of African Civilizations'', Vol. 3. No. 1, April 1981, pp. 86–99, ) * "Columbus and the origins of racism in the Americas: part one" (''

'', April 1988, Vol. 29: pp. 1–19) * "Columbus and the origins of racism in the Americas: part two" (''Race & Class'', April 1988, Vol. 30: pp. 33–57, ) * "United We Stand! Joint Struggles of Native Americans and African Americans in the Columbian Era" (''

Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

'', Vol. 44, No. 3: July–August 1992) * "Columbus: a harbinger of slavery and racism" (''

The New York Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...

'', 11 July 1992, pp. 2 & 29) * "Moorish Culture-Bringers: Bearers of Enlightenment" (in Ivan Van Sertima, ed., ''Golden Age of the Moor'', New Brunswick: Transaction Press, 1992, pp. 248–277, ) * "Culture and Rebellion" (''Race & Class'': Special issue – Black America: the street and the campus, Vol. 35, No. 1, July – September 1993) * "Jonestown revisited" (

, ''A New Look At Jonestown: Dimensions from a Guyanese Perspective'', Carib House, 2016, ) * "The

Ivory trade The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, black and white rhinos, mammoth, and most commonly, African elephant, African and Asian elephants. Ivory has been traded for hundred ...

: The cruelest trade of all, white gold" * "The Synergen project" * "The Amaranth project"

Radio plays

* 1957: ''The River Man,'' BBC * 1958: ''The Legend of Nameless Mountain,'' BBC * 1958: ''Anancy and Tiger,'' BBC * 1960: ''The University of Hunger'' (with Sylvia Wynter) BBC * 1968: ''Song of the Riverman,''

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

Television plays

* 1961: ''The Big Pride'' (with Sylvia Wynter),

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

Associated Television ATV Network Limited, originally Associated TeleVision (ATV), was a British broadcaster, part of the ITV (TV network), ITV (Independent Television) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on week ...

* 1961: ''The Day of the Fox,'' Associated Television (starring

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

) * 1963: ''Exile from the Sun,'' Associated Television (never performed) * 1963: ''The Baron of South Boulevard,'' Associated Television * 1963: ''No Gown for Peter,'' Associated Television * 1963: ''The Raiders,'' Associated Television * 1963: ''The Smugglers,'' Associated Television * 1963: ''A Roof of Stars,'' Associated Television * 1963: ''The Conversion of Tiho,'' Associated Television * 1969: ''Behind God's Back,''

Canadian Broadcasting Company The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its English-language and F ...

Stage plays

* ''Black Midas'' – screenplay * 1966: ''The University of Hunger'' (three-act) – produced in Georgetown, Guyana, at Georgetown Theatre * 1967: ''Gentlemen Be Seated –'' produced in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

* 1970: ''Black Horse, Pale Rider'' (two-act) –

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

, Extra-Mural Department * 1975: ''Behind God's Back –''

Carifesta Caribbean Festival of Arts, commonly known as CARIFESTA, is an annual festival for promoting arts of the Caribbean with a different country hosting the event each year. It was started to provide a venue to "depict the life of the people of the Regi ...

, Volume 2 * 1987: ''The Peace Play''

Selected awards

Amongst the many awards that Carew received during his lifetime, of note are: * 1964: ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' Award for Best Play (for ''The Big Pride'') * 1974:

Illinois Arts Council The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technica ...

award for fiction (for the short story "Ti-Zek") * 1974:

American Institute of Graphic Arts The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity. The ...

Certificate of Excellence (for ''The Third Gift)'' * 1977:

Casa de las Américas Prize The Casa de las Américas Prize (''Premio Literario Casa de las Américas'') is a literary award given by the Cuban Casa de las Américas. Established in 1959, it is one of Latin America’s oldest and most prestigious literary prizes. The award ...

for poetry, * 1979:

Pushcart prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

(for the essay "The Caribbean writer and exile") * 1985: The

Walter Rodney Walter Anthony Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a Guyanese historian, political activist and academic. His notable works include '' How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'', first published in 1972. He was assassinated in Georgetown, ...

Memorial Award from the Association of Caribbean Studies * 1985: National Film Institute Award (for screenplay of ''Black Midas)'' * 1990: The

Hansib Arif Ali (born 13 March 1935)Asher & Martin Hoyles, ''Caribbean Publishing in Britain: A Tribute to Arif Ali'', Hansib Publications (2011), 2015, p. 97. is a Guyanese-born publisher and newspaper proprietor who migrated to London in 1957. The com ...

Publication Award * 1991: The Franz Fanon Freedom Award * 1998: The Paul Robeson Award (for "living a life of art and politics") * 2002: The

Clark-Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the Southern ...

Nkyinkyim Award * 2003: The Caribbean-Canadian Lifetime Creative Award from the Caribbean Canadian Literary ExpositionHilary Hurd Anyaso
"Jan Carew, Leader in Black Studies, Dies at 92"
Northwestern University, 10 January 2013.Lauren Caruba
"Northwestern African American studies professor, noted novelist dies at 92"
''The Daily Northwestern'', 10 January 2013. * 2008: Independent Publisher Bronze Prize for Multicultural Fiction (for ''The Guyanese Wanderer'')

References

External links

Jan Carew website

Plays by Jan Carew
* Al Creigton

Arts on Sunday, ''

Stabroek News The ''Stabroek News'' is a privately owned newspaper published in Guyana. It takes its name from ''Stabroek'' , the former name of Georgetown, Guyana. It was first published in November 1986, first as a weekly but it later changed to a daily pri ...