Michael Anthony HBM (10 February 1930 – 24 August 2023) was a Trinidad and Tobago author and historian, who was named by

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as one of the "50 most influential people in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

Early life and education

Born in the county of Mayaro, Trinidad, on 10 February 1930, to Nathaniel Anthony and Eva Jones Lazarus, Michael Anthony was educated on the island at Mayaro Roman Catholic School and Junior Technical College in San Fernando. He subsequently took a job as a laundry worker in

Pointe-à-Pierre Pointe-à-Pierre ( ) is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It lies north of San Fernando and south of Claxton Bay. It is most famous as the site of the country's largest (and now, only) oil refinery which used to be run by Petrotrin, the state-ow ...

for five years but had ambitions to become a journalist. Later on, poems of his were published by the ''

Trinidad Guardian The ''Trinidad and Tobago Guardian'' (together with the ''Sunday Guardian'') is the oldest daily newspaper in Trinidad and Tobago. The paper is considered the newspaper of record for Trinidad and Tobago. The slogan of the paper is ''The Guardia ...

'' in 1954. Yet it was not enough for him to secure a new job locally and Anthony decided to further his career in the United Kingdom.

Career outside Trinidad

Anthony's voyage to the UK on board the ''Hildebrandt'' took place in December 1954. In England he held several jobs, including as a sub-editor at Reuters news agency (1964–1968), while developing his career as a writer, writing short stories for the

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programme '' Caribbean Voices''. In 1958 he married Yvette Phillips and they had four children — Jennifer, Keith, Carlos and Sandra. Four years later, Anthony published his first book, ''The Games Were Coming'', a cycling story inspired by real events. He followed up its success with ''The Year in San Fernando'' and ''Green Days by the River''. He eventually returned to Trinidad in 1970, after spending two years as part of the Trinidadian diplomatic corps in Brazil, where his novel ''King of the Masquerade'' is set, and he worked variously as an editor, a researcher for the Ministry of Culture, and as a radio broadcaster of historical programmes. In 1992, he spent time at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

in the U.S. state of Virginia, teaching creative writing. In his five-decade career, Anthony had over 30 titles published, including novels, collections of short fiction, books for younger readers, travelogues and histories. He has also been a contributor to many anthologies and journals, including ''Caribbean Prose'', ''Island Voices'', ''Stories from the Caribbean'', ''Response'', ''The Sun's Eyes'', ''West Indian Narrative'', ''The Bajan'', and ''

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'' magazine.

Death

Michael Anthony died on 24 August 2023, at the age of 93.

Awards and honours

In 1979 Michael Anthony was awarded the

Hummingbird Medal The Hummingbird Medal (abbreviated HBM or H.B.M.) is a state decoration of Trinidad and Tobago, instituted in 1969. The medal is awarded for loyal and devoted service beneficial to the state in any field, or acts of conspicuous gallantry or other o ...

(Gold) for his contributions to literature, and he received an honorary doctorate from the

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 ...

(UWI) in 2003."Michael Anthony Book Launch"
, NALIS, 2010.

Bibliography

* ''The Games Were Coming'' (1963) * ''The Year in San Fernando'' (1965; revised edition 1970) * ''Green Days by the River'' (1967) * ''Tales for Young and Old'' (1967) * ''Sandra Street and Other Stories'' (1973) * '' Cricket in the Road'' (1973) * ''King of the Masquerade'' (1974) * '' Glimpses of Trinidad and Tobago'' (1974) * '' Profile Trinidad'' (1974) * '' Streets of Conflict'' (1976) * ''Folk Tales and Fantasies'' (1976) * '' The Making of Port of Spain'' (1978) * '' All That Glitters'' (1981) (cited by the author as his favourite) * '' Bright Road to El Dorado'' (1983) * '' A Better and Brighter Day'' (1988) * '' The Golden Quest: The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus'' (1992) * ''The Chieftain's Carnival and Other Stories'' (1993) * '' In the Heat of the Day'' (1996) * ''Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago'' (1997) * ''High Tide of Intrigue'' (2001) * '' Towns and Villages of Trinidad and Tobago'' (2001) * ''The Sound of Marching Feet'' (2020)

References

External links

* Raymond Ramcharitar
"Michael Anthony cultivates a subtler kind of fiction"
IslandMix, 11 May 2003
"Michael Anthony"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' *Jeremy Poynting
"Michael Anthony"
Contemporary Novelists, 2001. Encyclopedia.com *Carol Brennan
"Michael Anthony"
Contemporary Black Biography. * Shamshu Deen

Trinbagopan.com
"Michael Anthony: Author and Historian"
NALIS, Trinidad and Tobago. * The literary papers of Michael Anthony can be found across repositories in Trinidad and Tobago and in the United States. Part of Anthony's archival collection, th
Michael Anthony Papers
is held a
The Alma Jordan Library
Special Collections, University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Port of Spain
The Michael Anthony Papers, 1957-1984
are held at th
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The New York Public Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Michael 1930 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago novelists 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago historians Foundrymen International Writing Program alumni People from Mayaro–Rio Claro Male novelists Male journalists Recipients of the Hummingbird Medal 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male writers People associated with the University of the West Indies