By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 17, 2016
No one can explain with absolute certitude why the nation poured out so much grief at the death of Patrick Manning. While it had much to do with the part he played in our nation’s development, it also has to do with a nation mourning itself, saddened by how coarse its sensibilities have become; a feeling of helplessness at its own futility and its uncertainty about where it’s going and how it intends to get there. It matters little (it may even be inconsequential) that the PNM is now in power.
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Tag Archives: Selwyn R. Cudjoe
Preserving Historic Memory
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 10, 2016
By the time you read this article you will have heard everything about the life of the late Patrick Manning: the good, the bad and the ugly. Many of his admirers (and non-admirers alike) will have told us about his numerous accomplishments. Mrs. Hazel Manning has asked us to “know” Mr. Manning’s legacy while Prime Minister Keith Rowley has assured us that “he will continue in our history” (Newsday, July 3).
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Take Yo’ Language an’ Go
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
July 07, 2016
For all intents and purposes, GB (Great Britain) has not only lost its political and economic standing within the EU (European Union), it has also lost its linguistic clout. English, French and German are the three working languages of the EU. Documents are published in these three languages, but its business is conducted primarily in English. Now, the EU has demanded that Great Britain take its language and leave. It’s almost like asking Great Britain to take the great out of its name.
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London Bridge…
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
June 27, 2016
Nine days ago when I arrived in London I had hoped the UK (United Kingdom) would remain within the EU (European Union). Having grown up within the British Empire, I thought it was in Britain’s best interest to remain within the EU. There was some nostalgia but my wish wasn’t to be.
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Gay and Straight Together
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
June 22, 2016
On Monday evening, like so many people across America, I attended a vigil in honor of the 49 people who were gunned down at Pulse Night Club in Orlando just because some folks hate gay people. I was on my way to London but stopped in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to gather my papers and other necessities for my trip. In that small town of 28,000 people, about fifteen miles outside of Boston, I joined about three hundred people on the lawn of Wellesley’s Town Hall who had come together to stand in solidarity with those who had lost their loved ones in Florida.
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Is Sat Really a Racist?
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
June 13, 2016
Last Sunday, in this newspaper, Sat Maharaj mentioned casually (or perhaps not so casually) that he couldn’t possibly be a racist since I was his best friend and Desmond Hoyte was a close friend. Most of my friends were aghast that Sat should consider me to be among his best friends and, even if we are, they asked, why should he use our friendship to camouflage his racism?
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PNM’s Betrayal
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
May 05, 2016
At some point the People’s National Movement (PNM) will have to decide whether it supports the moneyed interest of the society or the ordinary people whose votes put them in power. Much too often when the interests of the people is at stake, the hierarchy of the party tends to side with moneyed interest at the expense of the people.
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Looking Back to Look Forward
By Selwyn R. Cudjoe
Posted: March 23, 2016
[A lecture delivered at SOAS, University of London, at the launching of Narratives of Amerindians in Trinidad and Tobago, or Becoming Trinbagonian, March 17, 2016]
I want to thank Louisa, Nathan, and Josh for making this function possible. I also want to thank Tracey, my niece, and John Metivier, my former pastor from Tacarigua, and my God-brother Tookey, for coming in the cold to support my literary efforts. I also want to thank Riccardo Bharath Hernandez and the Santa Rosa Community of Arima for the assistance they rendered in making this publication possible, even to the point of securing a grant from the Trinidad and Tobago government. I also want to thank Ceri Dingle Worldwrite, producers of “Every Cook Can Govern: The Life, Work, and Impact of C. L. R. James,” the soon to be released documentary on James, for agreeing to film this event for wider circulation. It’s good to see all of you here this evening to welcome my most recent book, Narratives of Amerindians of Trinidad and Tobago, into the world of ideas as yet another manifestation of the tremendous gifts that those of us from our part of the globe have offered in terms of literary reflections on the world. It has been a long time coming but it is here. In this context, I would be remiss if I did not draw your attention to Glenn Roopchand’s grippingly beautiful art that adorns the front cover of this book.
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An Unethical Dis(Invite)
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 27, 2015
The University of the West Indies (UWI) has produced many distinguished scholars and thinkers who have served the Caribbean and the world. Dr. Keith Rowley, the most recent example, was elected to one of the highest offices in Trinidad and Tobago. Yet there remain pockets of discrimination and racism within UWI that need to be eradicated immediately.
On August 30 Dr. J. Vijay Maharaj, a UWI lecturer at Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies, invited me to address a conference, “Seepersad & Sons: Naipaulian Creative Synergies” at the end of October. I thanked her and asked what she would like me to speak about.
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Why the PNM Will Win the Election
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 01, 2015
On March 3, 2014, I predicted “Keith Rowley will emerge victorious during the PNM’s party elections and go on to become the next prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago” (Express). Everything that has transpired since (including his winning PNM party’s election) has persuaded me of the certainty of my prediction. One week before Trinidadians and Tobagonians go to the polls I can confidently assert the PNM will win at least 26 of the 41 constituencies it is contesting.
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