Renowned novelist George Lamming dies at 94
By Paula Lindo
Renowned Barbadian novelist and poet George Lamming died on Saturday [June 4] at the age of 94 in Barbados, four days short of his 95th birthday on June 8.
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, in a release after Lamming’s death, said there would be an official funeral for the writer, who was so integral to the literature of the region
“Our internationally recognised and respected novelist, essayist and poet, George Lamming without doubt stood for decades at the apex of our island’s pantheon of writers. Indeed, George Lamming must be considered one of the most famous writers this region has produced. Notwithstanding the fact that he passed away today, four days shy of his 95th birthday, I still declare that he has left us all too soon.”
She said she had been making plans to visit Lamming on Wednesday to celebrate his birthday with him. “Unfortunately, we will now have to switch to a national celebration via an official funeral for a man who has given so much to his country, his people, his region and the world.
“George Lamming was the quintessential Bajan, born in as traditional a district as you can get — Carrington Village, on the outskirts of Bridgetown. And his education was as authentically Bajan as one could possibly acquire — Roebuck Boys’ School and Combermere. But as Bajan as he was, he still distinguished himself as a world scholar: teaching first at a boarding school in Trinidad, before emigrating to England, where he became a broadcaster with the BBC’s Colonial Service.”
Lamming held positions that included writer-in-residence and lecturer in the Creative Arts at the UWI Mona, Jamaica campus, visiting professor at the University of Texas, the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University, and a lecturer in Denmark, Tanzania and Australia.
To continue reading, please, turn to Trinidad & Tobago Newsday, June 8, 2022.
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