Rooplall Monar
He began writing in the mid-1960s and came to notice in 1967 with a prize-winning poem, 'The Creole Gang'. His early poems were published in New World, Kaie, Voices and various anthologies. His first published collection, Meanings (1972) begins his exploration of the the consciousness of the Indo-Guyanese 'divided by horizon's edges, yet/ telling of no other worlds/ but mine'. His second collection, Patterns (1983) continued the creative but painful potential of this limbo consciousness, asking 'Who am I/between buried copper trunks/voices in the cemeteries?/Oh whom am I/between a dying consciousness,/a growing vision.'
Monar also began to write short stories, encouraged by his blood brother, the folklorist and poet Wordsworth McAndrew, pushing the use of an Indo-Guyanese inflected Creole to a depth not seen before. The result of extensive interviews and listening to older people, these stories began to be broadcast on GBS around 1976, though it was almost another ten years before they saw publication as the classic Backdam People first published in 1985 and in a new edition in 1987. At this time, in the 1970s, Monar was part of the Messenger group, which included Rajkumari Singh, Guska Kissoon and Beatrice Muniyan, and part of an Annandale group of poets which included Bramdeo Persaud, George Vidyahanand and Randall Butisingh. However, deaths, emigration and the despairs of the later Burnham years broke up most of these associations.
After Backdam People, Peepal Tree brought out a collection of Monar's poems, Koker (1987), followed by his novel, Janjhat (1989) which explores the tempestuous first year of a marriage under the interfering pressure of the boy's mother. The move from estate to village life is explored in the short stories of High House and Radio which sees the backdam people leave their logies for their new high houses and the coherent Indianness of the estate challenged by the new visions brought by the radio, politicians and the pursuit of more individual lives.
Since then Monar has written two works of popular fiction, Ramsingh Street and Tormented Wives (1999).
In 1987 he was awarded a special Judges' Prize for his contribution to Guyanese writing.
Titles featuring Rooplall Monar
- JanjhatPrice: £8.99
- KokerPrice: £7.99
- Backdam PeoplePrice: £6.99
- High House and RadioPrice: £8.99
Book reviews for Rooplall Monar
- JanjhatPrice: £8.99
Review written by Wyck Williams for Book Shelf; guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com - KokerPrice: £7.99
Review written by Cleveland Hamilton for Guyana Chronicle - Backdam PeoplePrice: £6.99
Review written by Subhash K. Jha for Indian Express Review written by Ramdath Jagessar for Trinidad Guardian Review written by Peter Nazareth for World Literature Today Review written by Janice Shinebourne for Race Today Review written by Frank Birbalsingh for TSAR Review written by Cyril Dabydeen for WLWE - High House and RadioPrice: £8.99
Review written by Chris Searle for Liberation