Roy Heath
Encyclopedia
Roy A K(elvin) Heath (13 August 1926 - 14 May 2008) was a Guyanese
writer, most noted for his "Georgetown
Trilogy" of novels (also published in an omnibus volume as The Armstrong Trilogy, 1994), consisting of From the Heat of the Day (1979), One Generation (1980), and Genetha (1981). Heath said that his work was "intended to be a dramatic chronicle of twentieth-century Guyana".
Educated at Central High School, Georgetown, he worked as a Treasury clerk (1944-51) before leaving Guyana for England in 1951. He attended the University of London
(1952-6), earning a B.A. Honours degree in Modern Languages. He also studied law and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn
in 1964 (and the Guyana bar in 1973), although he never practised as a lawyer, pursuing a career since 1959 as a writer and a schoolteacher in London, where he lived until his death at the age of 81.
In 1974 his first novel, A Man Come Home, was published. This was followed four years later by The Murderer (1978), which won the Guardian
Fiction Prize that same year and was described by the Observer
as "mysteriously authentic, and unique as a work of art".
His other published novels are Kwaku; or, The Man Who Could Not Keep His Mouth Shut (1982), Orealla (1984), The Shadow Bride (1988) and The Ministry of Hope (1997).
Heath also wrote non-fiction, including Shadows Round the Moon: Caribbean Memoirs (1990), plays - his Inez Combray was produced in Georgetown, Guyana, in 1972, in which year he won the Guyana Theatre Guild Award - and short stories. In 1983 he delivered the Edgar Mittelholzer
Memorial Lecture, entitled “Art and Experience”, in Georgetown. He was awarded the Guyana Literature Prize in 1989.
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
writer, most noted for his "Georgetown
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
Trilogy" of novels (also published in an omnibus volume as The Armstrong Trilogy, 1994), consisting of From the Heat of the Day (1979), One Generation (1980), and Genetha (1981). Heath said that his work was "intended to be a dramatic chronicle of twentieth-century Guyana".
Educated at Central High School, Georgetown, he worked as a Treasury clerk (1944-51) before leaving Guyana for England in 1951. He attended the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
(1952-6), earning a B.A. Honours degree in Modern Languages. He also studied law and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in 1964 (and the Guyana bar in 1973), although he never practised as a lawyer, pursuing a career since 1959 as a writer and a schoolteacher in London, where he lived until his death at the age of 81.
In 1974 his first novel, A Man Come Home, was published. This was followed four years later by The Murderer (1978), which won the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Fiction Prize that same year and was described by the Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
as "mysteriously authentic, and unique as a work of art".
His other published novels are Kwaku; or, The Man Who Could Not Keep His Mouth Shut (1982), Orealla (1984), The Shadow Bride (1988) and The Ministry of Hope (1997).
Heath also wrote non-fiction, including Shadows Round the Moon: Caribbean Memoirs (1990), plays - his Inez Combray was produced in Georgetown, Guyana, in 1972, in which year he won the Guyana Theatre Guild Award - and short stories. In 1983 he delivered the Edgar Mittelholzer
Edgar Mittelholzer
Edgar Mittelholzer was a Guyanese novelist. Born in New Amsterdam, the country's second largest town, he was the son of William Austin Mittelholzer and his wife Rosamond Mabel, née Leblanc...
Memorial Lecture, entitled “Art and Experience”, in Georgetown. He was awarded the Guyana Literature Prize in 1989.
External links
- Review of The Shadow Bridehttp://www.guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com/books/roy_heath.html
- Review of The Ministry of Hopehttp://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/11/reviews/970511.11childrt.html
- Guardian obituary by Margaret Busbyhttp://books.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2281037,00.html.
- Kaieteur News obituaryhttp://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2008/05/16/uk-based-novelist-roy-heath-dies-at-82/
- Kaieteur News, "The Arts Forum - A Tribute to Roy Heath" by Ameena Gafoorhttp://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2008/05/18/the-arts-forum-a-tribute-to-roy-heath-1926-2008/
- Roy A. K. Heath biographyhttp://biography.jrank.org/pages/4414/Heath-Roy-ubrey-K-elvin.html