Anthony was always interested in the forces that contributed to change and development, and the resulting ripple effects on people’s lives
Yousif Ibrahim Abubaker
Considered one of Trinidad’s foremost and most beloved authors and historian Michael Anthony, passed away on August 24, 2023 at the age of 93. Though he had been ailing for some time, he remained passionate about his country’s creative potential and was a generous mentor to younger writers.
Born on February 10, 1932 in the village of Mayaro along Trinidad’s south-east coast, Anthony was always interested in the forces that contributed to change and development, and the resulting ripple effects on people’s lives, which he would explore in his works of fiction.
Michael was an icon and a giant in the literary world and his legacy is deeply woven into the tapestry of nation, which he loved so dearly. He was the author of novels, short stories, and travelogues about domestic life in his homeland of Trinidad. Written in a sparse style, his works were often coming-of-age stories featuring young protagonists from his native village of Mayaro.
Anthony travelled to England in 1950s, where he worked in factories. His literary career began with contributions to the magazine Bim. His first book of poems was published by the Trinidad Guardian in 1954.
Also read: Michael Anthony: the people’s writer
He also worked at the Reuters News Agency as subeditor (1964–1968) and began his career as a writer. His first novel, ‘The Games Were Coming’ (1963), is the story of Leon, an ascetic young bicyclist who neglects the annual carnival in order to train for an upcoming race. Written in first-person narrative, The Year in San Fernando (1965) describes the maturation of Francis, a boy who leaves Mayaro to work as a servant in the city of San Fernando. Another self-narrated story, Green Days by the River (1967), details the development of a boy named Shellie.
Before returning to Trinidad in 1970 to work as an editor and a diplomat, Anthony spent two years in Brazil, where he set his fifth novel, King of the Masquerade (1974). His later novels include Streets of Conflict (1976), All That Glitters (1981), In the Heat of the Day (1996), High Tide of Intrigue (2001), and The Sound of Marching Feet (2020). Among his collections of short fiction are Michael Anthony’s Tales for Young and Old (1967), Cricket in the Road (1973), Sandra Street and Other Stories (1973), Folk Tales and Fantasies (1976), and The Chieftain’s Carnival and Other Stories (1993). He also wrote several histories and travel books on Trinidad. Among these is the Historical Dictionary of Trinidad & Tobago (1997).
Much of his work after 1975 consists of historical research into his native island.
Spending his formative years in such an idyllic place planted the seed in him to be a writer, as he wanted to be able to describe the beauty of the landscape for others to enjoy. The fact that he was born into a creative family where reading was valued — he would wax poetic on the importance of libraries to youth, and the need to read to enhance the vocabulary — also helped his writer’s journey. Lovingly called “Sonnyboy” at home, there was a standing family joke that Michael wrote novels, while his brother Sylvester — who became a popular calypsonian known by the sobriquet “The Mighty Zandolee” — wrote smut (cheeky songs often filled with sexual double entendre).
Anthony’s career formally started at 23, when some of his poetry was published by the Trinidad Guardian newspaper. A year later, in 1954, he set off for England, where he was employed at the Reuters news agency and began writing short stories that were featured on the famous BBC literary radio program “Caribbean Voices.”
The program put him in esteemed literary company, alongside the likes of Samuel Selvon, Kamau Brathwaite, V. S. Naipaul, and Derek Walcott. In fact, when he first applied to be part of the program, the show was switching producers to none other than fellow Trinidadian Naipaul, fresh out of Oxford University. In a recent interview with the Trinidad and Tobago Express, Anthony recalled sending Naipaul some of his writing for consideration:
Anthony followed Naipaul’s advice and went on to become one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most beloved and prolific writers, until well into his twilight years. After “Caribbean Voices” went off the air in 1958, Anthony tried his hand at a novel, eventually producing “The Games Were Coming,” a coming-of-age story set against the annual Southern Games event, which was first published in 1963. As a 400 meter runner himself, preparation for this type of competition was a subject that Anthony intimately understood and that authenticity came through in the novel. He was an author who lived the tenet “Write what you know.”
Michael Anthony’s unique contribution to Caribbean writing was to depict adolescent and rural life in a way that no other writer has done
Two years later, he published what perhaps remains his best-known novel, “The Year in San Fernando,” which was semi-autobiographical. “Green Days by the River” followed in 1968. That same year, Anthony left the “mother country,” having found that cold English winters did not agree with his health. He spent two years in Brazil, eventually resettling permanently in Trinidad in 1970. In 2017, almost 50 years after “Green Days by the River” was published — as if to underscore its enduring appeal — the novel was made into a film. Anthony was 87 years old at the time and surprised movie-goers by making a cameo appearance.
Of his 35 books, Anthony’s personal favorite was “All that Glitters” (1981), a tale of deception and redemption set in a fishing village in 1950s Trinidad.
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 BIM magazine.
Michael Anthony’s unique contribution to Caribbean writing was to depict adolescent and rural life in a way that no other writer has done. He did so with a simplicity of style that was a reflection of his own personality and lifestyle. He might not have been the darling of literary critics but he will go down as probably the most widely read Caribbean writer of our generation.
In 1992, he spent time at the University of Richmond in the US state of Virginia, teaching creative writing.
In 1979, Anthony was awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for his contributions to literature, and he received an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 2003.
Michael Anthony has made an indelible mark on Trinidad and Tobago’s literary landscape and will be remembered for the creative ways in which he passed on Trinidad and Tobago’s history and culture through generations. His years of work as an educator and mentor have undoubtedly inspired and shaped the minds and talents of many today and therefore his legacy will live on.
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Yousif Ibrahim Abubaker is a poet and writer from Omdurman Umbda -Sudan. He works as an English Instructor, Trainer and Freelance Interpreter. He also has been working as a debate leader discussing various topics in many English Institutes, Centers, Academy and schools.
