Jan Carew, 92, first chair of African-American studies at NU
Jan Carew, the first person to chair the department of African-American studies at Northwestern University, was an esteemed writer in his homeland of Guyana, tackling issues of colonialism, class divisions and racism. He also knew Malcolm X, and performed in an acting company with a man considered one of the greatest thespians of all time: Sir Laurence Olivier.
Mr. Carew, 92, died Dec. 6 in Louisville, Ky.
His literary legacy “is quite considerable,” said Al Creighton, head of Amerindian Studies at the University of Guyana in Georgetown, Guyana, where his works have been taught. His most well-known novels were probably “Black Midas” and “The Wild Coast,” both published in 1958.
“Black Midas” resonated in Guyana because it told the story of “Shark,” one of the South American country’s tough, adventurous gold miners, known as “Pork Knockers.” Their mythology—independent and ruggedly resourceful — is comparable to that of the American cowboy.
“People recognized it, and it was also representative of a particular aspect of Guyanese life,” Creighton said.
The Pork Knockers are “men who have gone into the Guyanese interior to search for gold, and they tend to work individually,” Creighton said. “They would use crude, primitive methods of mining. They form a distinct, different group from the gold-mining companies.....they came before the big companies.”
http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/17525471-418/jan-carew-92-first-chair-of-african-american-studies-at-nu.html
