Another Unsung Hero Gone

The great wordsmith and revered master of the pen Anson Gonzales, has left us. Anson who was critically ill, struggling with a heart condition for some time, eventually surrendered to the battle on September 6^th not long after leaving Trinidad and migrating to Wales.  Anson is known for his great contribution towards the development and sustenance of the literary culture of Trinidad and the Caribbean.  He was Founder of the “New Voices” in 1973 which actively ran for 20 years with published works from Anson himself, along with hundreds of Caribbean writers. This poetry journal, give voice and a stage to many young poets some of which are established authors today, such as Jennifer Rahim.  Interestingly, he ran a bookshop from his home where he actually did all the printing and editing for the various New Voices’ Journals

There was also a radio programme and other publications as well, like the New Voices News letter which conveyed information on writers, competitions, workshops, grants and more. Anson was also Co-founder and former president of the Writers’ Union of T&T (WUTT) but Anson did not stop there, in 1979 Anson went on to establish National Poetry Day, which is celebrated on October 15, initially in T&T and now in eight other Caribbean territories. He also taught creative writing courses and workshops across the Caribbean, some of which I was honoured to be a part of and he sat as judge for many poetry and literary competitions across the region.

This great man had a natural knack for creativity and dabbled in various art forms such as dancing and photography as well as acting. He did some acting with Trinidad Theater Workshop and even tried his hands as a director and made some appearance in several Dimanche Gras productions as well.

WE CELEBRATE MASTER ANSON GONZALEZ, A FORMER TEACHER OF UWI, FOR HIS POETRY, HIS LABOUR OF LOVE AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE LITERARY ART; HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED, A FIXED FIGURE IN OUR MEMORY, FOREVER IMMORTALIZED IN PAGES.

BELOW ARE PHOTOS OF MYSELF AND OTHER MEMBERS OF "THE CIRCLE OF POETS" HAVING BREAKFAST AT ANSON GONZALEZ'S HOUSE. THIS WAS A THREE DAYS POETRY WORK SHOP ANSON HELD AT HIS HOUSE AS HE MENTORS US IN THE LITERARY ART OF POETRY. WE WERE GIVEN CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION AT THE END OF THE WORK SHOP. THIS IS THE PASSION THIS MAN HAD FOR THE LITERARY ART