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tribute was paid to
Seymour to mark the centenary of his birth, with readings from his work by Guyanese writers and others. National Library in collaboration with Francis Quamina Farrier and the University of Guyana hosted an exhibition of his works, as well as mounting a plaque at 23 North Road,
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Over the nearly fifty years of his career, Seymour also held senior positions in a number of cultural institutions; among others, he was
Honorary Secretary of the British Guiana Union of Cultural Clubs (1943â1950), Deputy Chairman of the Guyana National Trust (1974â1975), President of the British
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In 1933, he joined the
British Guiana Civil Service as an unpaid volunteer, working in the Postal and Income Tax Departments before joining the Bureau of Publicity and Information. By 1954, Seymour had worked his way to the position of Head of Government Information Services. This was a troubling
322:. He tirelessly encouraged fellow writers, published their work where and when he could, wrote about them in his critical essays, and publicised them in lecture tours, which in later years took him across the Caribbean and to the
80:, which was elected in 1953, had been removed from office by the colonial authorities after just four and a half months, sparking a phase of civil and political unrest that was to last for over ten years.
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Though a handful of
Seymour's poems continue to be well known in Guyana, outside his home country his writing has fallen into obscurity, especially by comparison with that of his friend and colleague
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99:) until 1971; first as Community Relations Officer, later as Public Relations Officer. In 1972 he served as Literary Co-ordinator for the first Caribbean Festival of Arts (
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Bourda, a former residence. He was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame for the
Literary Arts in the Emily Murray Reading Room at the National Library.
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River. Over a 16-year period until 1961 he published 28 issues of this pioneering magazine, including some of the earliest work of notable writers such as
298:. However they failed to get backing for the project. Nevertheless Arthur and Elma proceeded to produce the DGB, with a second volume appearing in 1986.
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In 1962, Seymour left the civil service and accepted the post of
Information and Cultural Collaboration Officer of the Caribbean Organisation, based in
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219:(1945) contained at least three poems that have come to be considered classics: "Sun Is a Shapely Fire", "There Runs a Dream", and "The Legend of
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107:; in 1973 he rejoined the civil service as Deputy Chairman of the Department of Culture and Director of Creative Writing. He retired in 1979.
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254:(1984), edited by Ian McDonald, contained a selection of 15 poems under the title "The Essential Seymour", chosen by Seymour himself.
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which he was working on at the time. This inspired
Seymour with Joel Benjamin and Terrence Fletcher to propose the creation of a
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153:(1952; revised ed. 1958); and the Miniature Poets Series (1951â1953) of pamphlets, which included work by Carter, Harris,
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435:(2000; with an Introduction by Ian McDonald, and edited by Ian McDonald and J. de Weever), New York: Blue Parrot Press.
180:(Georgetown: National History and Arts Council, published after the Caribbean Festival of Arts in Guyana in 1972) and
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A literary prize was named in his honor, the AJ Seymour Prize for Short Story, in the 2019 Guyana Annual magazine.
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He married Elma Editha Bryce, a teacher, on 31 July 1937. They had three daughters and three sons.
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280:(DGB). The project had been inspired over thirty years previously when Seymour had been visiting
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60:, British Guiana's most prestigious boys' school, on a Government Junior Scholarship in 1928.
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Dey, A. J. Seymour attended the
Collegiate School and the Guyanese Academy before entering
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In 1936, Seymour began writing poems. By 1937 he had completed his first collection,
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Seymour died of a stroke on 25 December 1989, a few weeks shy of his 76th birthday.
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184:(1980). Starting in 1976, Seymour also wrote five volumes of autobiography.
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Bauxite
Company (Demba), based in Mackenzie (the town was later renamed
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poet, essayist, memoirist, and founding editor of the literary journal
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Review of "Collected Poems, 1934â1989, by A.J. Seymour" Review of the
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Dictionary of
Guyanese Biography Vol. 1 1984 â Arthur and Elma Seymour
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In 1984 working with Elma, Seymour produced the first volume of the
215:(1944) was a landmark in the development of Seymour's poetic style.
52:, to James Tudor Seymour, a land surveyor, and his wife Philippine,
223:" (this last poem was later set to music by the Guyanese composer
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Brown, Lloyd W., "The Guyanese Voice in West Indian Poetry", in
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Wesley Gibbings, "Bocas Lit Fest pays tribute to AJ Seymour"
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was published, edited by Ian McDonald and Seymour's niece,
133:), a literary journal named for an early Dutch fort on the
553:"2019 Guyana Annual launched, winning entrants awarded"
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Guiana Music Festival Committee, and President of the
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Dolphin, Celeste, "The Poetry of A. J. Seymour", in
470:"A death at Christmas â last memories of AJ Seymour"
16:Guyanese writer, editor and publisher (1914â1989)
604:Excerpt from Ian McDonald's introduction to the
145:. During this time he also edited and published
586:, vol. 15, no. 1 (April 1976), pp. 246â52.
528:"AJ Seymour's birth centenary to be celebrated"
151:The Kyk-Over-Al Anthology of West Indian Poetry
87:. He returned to Guiana in 1965, a year before
593:, vol. 1, no. 13 (April 1965), pp. 31â39.
176:(Longman, 1971), co-edited with Elma Seymour,
399:(1951), Georgetown: Miniature Poets, Series A
174:My Lovely Native Land: An Anthology of Guyana
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187:In 1984, with the help of poet and novelist
692:Recipients of the Wordsworth McAndrew Award
288:in 1949. Venn had shown him proofs of the
230:Seymour's later major collections include
22:(12 January 1914 â 25 December 1989), or
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500:. Georgetown: Arthur and Elma Seymour.
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363:(1940), Georgetown: Guyana Chronicle
357:(1937), Georgetown: Guyana Chronicle
583:World Literature Written in English
375:(1944), Georgetown: Guyana Standard
369:(1944), Georgetown: Guyana Standard
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662:Digital Library of the Caribbean
278:Dictionary of Guyanese Biography
250:(1983). A tribute volume called
147:An Anthology of Guianese Poetry
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182:A Treasury of Guyanese Poetry
296:Guyana National Encyclopedia
284:in the President's Lodge of
178:New Writing in the Caribbean
387:(1946), Georgetown: Caribia
381:(1945), Georgetown: Caribia
379:Poetry in These Sunny Lands
76:(PPP) government headed by
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650:Trinidad and Tobago Review
456:, Macmillan, 1979, p. 230.
411:(1968), Georgetown: Author
405:(1965), Georgetown: Author
393:(1948), Georgetown: Argosy
286:Queens' College, Cambridge
262:Collected Poems, 1937â1989
172:Later anthologies include
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74:People's Progressive Party
433:Collected Poems 1937â1989
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123:In 1945, Seymour founded
113:International P.E.N. Club
67:Bureaucrat and public man
494:Seymour, Arthur (1984).
454:West Indian Literature
291:Alumni Cantabrigienses
91:, and worked with the
591:New World Fortnightly
397:Leaves from the Trees
349:Selected bibliography
244:My Lovely Native Land
72:time for Guiana; the
266:Jacqueline de Weever
232:Leaves from the Tree
119:Editor and publisher
20:Arthur James Seymour
367:Over Guiana, Clouds
320:West Indian letters
282:John Archibald Venn
260:In 2000, Seymour's
213:Over Guiana, Clouds
129:(sometimes spelled
632:2006-05-01 at the
612:2006-05-03 at the
452:Bruce King (ed.),
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687:1989 deaths
682:1914 births
657:Kyk-Over-Al
312:Kyk-Over-Al
246:(1971) and
193:Kyk-Over-Al
126:Kyk-Over-Al
103:), held in
85:Puerto Rico
33:Kyk-Over-Al
671:Categories
652:, May 2002
563:2021-01-14
538:2021-01-14
480:2021-01-14
440:References
361:More Poems
272:Biographer
209:More Poems
46:Georgetown
385:Six Songs
252:AJS at 70
135:Essequibo
131:Kykoveral
101:Carifesta
40:Biography
630:Archived
610:Archived
415:Patterns
242:(1970),
240:Patterns
238:(1965),
234:(1951),
221:Kaieteur
149:(1954);
93:Demerara
44:Born in
28:Guyanese
26:, was a
660:in the
332:Germany
429:(1983)
423:(1978)
417:(1970)
330:, and
328:Brazil
302:Legacy
105:Guyana
97:Linden
355:Verse
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199:Poet
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