Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre has offered sincere condolences to the family of the late Barbadian novelist, essayist, and poet George Lamming and the people of Barbados.
Pierre wrote on Facebook that he heard of Lamming’s death on Saturday.
He described the deceased as a Caribbean literary giant and an internationally respected novelist.
“The pages of his novels reflect the unspoken realities and shared experiences that confronted Caribbean people in search of identity and progress,” the Saint Lucia Prime Minister said.
Pierre observed that Lamming’s incisive writings, poems, essays, and 1953 novel ‘In the Castle of My Skin’ resonate perpetually among Caribbean people, readers, and authors alike.
“I’ve always admired George Lamming’s unbending love for and belief in our people. He challenged us to take control of our own destiny and reminded us that we are the authors of our own stories,” the Saint Lucia Prime Minister noted.
Lamming died on Saturday at the age of 94, just a few days shy of his 95th birthday, which he would have celebrated on June 8.
In paying tribute to him, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said he must be considered one of the most famous writers this region has produced.
Was he better than Derek Walcott? Were they friends whilst both lived?