Guyana Mourns the Death of Prominent Literary and Business Figure Dr. Ian McDonald
GEORGETOWN, Guyana – President Irfaan Ali Friday said he was “saddened” at the death of “a literary figure of worth” as he paid tribute to Dr. Ian McDonald,” one of the Caribbean’s distinguished son”. He was 93 years old.
Dr. Ian McDonald“Dr. Ian McDonald was the Caribbean made flesh: Antigua’s blood ran in his veins, Trinidad cradled his first breath, Guyana claimed the fullness of his years, and the West Indies claimed his soul,” Ali said in a tribute posted on his Facebook page.
The Trinidad-born McDonald worked for several decades in Guyana’s sugar industry dating back to the period of Bookers and then the nationalised GUYSUCO as a senior industry executive. He later went on to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC).
McDonald was also a former chairman of Guyana Publications Inc; then publishers of the recently-closed privately-owned independent Stabroek News newspaper alongside its founder David DeCaires and late lawyer Miles Fitzpatrick.
Ali said McDonald was “a poet of rare grace, a scribe of eloquence, a keeper of our fragile, fierce cultural flame” and that “through the power of his pen, he projected the beauty of our flowers, our trees, our birds and our landscapes; he gave dignity to the toiling hands of our people; and celebrated the genius and majesty of our cricketers.
“He showed us that language is the scaffolding upon which we build our tomorrows. His verses sang of both our fractures and our wholeness, our anguish and our ecstasy, stitching the frayed tapestry of Caribbean life into something luminous and lasting.”
The head of state said that through his once weekly columns, McDonald encouraged Guyanese not only to read but to read well, “pointing us toward books, prose and poetry that would enrich our minds and touch our souls.
“And oh, how he loved the game of cricket—not as mere sport, but as the very rhythm of our regional soul. His passion for the game was but a mirror of his larger passion for life. His love for lawn tennis was equal to his love for cricket. He played the game with a distinction.
He will also be remembered for his years of service to our sugar industry.
“It is sad that he should leave us now, when the hour is so dark and our nation longs for the wisdom that flowed from his pen. At this time when grief drapes our nation, we need more than ever his words to steady us, to console us, to remind us that even in loss, there is the promise of renewal,” Ali said in reference to last weekend boating tragedy that has resulted in the deaths so far of 72 people.
In 1997 McDonald received an Honorary Degree of Doctorate of Letters from the University of the West Indies in recognition of his services to Caribbean sugar, sport and literature.
