Michael Anthony (author)
Michael Anthony (born 10[1][2] February 1930[3][4]) is an eminent Caribbean author and historian, who has been named one of the "50 most influential people in Trinidad and Tobago".[5]
Early life and education
Born in the county of Mayaro, Trinidad, on 10 February 1930, to Nathaniel Anthony and Eva Jones Lazarus, Michael Anthony was educated on the island at Mayaro Roman Catholic School and Junior Technical College in San Fernando. He subsequently took a job as a laundry worker in Pointe-à-Pierre for five years but had ambitions to become a journalist. Later on, poems of his were published by the Trinidad Guardian in 1954. Yet it was not enough for him to secure a new job locally and Anthony decided to further his career in the United Kingdom.
Career outside Trinidad
Anthony's voyage to the UK on board the Hildebrandt took place on December 1954. In England he held several jobs, including as a sub-editor at Reuters news agency (1964–68), while developing his career as a writer, writing short stories for the BBC radio programme Caribbean Voices.
In 1958 he married Yvette Phillips and they had four children — Jennifer, Keith, Carlos and Sandra Anthony.
Four years later, Anthony published his first book, The Games Were Coming, a cycling story inspired by real events. He followed up its success with The Year in San Fernando and Green Days by the River. He eventually returned to Trinidad in 1970, after spending two years as part of the Trinidadian diplomatic corps in Brazil, where his novel King of the Masquerade is set, and he worked variously as an editor, a researcher for the Ministry of Culture, and as a radio broadcaster of historical programmes. In 1992, he spent time at the University of Richmond in Virginia, teaching creative writing.
In his five-decade career, Anthony has had over 30 titles published, including novels, collections of short fiction, books for younger readers, travelogues and histories. He has also been a contributor to many anthologies and journals, including Caribbean Prose, Island Voices, Stories from the Caribbean, Response, The Sun's Eyes, West Indian Narrative, The Bajan, and BIM magazine.
Awards and honours
In 1979 Michael Anthony was awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for his contributions to Literature, and he received an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 2003.[6]
Bibliography
- The Games Were Coming (1963)
- The Year in San Fernando (1965; revised edition 1970)
- Green Days by the River (1967)
- Tales for Young and Old (1967)
- Sandra Street and Other Stories (1973)
- Cricket in the Road (1973)
- King of the Masquerade (1974)
- Glimpses of Trinidad and Tobago (1974)
- Profile Trinidad (1974)
- Streets of Conflict (1976)
- Folk Tales and Fantasies (1976)
- The Making of Port of Spain (1978)
- All That Glitters (1981) (cited by the author as his favourite)
- Bright Road to El Dorado (1983)
- A Better and Brighter Day (1988)
- The Becket Factor (1990)
- The Golden Quest: The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1992)
- The Chieftain's Carnival and Other Stories (1993)
- In the Heat of the Day (1996)
- Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago (1997)
- High Tide of Intrigue (2001)
- Towns and Villages of Trinidad and Tobago (2001)
Further reading
- Kenneth Ramchand, "Novels of Childhood", in The West Indian Novel and Its Background. London: Faber & Faber, and New York: Barnes & Noble, 1970.
- James Brockway, Books and Bookmen, February 1974.
- World Literature Today, Spring 1997, p. 445.
- Americas, November/December 1997, p. 63.
References
- ^ Tony Simoes Da Silva. "Anthony, Michael". Blackwell Reference Online.
- ^ "Local author examines the history of Toco". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. 21 August 2012.
- ^ "The journey of Michael Anthony". Trinidad and Tobago Express. 27 January 2014.
- ^ "Michael Anthony: Author and Historian". National Library and Information Systems Authority (NALIS).
- ^ "50 most Influential people in Trinidad & Tobago: Michael Anthony" on YouTube, CNC3 Television, 26 August 2012.
- ^ "Michael Anthony Book Launch", NALIS, 2010.
External links
- Raymond Ramcharitar, "Michael Anthony cultivates a subtler kind of fiction", IslandMix, 11-05-2003
- "Michael Anthony", Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Jeremy Poynting, "Michael Anthony", Contemporary Novelists, 2001. Encyclopedia.com
- Carol Brennan, "Michael Anthony", Contemporary Black Biography.
- Shamshu Deen, "Michael Anthony: A Giant Among Us", Trinbagopan.com
- "Michael Anthony: Author and Historian", NALIS, Trinidad and Tobago.
- 1932 births
- Foundrymen
- Living people
- Trinidad and Tobago non-fiction writers
- Trinidad and Tobago novelists
- 20th-century novelists
- Trinidad and Tobago historians
- 20th-century historians
- International Writing Program alumni
- People from Rio Claro-Mayaro Regional Corporation
- Trinidad and Tobago male writers
- Male novelists
- Male journalists
- Trinidad and Tobago poets
- Recipients of the Hummingbird Medal