Angelo Bissessarsingh

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Angelo Bissessarsingh (born September 29, 1982 in San Fernando , † February 2, 2017 in Siparia ) was a Trinidadian historian, columnist and literary author.

Life

Angelo Bissessarsingh was born on September 29, 1982 as the eldest of three children to Rudolph and Carmen Bissessarsingh. His father was a teacher. Some of his ancestors come from the Varanasi area in India and came to Trinidad in 1867, others have Irish and Franco-Creole roots.

Even as a child, Bissessarsingh was fascinated by relics from the past. After high school, he studied agricultural science at the University of the West Indies . After completing his studies, he worked in the marketing department of the regional ministry ( Ministry of Local Government ) and in 2009 moved to the disaster control department within the ministry.

From 2012 to 2016 Bissessarsingh was a columnist for the Trinidad Guardian ; the contents of his column Back in Times flowed into his 2015 book A Walk Back in Time .

Also in 2015, Bissessarsingh was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In the following two years he managed to publish two books, and he continued to work for the Guardian . His aunt Ann Marie Bissessar, dean of the social sciences faculty at the University of the West Indies, complained that the responsible oncology center in Port of Spain had not been able to get the drugs necessary for Bissessarsingh's treatment for months. In 2016 he was awarded the Hummingbird Medal in gold, the keys to the city of San Fernando and the title “Honorary Distinguished Fellow of The Arts” from the University of Trinidad and Tobago . Bissessarsingh died on February 2, 2017 at the age of 34 at his parents' home.

On the occasion of Bissessarsingh's death, Trinidadian President Anthony Carmona called for his books to be included in the curriculum in schools in the country. The same demand was made by the country's former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar . Former Mayor of San Fernando Kazim Hosein called for a historical museum named after Bissessarsingh to be set up. Posthumously, Bissessarsingh was awarded the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature in 2017 in the Non-Fiction category.

plant

Bissessarsingh's debut work is an inventory of important Trinidadian cemeteries, their history and their historical graves that were still in existence at the time of publication. The following two books are thematically sorted collections of his columns for the Trinidad Guardian . Pancho's Dilemma is a collection of interconnected short stories set in rural Trinidad around 1900. Woodland Shadows appeared posthumously.

Works

  • 2013: Walking with the Ancestors: The Historic Cemeteries of Trinidad . Kairi Heritage, Siparia, ISBN 978-976-8249-03-6 .
  • 2015: A Walk Back in Time: Snapshots of the History of Trinidad & Tobago . Queen Bishop Publishing, Marabella, ISBN 978-976-8255-17-4 .
  • 2016: Virtual Glimpses into the Past . Queen Bishop Publishing, Marabella, ISBN 978-976-95954-1-5 .
  • 2016: Pancho's Dilemma and Other Stories from the Cocoa Fields . Queen Bishop Publishing, Marabella, ISBN 978-976-95954-3-9 .
  • 2017: Woodland Shadows: Stories from the Mythology and Folklore of Trinidad and Tobago . Queen Bishop Publishing, Marabella, ISBN 978-976-96007-1-3 .

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Judy Raymond: Angelo Bissessarsingh: back in times . In: Caribbean Beat . No. 138, March 2016.
  2. ↑ CNC3.co.tt: Angelo Bissessarsingh has died. Accessed January 2, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b Angelo made history in death . In: Trinidad Guardian . 5th February 2017.
  4. ↑ Kim Boodram: 32 to receive national awards . In: Trinidad Express . 29th August 2016.
  5. ↑ UTT.edu.tt: Honorees. Accessed January 2, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Sharlene Rampersad: Museum to replace Angelo's home . In: Trinidad Guardian . 3rd February 2017.
  7. ↑ FineBooksMagazine.com: The 2018 NGC Bocas Lit Festival Coming to the Caribbean in April. Accessed January 2, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Bissessarsingh, Angelo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Trinidadian historian and writer
DATE OF BIRTH 29th September 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH San Fernando , Trinidad and Tobago
DATE OF DEATH 2nd February 2017
Place of death Siparia , Trinidad and Tobago