Two New Certificate Award Ceremonies for Inscriptions in the Memory of the World Regional Register

On 10 July 2026, The University of the West Indies Alma Jordan Library hosted a special ceremony celebrating the inscription of the collection"Earl Lovelace Manuscripts, 1963-1999" in UNESCO's Memory of the World Regional Register for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The inscription of this collection in the Regional Register was approved at the XXV Annual Meeting of MoWLAC, held between 10 and 13 November 2025 in Lima and Cusco, Peru.

During the event, Professor Rosemary Bell Antwine, the Campus Principal of the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine campus, received the certificate, as well as Miss Loveless, daughter of the Trinidadian writer Earl Lovelace.

Earl Lovelace, born in Trinidad and Tobago on July 13, 1935, spent most of his life in the twin-island state pursuing a writing career that resulted in an extensive and distinguished body of work, including novels, short stories, poetry, plays, and essays.

His significant contribution to the development of literature in the Caribbean resulted in no less than 15 awards. Among them are the Chaconia Gold, 1988 (Trinidad and Tobago national award), Commonwealth Writers' Prize (1997), Honorary Doctorate from the University of the West Indies (2002), OCM Bocas LitFest Prize for Caribbean Literature (2012), and CariCon Lifetime Award (2025).

Hodge (2006) states that "by his creative use of the language environment in which he writes, Lovelace has made an unparalleled contribution to the development of the West Indian literary voice." Therefore, scholars are drawn to his work and archive to understand the distinctive narrative techniques that he has created and which Aiyejina (2008) describes as "novelypsos".

His work has generated numerous critical and peer-reviewed publications, dissertations, student projects and discussions.

• More posts on the event can be found here and here.