Hi FN, I admired Peter Nazareth for taking a stand on racism. Prior to going to Yales on a scholarship, he had interviewed at Leeds U where the English prof rudely dismissed him “as not good enough.”
In the US he focused on African American literature to the exclusion of white writers. He was proud of being both a critic and a creative writer. His early work of literary criticism dealt with Ismael Reed and the novels of trickster syndrome, the trickster being one of the four archetypes. At the international writing school, he encouraged and supported the Third World writers. Despite racism the US remains the best country for a writer to live in, work and prosper. Ben On May 25, 2026 at 6:25 AM -0400, 'Selma Carvalho' via The Goa Book Club <[email protected]>, wrote: > I remember Peter well during his active years on Goan fora. He was a true > icon of Ugandan-Goan literature. I think his books are largely out-of-print, > which is a shame because quite frankly he should be studied as one would > study an Orwell for political writing. > > Rest in peace, Peter. Those of us who knew you, albeit online, and your work > owe you a debt of gratitude. > > Selma Carvalho > Author of Guts, Glory & Empire: The Epic Story of Goans in Zanzibar, > 1865-1910 published by Speaking Tiger. For anywhere in the world Dogears. > > > > > On Monday, 25 May 2026 at 04:18:20 BST, Frederick Noronha > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > <1.png> > > Prof. Peter Nazareth, whose work I admired from my college days four decades > back, passed away on May 22, 2026, his friend and the editor of a festschrift > dedicated to him, Steve G. Ellerhoff, informed. > > With his impressive anthology [Goan Literature: A Modern Reader. Journal of > South Asian Literature. Vol. 18, No. 1, Winter, Spring 1983, Asian Studies > Center, Michigan State University] he convinced quite a few Eng Litt students > of our generation that Goan writing (in English and in translation) offered a > wide, impressive if still under-recognised field for study. Those who read > the anthology were amazed to see the breadth of the work he had collated, in > days when the Internet was a decade away, and communication was still by > air-mail and typewriter. He did this work with the assistance of an > Afro-American student, Joseph K. Henry. > > He was generous with his mentoring, always encouraging and supportive, and > took every opportunity to review a deserving Goa book in prominent journals > like World Literature Today. Even if it was modestly self-published (in the > Goa of the 1990s), but read well. > > Peter, who was close to 85, worked till 2021, and retired after even managing > for a year into the pandemic. He is still remembered as a prominent Ugandan > writer, and often mentioned in the context of Makerere University (once > called the "Harvard of Africa") and Uganda as a whole. His contribution to > the International Writing Programme of the University of Iowa, where he was > Professor of English, has often been acknowledged. > > His statistician-brother John Nazareth (and me, to a lesser degree) failed to > convince Peter to visit Goa. This was a place where he had a small if > well-informed fan following, thanks to his writing, reviewing and editing > work on this region. An earlier generation of the Nazareths had migrated to > Malaya, Uganda, and then, his family went on to the US, departing from Idi > Amin's Uganda. > > His roots were in the Bardez village of Moira. > > Ever grateful for his kindness in being so ready to share his knowledge, his > politeness when explaining any point, and his repeated egging on those junior > to him with generous encouragement. > > Peter will be warmly remembered. FN > > PS: The attached e-copy of the festschrift gives an insight into the man > Peter was, and how he was known to writers from across the globe. > > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > _/ Frederick Noronha फ्रेडरिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا > _/ AUDIO https://archive.org/details/@fredericknoronha > _/ http://goa1556.in +91-9822122436 784 Saligao Goa > _/ Goanet :: 30 years of discussions. [email protected] > _/ http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/ > _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > -- > *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Goa Book Club" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CA%2Bmqab858LsmN-CiDtJOuG%3Ds4EBf0C8A0dHbKiy5aCu3jeQ82A%40mail.gmail.com. > -- > *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Goa Book Club" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/1322545154.7843415.1779680981181%40mail.yahoo.com. -- *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. 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