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HAROLD A. BASCOM

Harold Adolphus Bascom was born 10 November 1951 in Guyana, South America. He is a Guyanese book illustrator, painter, graphic artist, novelist, playwright, and short story writer. Bascom attended three primary schools before he was fifteen: St. Swithins Anglican on Guyana’s West Coast of Demerara; Christianburg Government, in Guyana’s upper Demerara mining town; and Malgre Tout Government, on Guyana’s West bank of Demerara. He attended one high school in Guyana, the West Demerara Secondary, also on the West bank of Demerara, Guyana, South America. At age sixteen he dropped out of high school to become a commercial artist. He struggled, however, to achieve that goal since there were no art schools in Guyana at that time. To compensate, he began seriously teaching himself graphic art and fine art techniques; art history, and art philosophy through books he borrowed from every public library in Georgetown City, the Capital of Guyana. By 1969 he thought his work was good enough for him to secure an art job. So, armed with samples of his work, he approached the art directors of two prominent city agencies for a position as a commercial artist: the Guyana Chronicle newspaper, and the Guyana telephone Exchange that produced an ad-filled directory. Bascom’s portfolio included samples of originally created advertising art, and also samples of his drawing ability in the form of pen and ink illustrations. He chose the Chronicle and became an art assistant to Guyanese singer-composer-arranger Eddie Hooper. One year later Eddie Hooper moved on and Bascom took over as art director for the newspaper. He was 19 years old.

Along with his other duties as a graphic artist for the commercial and editorial departments of the newspaper, Bascom also illustrated the Sunday Chronicles short stories. Soon his signed name on his printed art became known nationally.

In 1972, African American book illustrator and artist, Tom Feeling, came to Guyana and worked with the Guyana Ministry of education as the facilitator of a Government-run supplementary book production program. Of course it needed local writers and book illustrators, so Feeling recruited a group of young artists to be trained in book layout-design, and illustration. Harold Bascom was one of the artists in the pilot program. In 1972, he left the Guyana Chronicle to work along with Tom Feeling at the Materials Production Unit of the Guyana Ministry of Education. By the year 1973 Bascom was granted Public Service Status in the Education Ministry with the newly-created title, Chief Illustrator Artist.

Between 1972 and 1987 Harold Bascom worked with the Guyana Ministry of Education as a book illustrator, art department head/Art Director with the Guyana national Service Publishing Center (a joint venture between the Guyana Ministry of education and the Guyana national Service), graphic arts teacher, and graphics-communications resource instructor/facilitator for school teachers all over the country—after which he left to pursue a full-time career as a theatrical producer, playwright, and stage director. His theatrical career in Georgetown, Guyana, spanned from 1987 to 1996.

It was during his tenure as a graphic arts teacher in the Guyanese mining town of Linden, from 1980 to 1985, that Harold Bascom wrote his first full length play while working on his first novel which he was able to have published in the United Kingdom without him having to leave Guyana. Harold Bascom also taught Graphic Arts at the Burrowes school of Art in Georgetown Guyana, between 1993 and 1996.

In 1996 he migrated to the United States of America and now lives in suburban Metro-Atlanta where he continues to write and paint. Harold A. Bascom has five daughters and two sons. Awards •	1995, The Best Drama award in the Guyana Prize for Literature, 1994, for Two Wrongs. •	1997, The Best Drama award in the Guyana Prize for Literature, 1996, for Makantali. •	2011, The Best Drama award in the Guyana Prize for Literature, 2010, for Blank Document.

Novels •	APATA: The Story of a Reluctant Criminal, London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1986.

Plays •	The Butterline, 1982, his first full-length drama, produced in the Guyanese mining township of Linden, at the Lichas hall, 1983. •	The Barrel, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the National Cultural Center, 1987. •	T.V. Alley, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1988. •	The Visa Wedding, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1989. •	Family Budget, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1989. •	Tessa Real Girl & the Old Fool, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1990. •	Book & Key for Stolen U.S, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1991. •	Crisis Spell, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1991. •	Home for Christmas, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1992. •	Witch-hunt for Harry Barker, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1993. •	Two Wrongs, entered for the Guyana Prize for Literature, 1994. •	Queen O’ De Pack, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1995. •	Cockle House, produced in Georgetown, Guyana at the national Cultural Center, 1996. •	Makantali, entered for the Guyana Prize for Literature, 1996.

Other •	Weathercock in the Cul-de-sac, Global Graffiti (online magazine) 2011.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyanese_literature

http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2011/08/15/playwright-harold-bascom-on-guyana-prize-shortlist/

http://www.demerarawaves.com/index.php/Latest/2011/09/02/dabydeen-wins-fourth-guyana-prize-for-literature-award.html

http://www.amazon.com/Apata-Caribbean-Writers-Harold-Bascom/dp/043598828X

http://books.google.com/books?id=0dt-fCGUBpkC&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197&dq=The+plays+of+harold+A.+Bascom&source=bl&ots=KgGbCXlL8U&sig=t0Q2y-fuVIFyuAWb8gocxstnRJc&hl=en&ei=xydqTuiTHeL00gG5yOHgBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CEsQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=The%20plays%20of%20harold%20A.%20Bascom&f=false

http://globalgraffmag.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/the-weathercock-in-the-cul-de-sac/

http://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news02/ns2050510.htm