June 13, 2010, Kaieteur News, Guyana's Wilson Harris receives Knighthood,

June 13, 2010, Kaieteur News, Guyana's Wilson Harris receives Knighthood, 

- listed in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours List

Eighty-nine-year-old Essex-based Guyanese writer, Wilson Harris, has been knighted for his services to literature. The honour was bestowed on him to mark the birthday of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Wilson joins the ranks of other Guyanese who have received similar honours from Britain over the years.
Theodore Wilson Harris was born March 24, 1921 in New Amsterdam. He studied at Queen’s College then became a government surveyor after his studies and then taking up a career as lecturer and writer. The knowledge of the savannas and rain forests he gained during his time as a surveyor has formed the setting for many of his books, with the Guyanese landscape dominating his fiction.

Sir Wilson Harris

Harris went to England in 1959 and published his first novel, Palace of the Peacock in 1960. This was followed by The Far Journey of Oudin, The Whole Armour, The Secret Ladder, Carnival, The Infinite Rehearsal and The Four Banks of the River of Space. His most recent novels are Jonestown, The Dark Jester, The Mask of the Beggar, and his final novel, The Ghost of Memory is possibly.

The two time Guyana Prize winner is the second Guyanese to be honoured by Her Majesty this year. In January, Guyanese Mohamad Rashied received a similar award for services to Community Relations in London.

The 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List included world famed actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, racing ace Michael Coulthard, cricket statisticians Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis and top jockey Tony McCoy.
The Honours list recognises outstanding achievement and service across the whole of the United Kingdom.
Previous honourees from Guyana include Sir Harold Bollers (circa 1960), Sir John Carter (1966), Sir Donald Jackson (1953), Sir Edward Victor Luckhoo (1969) and Sir Joseph Alexander Luckhoo (1963). Sir Lionel Alfred Luckhoo received three awards from Britain: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1962), Knighted in 1966, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George (1969). Sir Shridath Surendranauth Ramphal (circa 1960s), Sir David Rose (1954, 1966 – 2 awards)