Jan Carew

This is the first volume of Jan Carew’s memoirs. In naming this first volume ‘Potaro Dreams’, Carew draws a parallel between Guyana’s Potaro River – which is an essential river in what the Amerindians called “the land of many rivers” – and the shaping of his young life.

Born in 1920 in the village of Agricola Rome, Carew’s engaging memoir takes the reader from his near-death experience with malaria, into his village life in Agricola and Mocha, a brief turn in New York when his youngest sister was kidnapped, and his family’s return to British Guiana and New Amsterdam. After years of recurring bouts with malaria and being forced to spend much of his time in bed, he overcomes these early years by a thirst for reading and an alert mind that blooms with the encouragement of remarkable teachers at Berbice High School.

Throughout, the reader sees the formation of Jan Carew’s young mind and character at the hands of various adults along the way.

This volume ends in 1939 when the Second World War draws him, his best friends, and fellow students into joining the British armed forces.

• 216 x 138
• 132 pages
• Paperback