Writer and Audience

Very often the question comes up...who are you writing for? Well not really but it is something that occupies every writer on occasion. I have this bullshit spiel about the varying audiences I write for, extending in some concentric circle outwards and I honestly believe so. I have tried for some time to define my core intended audience and while "Guyanese" pretty much sums it up, there is a far narrower group of people who I ultimately feel part of and thus some sort of voice of. One problematique is that literary writing takes so much work to say so little, as profound as what you have to say might turn out. The following pretty much sums it up the core of my core audience:

"A decade or so ago we graduated from the best high schools in the country at the top of our classes. We did our spell at UG, excelling in our respective fields, winning awards and prizes along the way. Some of us did sojourns abroad, furthering our education and for reasons we cannot fully verbalize, returned home. Here, Guyana, this land that is scorned as wretched and futureless.

We dream and are ambitious, naughty and sometimes devious.

We are managers, public prosecutors and engineers. You can find us at Banks DIH, DDL, government ministries, law firms, the Attorney General’s Chambers. We are decently paid and we are everywhere.

At Latino Bar, Avalanche, Dutch Bottle, Splashmin's and at the Rupununi Rodeo. We have toured Kaieteur Falls and have spent weekends at one or a few of our nature resorts, indulging ourselves sexually. Resting our overtaxed minds, rejuvenating our souls, replenishing our reserve of excuses for remaining here."

There are two things that I hate about that piece of writing. The first is that I didn't write it. The second is that I didn't write it. Because if I did, I would have written it exactly like that, no changes. Anybody who wants to know the audience, read the whole thing over at the Guyana Media Critic Blog.