Martin Wylde Carter was a Guyanese poet and political activist.
15 Facts About Martin Carter
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Widely regarded as the greatest Guyanese poet, and one of the most important poets of the Caribbean region, Carter is best known for his poems of protest, resistance and revolution.
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Martin Carter played an active role in Guyanese politics, particularly in the years leading up Independence in 1966 and those immediately following.
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Martin Carter was famously imprisoned by the British government in Guyana in October 1953 under allegations of "spreading dissension", and again in June 1954 for taking part in a People's Progressive Party procession.
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Martin Carter was born in Georgetown in what was then British Guiana to Victor Emmanuel and Violet Eugene Carter on 7 June 1927.
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On leaving Queen's College, Martin Carter decided not to go to university and, instead, joined the civil service where he worked for the Post Office and then for the Prison Service.
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In 1950 Martin Carter became one of the founding members of the socialist and anti-colonial People's Progressive Party, led by Cheddi Jagan.
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Martin Carter married Phyllis Howard in 1953, and their first child, Keith, was born later that year.
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Martin Carter remained in prison until January 1954, when he was released under orders not to leave Georgetown.
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Martin Carter's second child, Sonia, was born shortly after his release.
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In 1992 Martin Carter took part in a Guyanese Writers Tour, in the UK, with Wilson Harris, Fred D'Aguiar and Grace Nichols.
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In 1993 Martin Carter suffered a stroke and lost the ability to walk and talk.
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Martin Carter died on 13 December 1997, survived by his wife and their four children.
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Martin Carter was buried at the Place of Heroes in the Botanical Gardens in Georgetown, an honour that had previously been reserved for Heads of State.
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At the Live from Lincoln Center jazz concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Danny Glover quoted some lines of Martin Carter's, bringing him to public attention in North America for the first time in the 21st century.