Remarks By: The Minister Of Social Development And Sports The Hon. Sylvan Richards, JP, MP
On The Brian Burland Centre For Research

Good Morning,

Thank you for having me here today for the unveiling of this enlightening video about the Brian Burland Centre for Research, which goes live on YouTube at noon today. 

Brian Burland accomplished so much in his life and was undoubtedly an inspiration to a whole new generation of writers.

Born in 1931, Brian Burland was a novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter. Despite his privileged childhood, Brian took an early and lifelong stand against the entrenched injustices of the time and this commitment is at the heart of his writing.

Mr. Burland’s first novel, A Fall from Aloft,  inspired by a harrowing Atlantic crossing at the height of the Second World War,  brought him to the immediate attention of international literary critics and authors, like British novelist Anthony Burgess, who hailed him as being among the “important writers” of his time.

There followed a twenty-year period of great critical success, with his work being warmly reviewed by prestigious American and British publications. The culmination of this success was his election in 1979 as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature for his body of work which included A Fall from Aloft,  A Few Flowers for St. George,  Undertow,  The Sailor and the Fox,  Surprise,  Stephen Decatur,  the Devil and the Endymion,  The Flight of the Cavalier and Love Is a Durable Fire.

In 1994, Brian was the recipient of the Bermuda Arts Council Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001, he was awarded the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs' Prize for Children's Fiction for his classic tale, St Nicholas and the Tub. On that same occasion, he was also awarded the Founder’s Prize.  In 2007, the Prize for Fiction was renamed the Brian Burland Prize for Fiction.

Two years after Mr. Burland's death in 2010, the Bermuda College became the grateful recipient of his literary papers and artwork, through his daughter and Literary Executor, Dr. Susan Burland. The bequest consisted of over a dozen unpublished novels, hundreds of unpublished poems, different versions of manuscripts, journals, diaries, correspondence, as well over 50 portfolios of artwork. Most of the collection had never been seen, let alone studied.

When the Brian Burland Centre for Research opened in May 2013, it fulfilled its initial  purpose of honouring Brian Burland and showcasing his many works. The Centre's second aim was (and continues to be) to encourage and inspire emerging Bermudian writers.

The Centre has two components – a vault which houses the catalogued papers and artwork of the collection and a Reading Room, where students, scholars and researchers can access the materials.

Since the opening of the Centre, it has become an important feature of the Bermuda College. It has hosted school groups, academics and international visitors to the island. The Centre has also been the home of the Bermudian Literature Course which has introduced students to hands-on research methods, as well as to the works of Brian Burland.

With these early successes, the Centre is poised to progress to the next level by becoming part of the virtual world with this promotional YouTube video.  

The purpose of this video is to educate viewers about the existence and uniqueness of the Brian Burland Centre for Research with its treasure trove of archival materials given to the College by the Burland endowment.

In closing, I would like to thank the Bermuda College for showcasing these amazing literary works which will surely inspire and inform future generations.

Thank you also to the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs for providing funding for the video through their Cultural Legacy Fund which is an initiative of the Department and The Bermuda Arts Council, which aims to give a significant boost to Bermuda’s culture, heritage and arts through strategic, focused investment in the form of financial grants.   

Thank you! 

Here is the link to the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjx7k5-_46I

Group shot above: Folklife Officer at the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Dr. Kim Dismont Robinson, The Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs the Hon. Sylvan Richards JP MP, Bermuda College President Dr. Duranda Greene, Co-Chair of the Brian Burland Collection Committee Dr. Angela Barry, Library Director Robert Masters, Research and Instructional Librarian Lee-Ann Liles.