As an ironist and a satirist, Ray Guy is nationally recognized; he is a recipient of the National Newspaper Award and the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.
I was too young during the Smallwood era to appreciate his writing. His biting satire was often trained on Premier Joey Smallwood and his government, but Mr. Guy was also known for his humourous essays on Newfoundland outport life.
One of his best-known collections, “That Far Greater Bay,” has just been republished by Flanker Press.
As I’m recently reminded, it’s never too late to enjoy a skilled satirist – especially one often mentioned in the same breath as the great Irish polemicist Jonathan Swift.
Just about anyone can be funny. But to make weapons out of words and ideas – to hone them at will to lacerate, knick, or tickle -- takes an altogether distinct gift. “That Far Greater Bay” shows Ray Guy at the height of his powers, and they show that even the subtlest touch can lay bare even the most uncomfortable and unattractive truths; truths about the way we think and the way we live at our silliest and most contemptible.
Like the aforementioned Swift, we studied Ray Guy in university; we deconstructed his writings – tried to disassemble them to understand what made them work so well and so devastatingly; we analyzed his writing to get at the humanism at its core. It was not a simple task.
Lethal satire and irony contains a lot of small working parts. Plus, it has a scatter effect – the ability to inflict specific damage on other than just the direct target – over which the writer has complete control.
Ray Guy’s favourite targets were education, the church, politics – and unquestioning mass tendency to follow and obey the respective official lines and messages of all three.
It might be tempting to view Ray Guy’s writings – and irony and satire generally – as manifest of the last great literate age when well-written ideas had the power to actually inspire and move people; however, this would be a mistake.
True, “That Far Greater Bay” shines a revealing light on another time – when, for instance, teacher violence against children was normal, even condoned (his essay “A Spirit of Wisdom and Grace” is disturbing in light of current mores regarding school violence). Yet, and even with the movement away from pen-on-paper (or finger on typewriter) toward electronic media and expressing ourselves via tweets and Facebook and blog updates, our age is still very literate – just in a different way.
Now that the power of the market economy has taken over education, religion, politics and ethics – we need satirists like Ray Guy more than ever – and urgently. Luckily, we still have him. And he merits and commands our attention more than ever.
Start with “That Far Greater Bay” or whichever book by Ray Guy you choose. But read him – and listen to him. Ask for “That Far Greater Bay” at your public library.
