Formerly known as British Honduras, Belize became independent in 1981, and to this day it remains the only English-speaking country in Central and South America. Sir Colville Young was appointed governor-general of Belize by Queen Elizabeth II. He has remained in the post for 22 years to date, and has become a beloved public figure in his home country.

Writer, artist, musician, governor-general

Now 82 years old, Sir Colville was born into a musical family, immersed in the arts and culture. In his private life, he is a writer, composer, and respected linguist, having invested many years into studying Belizean Creole and having graduated with a doctorate in linguistics from the University of York in England in 1974. After returning to Belize, he served as principal at St. Michael’s College, and then as president of the University College of Belize, one of the parent schools of the current University of Belize.

Pataki Full collects seven short stories written by Sir Colville—“The House of Snakes,” “To the New World,” “The Representative,” “Christmas Story,” “Bertie Bullfrog and his Neighbours,” “Sugar,” and “Road Hog”—all set against the backdrop of Belizean society.

Sir Colville is passionate about education, and on his latest trip to Taiwan he made a special visit to Jeemay Elementary School to give copies of the Chinese edition of his book to the students there.

His greatest love

The Chinese edition of Pataki Full is being published by Grimm Press, and Sir Colville even traveled to Taiwan in May, participating in a book launch planned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hosted by David Lin, minister of foreign affairs and the driving force behind the translation.

A “pataki,” explained Sir Colville, is a traditional woven basket that was once commonplace in Belize, but has all but fallen by the wayside today. The reference in the book’s title is not only a mourning of the silent disappearance of such beautiful traditions, but also a reminder to all of us to treasure and preserve what remains.

The seven stories in the collection are all set against a Belizean backdrop, and each has its own lesson. When asked by the press which story was his favorite, Sir Colville smilingly responded that it had been so long since the book first came out (in 1991), that he had all but forgotten them, and he urged the audience to read and discover them for themselves.

Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin, a good friend of Sir Colville’s, added that each of the stories in Pataki Full was like one of Sir Colville’s children, and that “he loves every one of them.”

Sir Colville is not only a governor-general, but also a writer, educator, linguist, and musician, with a particular gift for composition and piano. Here he performs his own composition, “Change,” at his book launch.

A breeze from Belize

Sir Colville explained that these stories can be said to reflect Belizean society, with some harsh realities woven through them to inspire readers to think more deeply. In “Road Hog,” for example, Belize’s colonial past and migrant present figuratively collide as the Belizean protagonist runs his truck into a white British man, killing him. Throughout, the subtext of the story is concerned with ethnic relations in the country and the hope that people can all just get along.

Founder of Grimm Press Hao ­Kuang-tsai also shared his feelings upon reading the first draft of Pataki Full in Chinese. He remarked that reading it felt like a “refreshing Caribbean breeze,” and that he considered the book particularly appropriate for young adult readers. “We encourage our youth to look to the world, and this breeze from Belize has arrived at the perfect time.”

This was Sir Colville’s sixth visit to Taiwan, and while here he took time out to travel to Kao­hsiung’s National Sun Yat-Sen University to visit poet Yu ­Kwang-chung, presenting him with a copy of the Chinese edition of Pataki Full and a CD of Sir Colville’s own compositions. Yu, in return, gifted Sir Colville an English-language collection of his own poems entitled The Night Watchman.