PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo, in extending tribute to Wordsworth McAndrew, has said that the government will pay special tribute to the folklorist during the staging of the tenth Caribbean Festival of Creative Arts (CARIFESTA) this August.

“I express profound sadness at his death and extend deepest sympathies to his family, relatives, friends and to all those who share in his bereavement,” the President said in a statement yesterday.

The President said McAndrew’s passing was ill-timed given the preparations for CARIFESTA, but said “a special homage” will be paid during the festival to the contributions of “this exemplary Guyanese.”

“Wordsworth McAndrew was a trailblazer in the study and understanding of local folklore. Through his explorations of this subject, he helped us to celebrate our common roots. Through his work on oral traditions, literature, music and on radio, he has grounded us in our rich and diverse cultural history,” the President said.

The foundation that he laid in the field of local folklore is of inestimable value; his work timeless, standing not only for his own generation but for all times, the President added.

“For helping to define those common threads that form part of the fabric in which we are all adorned, Wordsworth McAndrew will remain an example for all, showing the importance of folk culture in the quest for national identity and cohesiveness.”