Veteran T&T journalist Keith Smith dies at age 65

Veteran Journalist Keith Smith died Tuesday morning. He was 65 and had been suffering from cancer. His condition deteriorated severely over the past two weeks.

Smith was a brilliant and gifted writer who was considered one of the best this nation has known. He retired as Express Editor-at-Large on his 65th birthday last November 20.

Smith's career as a journalist spanned more than four decades. The Keith Smith Column, in the Express newspaper, made him a household name.

He was a lifelong resident of Laventille, a community which he loved and about which he wrote with great passion.

Friends and colleagues are mourning his passing.

Express Features Editor Deborah John said "one of his proudest moments was when he was invited to read his column 'Under the Trees' at Hotel Normandie."

Journalist Ken Ali said Smith played a major role in reflecting and recording the modern Trinidad and Tobago society.

"He was an incisive thinker, penetrative analyst and a conscientious national and was blessed with a crafty writing skill, all of which he utilised to explore and review post-independence T&T.

"Throughout his lengthy career, he remained the salt of the earth, steadfastly capturing the spirit and soul of our nation and consistently inspiring us to reach for higher and better.

"Keith Smith was one of the most important and relevant journalists of our generation. He influenced many media practitioners, including me," Ali wrote in a tribute.