Humroy Whyte, writing a book the collector’s way

Every aspiring writer has seen the memo “Always have pen and paper handy to make notes”. Humroy Whyte has followed the advice, and he always has paper or a book with him to record his observations and thoughts on life happening around him.

He makes jottings while travelling on the bus, train, or plane — sometimes even during church services, he confessed to The Sunday Gleaner recently. And a couple of years ago, he went further: he collected some of the “jottings” and sent them off to a publisher.

He launched the resulting book, Journey to Discover: A Reflective Collection of Poems, Images & Play Script, at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA) in October. Whyte is a graduate, and he said a lot of college life is reflected in the book.

The journey to publication by Brer Anancy Press in California, USA, might sound easier than it actually was. For one thing, Whyte said his jottings were carefully processed once he got home.

The writing and collecting “never stops, and nothing is thrown away,” he added. Both activities started long ago, before Whyte was 10 years old, at Spring Gardens All-Age.

He was a precocious child, as evidenced by the fact that also starting at that time were his forays into art (as drawing, initially) and music. Now an accomplished painter and musician, he frequently sells his paintings and often sings while playing his guitar at functions. He said he made his first guitar and strung it with a fishing line while at school.

Some of the literary jottings gave birth to the 59 poems and two plays in the 134-page Journey to Discover. Many other pieces of Whyte’s creative writing are not in this book, but there will be other publications.

Also in the book are 37 images of Whyte’s paintings. “Sometimes, but not always, they reflect on the poems,” Whyte said.

Yet, while the multitalented Whyte also has many years of radio experience (having worked for years at two Jamaican radio stations) and was the speech and literary coordinator at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), he is primarily an educator.

In Jamaica, he taught at José Marti Technical High School and Wolmer’s Boys’ High School, and before he retired recently as an educator, he taught in several schools in the United Kingdom (UK). He currently lives there and is the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Platanos Trust Academy.

This online statement about the trust echoes Whyte’s philosophy:”All Platanos Trust schools are unique but share the same vision and values. We have an unshakeable belief in all our pupils, and we believe that attitude determines altitude. We expect all pupils to be aspirational and to achieve beyond their expectations regardless of their background or starting point.”

Whyte, a lay preacher — who studied at the United Theological College for a while — makes a strong connection between his spirituality and creativity. He emailed me this comment from the UK:

“The collection of all the works in the book are birthed from reflective moments of memories in motion, and to be honest, I don’t even [know] how the creative energies come about and manifest themselves. I think that maybe it has to do with how much time I allow to open myself and create enough space and convenience for the vibes to come in and flow.

“And as a writer and musician, I find that I have to always keep flexible, for anything can come to me poetically or musically, and I have to be prepared to turn those thoughts into lyrics and melodies. I don’t know how it works, but it is like I am a servant, and I have been asked to creatively express myself by writing music and poetry, and I obey.”

His next book, he told me, would be his memoir.

“Have you started?”

He laughed. “Long time.”

entertainment@gleanerjm.com