Contemporary Guyanese Literature (Part IV)
(EXTRACT of an interview with Berkley Semple on contemporary Guyanese Literature and the Guyana Prize for Literature, Georgetown, Guyana, August 22, 2011. Semple is a poet and librarian; he studied at City University of New York, and currently lives in Queens, NY.
He won the Guyana Prize in 2004 for Best First Book of Poetry with ‘Lamplight Teller’. In 2006, his book, ‘The Solo Flyer’ was shortlisted, and for the 2010-edition of The Prize, his most recent collection of poems, ‘The Central Station’ was also shortlisted.)

PP: A writer writes for various reasons; sometimes for very personal reasons. But after writing for a period of time, some of those reasons for writing may change; may undergo some changes, because while writing and publishing, you will get responses. So, the writing; the tone; the reasons for writing may shift; the parameters for writing may shift.
How do you measure — apart from winning the Guyana Prize for Literature and other prizes — how do you measure the impact of your writing?
BS: That’s a very good question. For the most part, I don’t really have a good sense of a readership of my work in book form. Most of my poems are published in individual forms in Caribbean journals, especially in the Caribbean Writer, and I have a good sense of what readers think of them from what is said on the Internet. I don’t have a real sense of a common-reader response to any of my books. Some people have said some nice things about ‘Lamplight Teller’ and ‘Solo Flyer’… especially about ‘Solo Flyer’, but I don’t really have a strong sense of my readers outside of academic circles; I suspect that the people who read my books are probably intellectuals like yourself…
PP: Thank you…
BS: So I don’t have a strong sense of readership. There are many reasons for this: My books are not publicised adequately. I had a somewhat better response when I won the Guyana Prize; it allowed some amount of visibility. It was very nice and surprising; I was very happy with the award. And you know, the critical response to the poems in ‘Lamplight’, spurred me to write more, encouraged me. The Guyana Prize was a good thing for me.
PP: Let’s see if we could put our finger on this sore issue. Apart from the brief period of visibility when you won the prize in 2004, there was little to show for your work. But before we blame the system: Is it possible that we could have done something on our own to showcase, to market our work a bit more?
BS: Well, that’s another good question. It’s the writer’s responsibility to try as much as he can to publicise his work. I do some readings in the US, especially in the public libraries where I have some clout. You know, I have some friends in the public library system in New York, and the publisher would set up small readings in New York, so I would sign some copies. But you know, I am shy about being always in front of mikes and cameras talking about my work; I get very self-conscious, but I do a fair amount of readings to promote the books. Yes, it is definitely my responsibility, some of it, to promote the books. And I wish I could do more of it in Guyana.
PP: I will try to help you in this area.
BS: Thank you. I must say what you’re doing is a fantastic job; with your television programmes and newspaper columns [promoting Guyanese literature].
PP: Home: The place you return to whenever you’re in Guyana. Mahaicony is the place to return to whenever you’re in Guyana, but you were born in Linden.
BS: I grew up in Wismar, a place called ‘One-Mile’. I came to Mahaicony when I was about eleven or so. I love the country; I actually have very little memory of Wismar. I am a country boy.
PP: Why I raised this is because I want to get at the response from the people there who are aware that you are a writer; a poet who has published three books, and who has won a major literary prize.
BS: They are very proud of me in the country; when I won the Guyana Prize, they put on something …
PP: A soiree!
BS: Yes, a soiree; a nice party where I didn’t foot the bill. I did some readings there. The elders of the village — Calcutta, a very small village — let me talk for a bit. I was given nice gifts.  They were really proud of me; I felt it, and the feeling was good…
PP: Your first book, ‘Lamplight Teller’, is about remembrance; about the country; about Calcutta in Mahaicony. A pretty good read; good enough for the judges to give the nod in 2004. Now you’re here with another collection, ‘The Central Station’, which, as we speak, is on the shortlist for the Guyana Prize 2010 which is to be awarded in another few days [September 1, 2011]. From the title, is ‘The Central Station’ the central station from where you have moved …to other places?
BS: ‘The Central Station’ is more like the place where you always return to.   There is a line from a Martin Carter poem where he says something to this effect: ‘A root would venture far for the tree it feeds.’ So, no matter how far you go away from your place of birth, you have this magnetic or intrinsic pull to that nascent place. So I have this very strong sense of my ‘Guyanese-ness’. So, ‘The Central Station’, for me, is Mahaicony. So, no matter how far I go, I always return to that place.
PP: Obviously, there is more to Mahaicony — your Central Station — than a few words. It inspired a whole book! A book shortlisted for a prize; a book with the potential to win The Prize [the Guyana Prize was awarded on September 1; this interview was done a few days before that award ceremony].
BS: All my happiest moments were in Mahaicony; all my people were there — my grandparents, my great uncles and aunts… Most of them were teachers…
PP: Any writers in the family?
BS: Patrick McKenzie, a former Minister of Agriculture in Guyana, is a close cousin of mine, and I have been reading his memoir, ‘Strength of my Spirit’, recently. He is a good, attentive prose writer. So I have writers in the family, but my people are mostly readers, consumers of books. My maternal grandfather, Jacob McKenzie, was a prolific reader of historic things, who used to memorise all kinds of poetry and recite them; even long passages of Shakespeare. That was certainly my point of departure. I was a hungry reader before I started writing. I like the sound of words; the tone and rhythm and cadence.
PP: Apart from the country, what other factors influenced your writing? This question is based on what I said in my opening statement: That due to responses, your writing; the parameters of your writing may shift from time to time. Let’s focus on some of the factors influencing this collection, ‘Central Station’.
BS: I am aware of what is called ‘exile writing’ that sometimes proliferates…
PP: You can’t get away from that…
BS: Yes, I know…
PP: You cannot get away from it: Writing from a distance. There are various reasons, and some very good ones, for that.
BS: You are right; it is very difficult to depart from that. But for ‘Central Station’, I tried not to write as if I’m away; as if I’m in foreign.
PP: How were you able to do that? I’m intrigued; this is intriguing! How were you able to do that? And was the reader able to see this technique?
BS: No, I don’t think so. I was very ambitious to ensure that was not the case. I set all the poems within Guyana or Mahaicony; the ‘Central Station’. A certain authenticity was predicate, you know; with the language and the situations and the subject matter. And I had to be careful not to be too clinical or overly dispassionate, unless this was the intent. The point of view; the perspective had to be one of here rather than elsewhere. It was a difficult thing, because some of the poems I wrote, I found I was speaking as if I was an outsider; in elsewhere. Corrections had to be made. I have never written about the US. All the books I’ve written were essentially Guyanese: Guyanese themes, Guyanese topics. So it was essential that I maintain that role throughout this collection.
PP: I must pose this question to Fred D’Aguiar; he grew up in Mahaicony in a place called Airy Hall.
BS: I suspect Fred may have more to add to the issue; he’s more a cosmopolitan person — London, Guyana, New York, Virginia. And a teacher, to booth [lectures in English at Virginia Tech, USA]!
You know the old adage: The further away you are from the place of birth, the less you want to return? I return virtually every year. But yes! It does affect you in a way you don’t want it to, but it does.
PP: Will you write about America?
BS: Yes. In fact, I am actually writing a long poem; a book-length poem. It is called ‘In Transit’.
PP: Curious title.
BS: Yes. I am a prolific traveller within the US and further afield, and this new book is about a journey… Travelling influences who I am, and how I write.
PP: Good luck with your new book, ‘In Transit’.
BS: Thank you.

WHAT’S HAPPENING:
•    THE JOURNEY: An Evening of Literature (Part XIII) is coming your way soon.
•    Let’s welcome another new book: ‘Teachers and Students’, a book of short-stories by Madan M. Gopal; and another new journal: ‘Cleo’, a publication of the Guyana Institute of Historical Research.
(To respond to this author, either call him on (592) 226-0065 or send him an email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com)