Berkley Wendell Semple on Guyanese Identity and Writing, and the Prize that Honours Both.

WRITERS often say that the best story you can tell is that of your very own, and the Guyana Prize for Literature continues to highlight and pay homage to Guyanese writers telling Guyanese stories. Berkley Wendell Semple is one of the numerous writers awarded in this year’s Guyana Prize, with his book Kipling Plass winning third place in the fiction category. Described as a politically astute coming-of-age novel, Semple’s book is set in Guyana in the turbulent late 1970s, where Kipling ‘Kip’ Plass narrates his and his teenage friends’ struggles for both physical and emotional survival as they contend with the colonial past, racial animosity, and Guyana’s economic hardships. A passionate writer, poet, and advocate for the appreciation of Guyanese literature and the people behind it, Semple says he is committed to continuing to tell the historic stories of Guyana and is urging Guyanese everywhere to read and appreciate the tales that come out of their country.

At the forefront of Semple’s work is his identity as a Guyanese; a sense of identity firmly rooted despite spending most of his life away from the country of his birth. Born in Linden and raised in Mahaica, with family ties in communities like Calcutta in Berbice, Semple is no stranger to life in Guyana’s countryside. Though born in Wismar, Semple’s childhood memories are tied more closely to the countryside than the mining town, an upbringing he believes had a positive impact on who he is as a writer. “My grandparents were farmers; rice farmers and cattle farmers. I’m a country kind of guy. I grew up around the sea, around milking cows with my grandfather, especially my maternal grandfather. It was a kind of ideal life. It certainly made me a better writer,” he said.

His writing, Semple explains, is shaped by those early scenes, by listening to his family, watching their habits, and absorbing the stories told in small homes and farm fields. “I was always outside, observing nature, listening to people, what they said and how they said it. Generations of my family lived closely together. What I write about are their stories and what has been passed down,” he shared.

Semple’s upbringing has inspired a very exciting literary career. He has published four collections of poetry: Lamplight Teller, awarded a 2004 Guyana Prize for Poetry; The Solo Flyer; The Central Station; and Flight and Other Poems, awarded the 2023 Guyana Prize for Literature. He has also edited a book of student poems. His poetry and fiction have appeared in Callaloo, The Hampden-Sydney Review, The Caribbean Writer (for which he was awarded a Daily News Prize for poetry), and many other publications.

Semple left Guyana while still quite young, in 1983, just shy of his fifteenth birthday. Although a deeply shocking experience, Semple was determined to not just hold on to his Guyanese roots but also tell Guyanese stories. “At 14, it was a shock. Everything had to be re-learned. I used to have these awful dreams, nightmares, that I was back home with my grandfather in Guyana. I’d wake up and still be in the US. It took me a long time to adjust.” The cultural disconnect was even more visible at school, as he added. “Nothing made me feel more like a foreigner than going to school in the US. I went to high school there, and it’s an experience I wouldn’t want to repeat.”

Semple adapted, however, even serving several years in the US military. Still, he never let go of his Guyanese self and identity. “By then, I knew how to switch my Guyanese-ness on and off; how to navigate between my American and Guyanese selves.” For Semple, this flexibility was necessary, but never came at the cost of losing himself and all the unique character traits and ideas that make Guyanese who they are. “Guyanese people are more practical and direct. In the US, there’s a lot more coded speech. I had to hold on to certain Guyanese traits because I didn’t want to change completely. There’s value in maintaining that identity; it’s a kind of discipline.”

That discipline extended into his writing. Semple sees no need to centre American life in his work, but is a passionate advocate for the vibrant stories present in Guyana, now and throughout history, that need to be told. All of Semple’s work focuses on the Guyanese experience in one way or another. “I’m proud of all my work, proud of how I’ve treated Guyanese subject matter and identity. There’s nothing in me that wants to describe America. Frankly, I don’t think America needs another writer to describe it.” Instead, he finds deep value in writing about Guyana, its past, its people, its transformations. “It’s worthwhile to write about Guyana the way Roy Heath or Wilson Harris did. Guyana is a worthy subject for any kind of literary endeavour. I’m pretty keen on that,” he added.

He is currently working on the second novel in what he envisions as a trilogy, each book set in a different period of Guyana’s history. “I’m working on a novel now, it’s the middle of a planned trilogy, each book set in a different time period in Guyana. This one is set between the mid-1970s and 1985, and it reflects the politics of the time.” Semple said this period was particularly fascinating to him because of the political awareness that was growing across the country. “I was inspired by how people became politically aware. I was very interested in that period, especially around Walter Rodney.”

While Kipling Plass took him seven years to write, this second novel is moving along much faster. “I’ve developed some skill now. Maybe this one will take three years. I’m practically done.” Alongside the novel, Semple is preparing for the release of his poetry collection Imperial Reach. “It explores how colonial legacies still influence our contemporary lives, how we’ve imbibed some of the old colonial manners.” He says the manuscript is already with his publisher, Peepal Tree Press in the UK, and currently in the editing phase.

Reflecting on his participation in this year’s Guyana Literary Festival, Semple shared that it felt more expansive than previous years. “This year’s Literary Festival felt different, it was more elaborate, and I got to meet many more writers from outside Guyana who are important names in Caribbean literature.” He also appreciated the focus on mentorship and learning. “I attended all the workshops. There was much more depth to the festival this year. I met some of the young writers too, which I really enjoyed.” He added, “I always offer advice to young writers. Some follow up, and I make the time to mentor them. I think there should be a mentorship component built into the Guyana Prize.”

Shifting focus to the Guyana Prize for Literature, Semple believes the Prize can grow, especially in terms of visibility. Reflecting on his experience, he stated that while this year’s prize saw some phenomenal submissions, moving forward he would like to see more works submitted. “I expected more submissions for the Guyana Prize. The more submissions, the better the evaluation process. The organisers need to publicise the prize more and for longer.” Despite winning third place with Kipling Plass, he said he didn’t expect it. “I’ve submitted to the Guyana Prize before. My second, third, and fourth books made the shortlist but didn’t win. So I didn’t know Kipling Plass would win. You can’t really tell.”

Semple, an educational administrator and librarian by profession, is also a PhD candidate at Long Island University. But at his core, he’s still the boy from Mahaica, gathering stories from the past and reshaping them into something new, something lasting. “All my books have been about Guyana. That’s what I do, it’s my sole subject, you might say.” In a literary world so often dominated by voices outside of the region, Berkley Wendell Semple remains grounded in his roots, choosing again and again to tell Guyanese stories, for readers today and for generations to come.