An interview with best-selling author E.R. Braithwaite

By Petamber Persaud

E.R. Braithwaite

Extract of an interview with Guyanese centenarian E. R. Braithwaite, who visited Guyana in August 2012. Braithwaite is the author of several books, including the world renowned “To Sir with Love” (1959), which was made into a movie of the same name; “Paid Servant” (1962), “A Kind of Homecoming” (1962), and “Honorary White” (1975).
During his visit, Braithwaite was bestowed with the Cacique Crown of Honour, and a Guyanese stage version of “To Sir with Love”, produced by the National Library, was performed in his honour to a capacity crowd at the National Cultural Centre.

PP    What were some of the factors that influenced or drove you towards a writing career?
ERB    I don’t quite recall but I did love reading. And at some point I said to myself I can do that. Therefore I started to write from within myself about the things I knew and understood. So that’s how my first book came about.
PP    It is said to write well, one must also be well-read. What were some of the literature material you were reading at that time?
ERB    Well, I read all the literature I could afford. And that I found in the public library. I read books by Daniel Defoe …I read Robin Hood; I read anything I could get my hand on that was inexpensive.  That was my primary source of books – the public library.
PP    What other source or sources were available in getting books?
ERB    There were bookshops; people were selling books but the books were too expensive for me; I couldn’t afford any of them.
PP    Let’s look at your formative years in Guyana. Who were some of the people with whom you associated? Especially mention some of those who were avid readers.
ERB    There was Cecil Cunha. There were many, many…names of people I can’t readily remember now. But we would read books, discuss them, and mention them to one another. If there was a particular book that I enjoyed, I would mention it to Cecil Cunha and he in turn would mention it to another. So there was a run on the books in the library; we would keep the librarians busy.
PP    Beautiful! That’s a great way to read. After consuming the book individually, you came together as a group to discuss the book. What you and your colleagues have done was to build a social space to share ideas.   So now we could pinpoint at least one factor leading you to a writing career – reading. There were other factors of course….
ERB    Yes, I remember my headmaster. His name was Richard Persico….
PP    Of which school?
ERB    Of St Ambrose. He spoke of books so lovingly. He spoke of books as if there were personal friends.
PP    This brings to mind a poem by John Agard, “Books make good pets”…go on.
ERB    Yes, he spoke of books and reading in a way that made me long to become familiar with books.
PP    Hats off to teachers with the interest and insight to guide students into the kingdom of books and the joys of reading. Later we could talk about books that made a difference in the world. Let’s move on to your first book, “To Sir with Love”, how did that book come about?
ERB    That came about in a rather humdrum way.
PP    Humph!
ERB    I was at home one day doing nothing. I had read a book about which I had mixed feelings. And I expressed myself vehemently…and I think it was my landlady who said “why complain? Could you do better?” and I said “why not?” It was afterwards that I thought about my answer: “why not?”
PP    And I supposed it kept haunting you?
ERB    Yes, until one day I got some notepaper and I sat down and wrote about the things that mattered to me. And when I was finished, I said to my landlady, “I have written a book!” Her response was “why show me? Do something about it.” I wrapped it up and took it to a publisher, who told me, very courteously, to leave it there and someone will read it. So I left it on the counter and went home.
PP    Encounters with publishing – this should be interesting….
ERB    When this man called to tell me they liked what I had written and will be publishing it, I was overwhelmed.
PP    That was your first effort?
ERB    That was my first effort – “To Sir with Love”.
PP    You were overwhelmed with the news that the book will be published, but how did you feel after the writing, after getting out of your system the things that were bothering you? You have finally gotten out what you wanted to say in a way that you wanted it to be said and felt, how did you feel?
ERB    I still don’t know. There was no sense of achievement. It was an initial effort. I didn’t know how it felt to be an author. I wasn’t convinced that I was an author. I didn’t know what a publisher was looking for.
PP    Let’s now turn to the subject matter of the book – classroom dynamics.  Your first job after being turned away again and again – a man with a bundle of academic qualifications, a scientist and a man with a background in the military, the Royal Air Force.  So let’s now look at how the book evolved.
ERB    The feeling of writing had nothing to do with being in the classroom. The feeling of wanting to be a writer or writing something of consequence was there for a long time. It is difficult to explain…. (To be continued)
Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com

What’s happening:
• The current issue of The Guyana Annual magazine is dedicated to
E. R. Braithwaite author of “To Sir with Love”. Tributes, reviews of his publications, and related articles are invited for possible inclusion in the magazine.  You may also submit poems, short stories and articles of interest. For further information, please contact me at the above telephone number or/and email address.
•    My book, “The Balgobin Saga”, was used to produce a fourteen-minute docudrama, “The Legend of Balgobin”. This docudrama was produced by the Centre for Communication Studies, University of Guyana. Copies of the film are available at the centre; copies of the book are available from Austin’s Book Service.
To be continued