H.D. Carberry, the Poet-Judge

Many persons are familiar with H.D. Carberry as the author of the poem, Nature.  However, his career in the legal field may not be as well-known. As I wind down our focus on Carberry, here are some facts on the distinguished career of this poet-judge.

• Carberry already had law in his DNA and was the son of Sir John Carberry, a Chief Justice of Jamaica.
• He attended St. Catherine College, Oxford University, and read law at Middle Temple
• Called to the Bar in 1951, he engaged in private practice in Jamaica for a while.
• From 1969-1978, Carberry was Clerk to the Houses of Parliament, and was also a member of the Parliamentary Association.
• H.D. Carberry was appointed Judge of the Jamaican Court of Appeal in 1978, and served in this position for approximately 10 years.

Winston Churchill and the Claude McKay Connection

Thought that I would share this interesting article on Claude McKay from the Jamaica Gleaner, entitled "Empire Turns to Subject".

Nature, by H.D. Carberry

The poem, Nature, is probably the best known poem by H.D. Carberry. For me, the poem brings back many pleasant memories of my primary school days, and reminds me of the beauty of my homeland, Jamaica. Many Jamaican school children had to learn and recite this poem, and perhaps it is still being taught in schools (at least I hope so).

Nature captures so beautifully the tropical paradise that Jamaica is, and speaks of its varied flora, and the way in which rain is experienced there. Enjoy!

Nature

We have neither summer nor winter
neither autumn nor spring.
We have instead the days
when the gold sun shines
on the lush canefields - magnificently.
The days when the rain beats
like bullets on the roofs
and there is no sound
but the swish of water in the gullies
and trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.
Also there are the days
when leaves fade from off guango trees
and the reaped canefields
lie bare and fallow to the sun.
But best of all, there are the days
when the mango and the logwood blossom
When bushes are full of the sound of bees
and the scent of honey.
When the tall grass sways and shivers
to the slightest breath of air.
When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars
and beauty comes suddenly, and the rains have gone.

Beautiful Fern Gully in St. Ann, Jamaica

Dub Poet, Jean Binta Breeze Awarded Order of the British Empire

Congratulations to Jamaican Dub Poet, Jean Binta-Breeze, who was recently made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Jean was the first poet to write and perform dub poetry. Read more about the award in an article from the Jamaica Sunday Gleaner.

H.D. Carberry

In this very sunny (and extremely hot) month of July, Poets of the Caribbean reflects on the life of Jamaican poet, Hugh Doston (H.D.) Carberry. Carberry, famous for his poem Nature, which I will re-print in another post, was actually born on July 12, 1921 in Montreal, Canada. He was the son of Sir John Carbery, a former Jamaican Chief Justice, and Lady Georgina Carberry, and was taken to Jamaica as an infant. He spent the rest of his life in Jamaica.

H.D. Carberry

Carberry attended Decarterett College in Mandeville, and Jamaica College in Kingston. He later read law at Oxford University. H.D. Carberry died in 1989.