Herbert George de Lisser CMG (9 December 1878 – 19 May 1944) was a
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
and author. He has been called "one of the most conspicuous figures in the history of West Indian literature".Michael Hughes, "De Lisser, Herbert G.", ''A Companion to West Indian Literature'', Collins, 1979, pp. 40–42.
Early life
De Lisser was born in
Falmouth, Jamaica
Falmouth ( jam, Falmot) is the chief town and capital of the parish of Trelawny in Jamaica. It is situated on Jamaica's north coast 18 miles east of Montego Bay. It is noted for being one of the Caribbean's best-preserved Georgian towns.
The t ...
Institute of Jamaica
The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), founded in 1879, is the country's most significant cultural, artistic and scientific organisation:Jamaica Daily Gleaner'', of which his father was editor, as a
proofreader
Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication.
Professional
Traditiona ...
, and two years later became a reporter on the '' Jamaica Times''.
In 1903, De Lisser became assistant editor of the ''Gleaner'' and was editor within the year. He wrote several articles for the paper every day.
Literary career
In 1909 he published a collection of essays, ''In Cuba and Jamaica'', and 1912 saw the publication of his second book, ''Twentieth Century Jamaica''. He went on to produce a novel or non-fiction book every year. His first work of fiction, ''Jane: A Story of Jamaica'', is significant for being the first West Indian novel to have a central black character.
Another famous novel of his, ''The White Witch of Rosehall'' (1929), is linked to a legend of a haunting in Jamaica. De Lisser also wrote several plays. In December 1920 he began publishing an annual magazine, ''Planters' Punch''.
Other activities
De Lisser devoted much time and effort to the revival of the Jamaican sugar industry and represented Jamaica at a number of sugar conferences around the world. He was also general secretary of the Jamaica Imperial Association, honorary president of the Jamaica Press Association, and chairman of the
West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...
section of the
Empire Press Union The Commonwealth Press Union (CPU), formerly the Empire Press Union, was an association composed of 750 members in 49 countries, including newspaper groups (with several hundred newspapers), individual newspapers, and news agencies throughout the Co ...
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...
''Jamaica and the Great War'' (1917), Kingston: Gleaner Co. * ''Triumphant Squalitone: A Tropical Extravaganza'' (1917), Kingston: Gleaner Co.
* ''Revenge: A Tale of Old Jamaica'' (1919), Kingston: Gleaner Co.
* ''The White Witch of Rosehall'' (1929), London: E. Benn. (Originally published i ''Planters' Punch''
* ''Under the Sun: A Jamaican Comedy'' (1937), London: E. Benn.
* ''Psyche'' (1952), London: E. Benn.
* ''Morgan's Daughter'' (1953), London: E. Benn.
* ''The Cup and the Lip'' (1956), London: E. Benn.
Arawak Girl'' (1958), Kingston: Pioneer Press.
Footnotes
References
*Obituary, ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...