Kwame McPherson: 2023 Commonwealth Short Story winner ‘knew I was onto something good’

The renowned Jamaican poet, novelist, editor, proofreader, literary coach and book mentor strategist first attained the prestigious win for the Caribbean territory, edging out dozens of others. He then reigned supreme when he won the whole literary enchilada, copping the overall international prize when he emerged as the man with the golden pen and the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story winner, the first ever Jamaican to do so.

Awarded annually for the top unpublished short fiction from any of the Commonwealth member states, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize is arguably the most recognised of all the major international writing competitions and in addition to English, entries can be submitted in over ten languages including Bengali, Samoan, Swahili and Tamil, making it a linguistic cornucopia of cultural inclusivity. For 2023, close to 500 entries were submitted in languages other than English, wherein applicants from some 19 nations wrote on various burning topics including human tracking, family dynamics and illness and a host of other subjects relevant to modern-day living. After whittling down the competition, the top five emerged with two shortlisted writers including McPherson hailing from Jamaica. He would go on to win convincingly.

Wining he said was something he learnt to cultivate later in life, as growing up he was not exactly a Rhode Scholar of a student. Born in the United Kingdom to a Jamaican father, seven-year- old Kwame and his brother came to Jamaica when his parents divorced. He attended Tarrant Primary and later on Calabar High School where he left with just a few subjects. Because the UK offered more opportunities for career advancement, he went back in his 20s and joined the civil service. It was there that he was first commissioned by a friend to do a personalized poem which became such a huge success that soon other friends wanted him to craft similar poems. This gave him the idea to enter poetry competitions. Initially, all he received was feedback as he did not win anything but the constructive criticism proved invaluable and facilitated him honing his talent and over time, quality was a given.

“I said to myself what is it that I love to do that people appreciate and I realised that it was writing. Once I recognised that, I knew I was onto something good and hopefully over time I can make a difference through my work,” McPherson, who earlier this year was in Old Harbour attending UK Link-up lyme, told Old Harbour News in an interview that focused on his journey to where he is now.

A 2007 Poetic Soul winner, McPherson is also a successful contributor to Flame Tree Publishing’s (UK) diverse-writing anthologies and over the years he has won several literary awards for his impressive body of work.

“I just love challenging myself and entering competitions and also expanding my own expertise and skill set. Plus I love telling stories from the perspective of the African diaspora,” he tells of what drive this passion behind his work. “I love to tell a story that people can relate to and I’m inspired by the ability to take people from one state to another through words. Storytelling is in our DNA; we have that gift to inspire and motivate and I enjoy it immensely.”

As a savvy storyteller, McPherson loves to explore a plethora of themes and genres as he found that his knack for creating relatable scenarios that pull in his readers came seamlessly. 

“I love history, especially world history and modern contemporary issues,” he continued. “I write on all genres from sci-fi to romance to western so I don’t limit myself as I love to challenge myself as a writer.”

Writing in itself for him is not challenging in the least as it comes effortlessly which is why he pays it forward by facilitating others who may need a little assistance to unearth their own literary talent.  This is where his book mentorship and coaching skills come into play.

“As a mentor, I do several tasks depending on where the individual is along their writing journey. Some people write but do not know how to get their work out there while others may not be as skilled in terms of patience or direction to sit down and get their thoughts down in a cohesive manner, so I help them through all of this so that in the end what is produced makes sense. And for some, I help them to further flesh out their concept or their story and also sit with some who just have an idea but don’t have the discipline to sit and write it.”

Creating stories came naturally for him but what did not come as easily was opening up about other aspects of his life. That took not only time but a mental paradigm shift and while he is always committed to his craft, lately it is other work that has brought him a new source of accomplishment, especially as it started out so unexpectedly. For some men, expressing thoughts and emotions is a struggle and they would much rather forgo talking about feelings than give voice to thoughts that may make one appear vulnerable. Over the past few years, Kwame in charting his own path has utilized his pen, his pain and his platform to not only share his personal story with audiences near and far but also lend his talent and time to talk with others about things once discussed in seclusion, far from the ears of others. Indeed, McPherson is a man on a mission to revolutionize the way we contemplate mental health and may just have the right formula to challenge stereotypes and stigma about how the Jamaican male should act, think and most importantly, feel.

For a period of time, McPherson battled depression at a level that was debilitating as the walls for him were closing in with no relief in sight. Living abroad in several countries may sound idyllic to many but after a while, the isolation became an issue coupled with financial challenges and everything hit him all at once and hit him hard. At one point he was living in Canada and was struggling financially as banks and businesses were breathing down his neck. Soon it all became overwhelming mentally for him.

Today he shares that understanding his battle with depression not only made him a better person but overall a better human being as he can relate to others, especially men who have their own issues and previously had no one to speak to or confide in.

Black males he said are not socialised to talk about their feelings but are supposed to bury them which is why there are so many unresolved issues in the black community presently as the big elephant in the room is the black man’s mental health …or the lack thereof.
For Kwame, it is time to give voice to the voiceless.

“It is my truth and my journey. You can have your opinion but at the end of the day, I still am going to share my story, whether people like it or not. Many of us don’t take the time to look at the trauma that we encountered throughout our lives and we don’t take the time to reflect on what happened to our ancestors during slavery that was passed on to us throughout the birth canal that we are still paying the price for today,” he contends.

Fortunately for McPherson, during his depression, he was able to visit the Cape Coast Fortress in Ghana and that visit would be the catalyst that facilitated his healing.

“It was whilst I was in the fort that the revelation came to me. The fort itself has a dungeon and you go down that dark dungeon with its single light bulb; the ground is beaten down and smooth from the hundreds of thousands of bodies that stepped on it,” he recounted. “To be in that space where your ancestors were being held leaves you emotionally naked, just as they were naked and vulnerable during their ordeal. They would separate the men from the women. Can you imagine the men seeing their women and children being taken away through the ‘door of no return’? He is shackled and powerless but he cannot cry as he cannot afford to show weakness in front of his enslavers and worse in front of his woman, so he internalized it and to this day we carry that internalized pain in us that we never learned to express.”

His awakening to the significance of slavery’s impact on the generations that followed he said, made him aware of why there were holes in his life that needed to be filled. “It’s like a jigsaw puzzle missing piece that prevents us from understanding ourselves as a people,” he said.

His newfound understanding of self, transitioned into him now working with other men who need a safe space to share their past trauma, free of any form of judgment.

“People have called me in terms of my story of dealing with depression. It is ongoing work in Jamaica. My latest book is ‘My Date with Depression’ and on the back of that book, I opened up a number of doors and been in certain spaces that embrace healing and therapy,” he added. “I did some work with Devon Harrison who was a member of the original bobsled team. He had a forum with ex and serving soldiers in the JDF where I heard these men express what they had been through. That showed me the impact of the book. The more I talk about my story, the more they come to me and open up. It is like they need permission from another male to be able to talk about it.”

Between his new passion and his writing, McPherson is booked and busy. Indeed, to whom much is given, much is expected and he has no problem in doing his part in paying it forward.