It was as a freshman alone in his room a decade ago that Leon Labastide penned his first poem, ‘Alone’. That was the start of a thrilling journey for the poet, who is now the author of four books, with a fifth that has had its launch plans disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Labastide, who resides in the United States, spent the first seven years of his life in his hometown of Wisroc, Linden with his mother, aunts and beloved grandmother. Linden was the perfect place for adventures and Labastide, who is still quite the adventurer, filled his boyhood days with them. Though one for the outdoors, the poet shared that he was always soft-spoken, and it was through open mic poetry nights that he was able to grow and become more outspoken, at least when he took the stage.
Stuck in his dorm room at Nyack College with nothing much to do, Labastide decided to put pen to paper coming up with a piece that spoke about being alone in his room. Up until then, he had never really cared for poetry. Later that same month, Labastide was at the college’s open mic night reciting ‘Alone’ before an audience of college students. He recalled that he was too nervous to notice what his audience thought, but the experience led to many more open mic nights for Labastide, who continued his writing.
He became popular with the poets on campus and together they founded a poetry group called The Hub, that met once every two weeks to focus on creative writing. This initiative, Labastide said, proved to be beneficial for him as he became more confident and more outspoken because of the resourceful people he hung out with, which he described with the metaphor ‘iron sharpens iron’.
Labastide believes that an author should be able to write on any topic to keep his readers informed, especially when it comes to social issues. His work varies from love, to religion and God to politics. He likes to know that a piece written by him can be stimulating enough to create inspiration or conviction in its reader. He has written some 1,500 poems so far, many of which grace the pages of his four books and the remainder being poems that were requested of him for special occasions.
Labastide’s work can be found in his books, Breath of Life, Here Comes the Dreamers: The Journey, Transparency and Pink Cover, Things That Are Important. Here Comes the Dreamers, Transparency also include short stories also. More than 2,300 copies of his books have been sold, he said.
Labastide has just completed his fifth book, We Are One, but its launch, originally set for June in the US and September in Guyana, has been postponed until further notice owing to Covid-19. We Are One is a book of Guyanese poems, he revealed, and his sixth book is already in the works. Research for the books was done between last year September to March during his visit to Guyana. While here, Labastide worked with government officials and the mayor of Linden and said he found the experience inspiring and enriching. He also met numerous persons and took photos; a special one being of him standing alongside the car Forbes Burnham owned when he was Prime Minister. That car is currently in the National Museum. He said a poem came from that experience and he believes not many people know this car exists, so the poem will be a great opportunity for readers to learn of it.
Book six is a collaboration between Labastide and his nursery-school teachers and is aimed at primary school children. There are plans for another volume of this children’s book, which will target kindergarten children and younger.
“My ultimate goal is to inspire others so they can inspire others so they can inspire others – my legacy,” Labastide said.
The advantages of what he does, he said are three-fold: inspiring people, travelling and financial gains. Expounding on financial gains, Labastide posited that with the new trend of reading being digital, he has to cater for such readers as well as those who prefer the old way of a book in their hand. He further added that when one knows how to market a book physically and digitally, the financial gain can be pretty amazing.
But it has not always been rewarding. As an entrepreneur, one has to know to make money every day, Labastide said as there is no set salary to look forward to. He said that when he first started out, he made many mistakes and tried marketing his first three books on his own. It was not until Pink Cover that he realized how vital it was to work with a team. Once he realized this, there was no going back. Added to this is writer’s block, though he said when this happens, he only needs a break of a month or two before he continues.
His biggest supporters are his family and friends. His grandmother is at the top of this list as she was instrumental in his upbringing. It was her dream, Labastide shared, to become a writer, but it never became a reality. Seeing this dream manifested through him is one of her greatest joys. In fact, she holds such a special place in his heart that before publishing any of his books, he sends her a copy. Among his other inspirations are an eclectic mix, Lauryn Hill, A J Seymour, Maya Angelou, Lord Byron, Jay-Z, Tupac and C S Lewis. Labastide said Lewis, famous for The Chronicles of Narnia series, among others, ranks high among his inspirations writing career.
Contracted by Amazon Publishing, Labastide is expected to be working on a new book every three years. At the moment he is also writing a novel titled A Boy Called June Wilson, which is really autobiographical. He said it has been in the works for some time now, but he is unsure when it will be completed.
Outside of writing, Labastide has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and has worked for a number of non-profit organizations.
The poet is the founder of the Guyana Poetry Organization Facebook page, which is run daily by a small public relations team. The page provides a platform for Guyanese writers.
In his limited free time, this poet likes to play basketball or football, go rock or mountain climbing, play video games and collect vintage basketball cards.
Asked about his pet-peeves, Labastide said he does not like indecisiveness when it comes to someone pursuing a dream or a passion, and added that people should always go after what they want.
More information on Labastide can be found on his website, www.leonlabastide.com.
“I dreamt of a place,
where hope waves gracefully.
Where darkness met light.
And they got married, they had a child, and they called her, oh beautiful Guyana.
Where pride for country become heavy on the heavy hearted.
No more discrimination, just social cohesiveness.
No more tears shall fall on your beautiful soil.
We shall only speak words of encouragement.
Because you have given hope to the hopeless.
No nation around this world will speak ill of your offspring. Even time shall stand still to salute you, oh fair lady.”
-An excerpt from Leon Labastide’s poem ‘Independence Day,. Which wull appear in his new book, We Are One.
