The Poet Speaks
Plantain is honoured to showcase the curated portfolio of Ruby Waithe, a poet whose full body of work came to light only after her passing, when family members uncovered a box filled with her writings.
The collection reveals Ruby as a person of quiet grace and profound literary passion, and delves into a spirit in harmony with nature and the depths of human emotion.
Initially tasked with the curation of her 76 poems, we then embarked on designing a tribute that reflects Ruby's legacy and the values she held dear.
At the heart of the project was a simple question: what holds memory when a person is gone? A colour, a flower, a sound, a gesture? Guided by this idea, we created detailed photographic scans of one of Ruby’s favourite flowers. The pink floral elements woven throughout the book were created from blooms picked by her great-grandson, granddaughter, and son-in-law. We also preserved selections of Ruby’s handwritten and typewritten pages, allowing traces of her creative process and presence to remain within the work itself.
The design was a collaboration with her granddaughter, Teshira, an artist, thus ensuring the resulting book was an homage befitting the family’s vision.
Written correspondence with the acclaimed playwright, theatre historian, and professor at Dartmouth College, Errol Gaston Hill.
Ruby’s poetry and these letters were only discovered by her children after she passed.
Dear Ms. Glaisher,
Here is it.
I would suggest "Letter to a Friend" page 33 or "Two Days" page 29, or the first part of "Epilogue" page 30. However, you may make your choice & I hope you find something suitable.
Ruby A.L. Nobie.
A Collaborative Design Process:
Our team began by considering the following questions: What triggers memories of a person who is no longer with you? A colour, perhaps? An image, a scent, a sound, a place, a movement?
With this in mind, we used created detailed photographic scans of one of Ruby’s favourite flowers.
The flower graces Ruby’s cover against a hand painted background made by her granddaughter, Teshira.
The pink flowers on some of the inside pages are scans of fresh flowers picked by Ruby's great-grandson, granddaughter, and son-in-law.
Inserting some of Ruby's handwritten and typewritten pages was deemed important to help capture the emotion in her work.
