JON WHYTE: Keeper of Place

Extension Activities

1. Jon Whyte loved unusual words. He always had a dictionary nearby. He expanded his own vocabulary and that of others by using uncommon words in conversation as well as in his poems.

Get a dictionary and open it to a random page. Read until you find a word you don’t know and one that intrigues you. Learn its meaning and its pronunciation.  Who would use this word, and in what context? Write a poem or short story that features this word. Use it in conversation and note how people react. Are you comfortable or uncomfortable using unusual words?

2. In Jon Whyte’s poetry, ordinary words are sometimes used in unusual ways. Jon loved to play with words and their meanings. Think of a word that has more than one meaning. Create a short story, poem, or work of visual art that exploits the word’s ambiguity, as Jon did in his story ‘Every One and No One.’ How many different ways can your piece be understood? What is your intent?

3. The title of this exhibit is Jon Whyte: Keeper of Place. Here are two quotes that might help us understand what that means.

“ …I can’t imagine the town without him, just as I could never imagine him living anywhere but Banff. He passionately believed in mountain culture and, both as a poet and as curator of the Heritage Collection of Banff’s Whyte Museum, he helped preserve it.”

 

–Marni Jackson, Globe and Mail
Jan 18, 1992

“He was absolutely the best human resource around for the history of the Bow Valley and places like Lake O’Hara and Skoki. They were special places in his life and he wanted them to be special for other romantics as well.”

 

–Brian Patton, Banff Crag and Canyon
January 15, 1992

Is there someone in your community who fulfills the role of “keeper of place?” Identify one or more people who might fit this description. Invite these people to your class to speak, or work individually or in small groups to interview the people you have identified. In this way, your class could create a portrait of your community through the individuals that know it best.

Jon Whyte: Keeper of Place || Whyte Museum