DAVID WHYTE

DAVID WHYTE

Poet, Author and lecturer

Short Biography

Poet David Whyte grew up with a strong, imaginative influence from his Irish mother among the hills and valleys of his father’s Yorkshire. He now makes his home, with his family, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.The author of six books of poetry, and two best selling prose books, he holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions in the Andes the Amazon and the Himalaya. He brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures and workshops.His life as a poet has created a readership and listener-ship in three normally mutually exclusive areas, the literate world of readings that most poets inhabit, the psychological and theological worlds of philosophical enquiry and the world of vocation, work and organizational leadership. An Associate Fellow at Templeton College and Said Business School at the University of Oxford, he is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with many European, American and international companies.In organizational settings, using poetry and thoughtful commentary, he illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement; qualities needed if we are to respond to today’s call for increased creativity and adaptability in the workplace. He brings a unique and important contribution to our understanding of the nature of individual and organizational change particularly through his unique perspectives on Conversational Leadership. In addition to his six volumes of poetry, including his latest volume River Flow: New and Selected Poems, David Whyte is the author of The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America, published by Doubleday/Currency, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity, published by Riverhead Books, an audio lecture series and an album of poetry and music. His newest prose book The Three Marriages: Understanding the Essentials of Work, Self and Relationship. Will be published by Penguin Putnam in January of 2009. In spring of 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Neumann College, Pennsylvania