Hamish Whyte was born in Giffnock, Renfrewshire in 1947. He worked as a librarian in Glasgow for many years, and also as a bibliographer. He has edited several anthologies, including Mungo's Tongues: Glasgow Poems 1630-1990  and An Arran Anthology. He runs Mariscat Press and has published the poetry of Gael Turnbull, Edwin Morgan and many others.

His poetry has been published in various Scottish magazines, and his pamphlet Christmasses was published by Vennel Press in 1998. His long poem Window on the Garden was published as a book jointly by Essence Press and Botanics Press in 2006. His vollection, A Bird in the Hand, was published by Shoestring Press in 2008.

He is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Scottish Literature at Glasgow University. He now lives in Edinburgh.