Weh Dehn Say? Dehn Say Kapu Sehns Nor Kapu Word
(Knowledge is More Than Mere Words)
bankole@mindspring.com
Friday, April 2, 2010
By: Eustace James Palmer and Abioseh Michael Porter
Publisher: African World Press Inc.
ISBN 1-59221-645-5
This
groundbreaking book Weh Dehn Say? Dehn
Say Kapu Sehns Nor Kapu Word, comprising a vast array of Sierra Leonean
Literature, terminates a perennial indictment that Sierra Leoneans have not been
seriously in pursuit of a literary and artistic tradition. This crucial
appraisal of the works of earlier and burgeoning indigenous writers includes the
work of: Davidson Nicol, Sarif Easmon, Lemuel Johnson, Syl Cheney-Coker and
Alhasan Mansaray. However, the lineup of writers is in no way exhaustive. Their
works are evocative of national pride and dignity, realizing that this tiny West
African nation has made some strides, i.e., contributing its fair share to
literary and cultural milieu of Africa and
world literature. These analyses tunnel at the crossroads of Sierra Leone’s
wonderful and exotic mélange of a rich and very diverse culture, with its
artistic history and destiny.
Although the nation’s literary artists
still trail Nigerians, by a wide gap, who came
to Sierra Leone, then the ‘Athens’ of West Africa, to obtain higher education.
But why should the mantle of change in leadership wedge such dramatic shift? The
advent of Sierra Leone’s
decade-long gruesome civil war served as the catalyst that boosted the nation’s
literary expediency to undergo metamorphosis, if not teetering on the brink of a
renaissance. Increasingly, Sierra Leoneans are becoming more and more vocal.
Finally, our folk are realizing the need to write, and increasingly more
comfortable in expressing themselves through literary means. Naturally, budding,
homegrown writers are emerging at home and around the world. Before, and after
independence, writing and publishing were generally left to foreigners, most of
whom were Nigerians. The nation’s textbooks were written by these authors.
Nigerians really dominated this market. It will take time, sacrifice, with risks
to break this mindset of complacency, in order to reverse this trend.
Scholars like researchers have endured difficulty in locating the paucity of
books written by Sierra Leonean writers, whose work are either out of print or
never went beyond the bare manuscript stage. This comprehensive pioneering
journey oscillates the pendulum of change, by showcasing the work of many Sierra
Leonean writers in this well researched, modest size reference book. Since this
work is in no way complete, hopefully it might serve as the genesis of more
ambitious projects to emerge later. A nation is measured through the prism of
its cultural and socio-political framework, crafted by those who interpret and
preserve it. Serious writers need our support as much as they need our
criticism. The writers with enthralling
voices and startling insights, are overburdened with the urge to tell a
compelling story, without second guessing, and convinced that the risk is worth
taking.
Syl Cheney-Coker is considered ‘Sierra
Leone’s foremost writer and one of
Africa’s major poets.’ His published collections of poetry include
Concerto for an Exile, (1973),
The Graveyard Also Has Teeth, (1980),
and The Blood in the Desert’s Eye
(1990). And his impressive novel The Last
Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar (1990) won the prestigious Commonwealth Writers’
Prize in 1991. Despite nesting this accolade under his belt, he’s barely known
in Sierra Leone: even though
his book became a prescribed text at the
University of
Sierra Leone. Cheney-Coker
is more popular in Nigeria
where he taught creative writing for many years, than in his homeland. He’s
labeled the angry poet, who passionately expressed doom and despair, traced back
to his exile and alienation from his motherland that he loved, but left for so
long. His expression of disgust due to the malaise in his homeland and the
African continent, indicts him as much as it torments his aching soul.
Fearlessly, he questions the heartless masquerade of brutality and tyranny that
African Leaders create. They get filthy rich, while neglecting the toiling and
starving populace. One of Cheney-Coker’s poems; Concerto for an Exile: resonates
squarely to Sierra Leoneans and Argentineans, who have endured the ugliness of a
brutal civil war.
And the guns roared on
in Sierra Leone and Argentina
to plunder the tree of agony
in my soul
Syl Cheney-Coker’s innate passion and intuition, so generously lavished in his
writings, transcends cultural, mental and geographical barriers.
Alhasan Mansaray is a young, promising and gifted writer, worth waiting for. He
stormed the literary world with his debut novel,
A Hunting Heritage – this is a brilliant journey depicting the séance of
story-telling through the eyes of a traditional Griot: his craft is interwoven
with songs that make melody in the heart, mind and soul. He speaks directly to
African immigrants pursuing fleeting greener pastures beyond their homeland,
not to abandon their rich cultural
legacy, later to lose their precious souls.
Like Cheney-Coker, Mansaray’s passion
for writing runs deep; unlike a fleeting
writer with a selfish motivation to
write. The Father of African Literature, Chinua Achebe describes Mansaray’s
intriguing novel as the Sierra Leonean version of
Things Fall Apart.
Mansaray met a fine African American
poet, Willie James King, while passing through Alabama. He must have been amused by King, as
he directed me toward Willie James King, when I first made contact with him.
King’s glowing guiding light influenced my craft as well as a renewed passion
for writing. Writers need peers to share and critique each other’s work, to
produce a seasoned manuscript. I believe Mansaray would publish again, hopefully
a blockbuster work of art that compensates for his momentary absence and
silence.
Injustice would be done not to mention the nation’s visionary and brilliant
playwrights: including Yulisa Maddy, Toni French, Dele Charley, John Kolosa
Kargbo and Clifford Garber who like flies on the wall were motivated by the
nation’s endemic ills especially its political enigma by fanning the flames of
consciousness and awareness through their plays: even at the expense of their
safety and freedom. The contributions of entertainers like Ebenezer Calendar,
Salia and S.E. Rogers to Sierra Leone’s multi-faceted
cultural heritage should not be underestimated.
Eustace Palmer and Abioseh Porter have
crafted a brilliant page-turner, which scholars, researchers, or anyone
searching for Sierra Leonean Literature; or those seeking to tap the genius of
its artists and writers might appreciate
Knowledge is More Than Mere Words. This treasure is a priceless addition to
any library. I find it to be smooth, enjoyable and irresistible read. This is a
book I would return to again and again. I am almost certain that every reader of
this fine book will luxuriate in its varied, and much needed revelations. I
strongly recommend this book to everyone.
####
Roland Bankole Marke © 2010
Roland Bankole Marke
is a Sierra Leonean writer, poet and songwriter with 3 books under his belt: and
a catalogue of articles, short stories and poetry published around the world. He
lives and writes in Jacksonville, Florida.
Visit his website on www.rolandmarke.com
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