Hunting Back On The Route Of The Literary Arts In Sierra Leone
To start off analyzing the subject matter needs defining and being familiar with the crucial terms. Of study course the phrase “looking back again” indicates recollecting and reflecting on what has long gone on in the previous and in our precise case this is confined to what has long gone on in the previous of the literary arts scene in Sierra Leone which is the previous British colony in the West coastline of Africa, surrounded by Guinea, Conakry and Liberia which grew to become independent on 27th April 1961.
The term “Art” in The Oxford Dictionaries has been outlined as follows:
1. The generation of a little something beautiful, or the talent and skill in this kind of operate.
2. Works these types of as paintings, sculptures manufactured by ability. Inventive activities such as paintings, theatre and story or poetry writings.
3. Talent utilized to design and style, illustration or imaginative development.
4. The acutely aware use of competent creativity in particular in the creation of aesthetic objects.
These then advise that the broad gamut of artwork addresses music, cinema, images, portray, theatre, dance, literature and architecture.
This write-up, for causes of room, has been limited to the literary arts. I will as the predicament demands be creating passing references to other facets of the arts as we go along.
Literature by itself is a central artwork. It is of training course the finer product of theatre and in some cases of dance, extra so ballet. It is also associated to individuals doing arts in the feeling that it also recaptures the remarkable representation of action or slices of existence, albeit as a result of the prepared method. But depending on the ability of the presentation these kinds of illustration resonates with everyday living practically as if it were being a dramatic recreation or even the really serious problem by itself. It also captures what the visible arts capture through not the brush of a painter or the camera of the photographer but via its presentation through a carefully selected organized sequence of words, which convey a vivid and exact impression of that photograph.
Through words then, a literary writer recaptures the visible images of a painter or photographer in the composed manner. Through the reader’s techniques in unraveling the mental photos, unveiling of the symbols concealed guiding language by way of mental images, he receives the visual illustration of fact that words and phrases have. The rhythm is most popular in poetry, specially in drama. This must not suggest that rhythm could not be observed in novels and quick tales. We all know how deep an ingredient, songs and dance is in African drama which the late Dele Charley, John Kolosa Kargbo, Yulisa Amadu Maddy, Raymond De Souza-George and Charley Haffner, typically exemplify in their performances.
I intend to glance at the literary scene as it was before independence in 1961. Literature was then noticed mostly by the medium of newspapers of which the well known Sierra Leone Weekly Information was the most well known. It was pretty much like a literary journal, even though printed in the kind of a newspaper. Sawyer’s Bookshop at Water Avenue also performed a important function as not only creating wide options of literary will work from the Western planet offered, but in also publishing tiny pamphlets and very little books from time to time.
At that time clubs flourished and numerous of them experienced literary routines as section of their application. Clubs like the Metropolis Literary Institute and Greenfield Club organized lectures and dramatic reveals. The Greenfield Club was aimed notably at advertising literary actions. The Eccentric Culture (a Multiracial team) structured periodic “head-uplifting concert events. Even so numerous of these golf equipment were brief lived. According to historic analysts this was because of to the greater part of Krios missing fascination in self-enhancement and disunity in the ranks of the upper level of Freetown culture. This was confined to a couple hundred people from whose ranks lots of of the other golf equipment drew their membership. With this type of near-knitted modern society, personal disagreements were easily brought into these societies therefore disrupting their harmony and triggering their crack up.
It could then be deduced that literary activities then were a lot more or fewer of an tutorial and philosophical or spiritual nature. Rarely have been genuine literary initiatives shown. These types of a circumstance was transferred to the manufacturing of books. A lot of of the books have been more of textbooks or dissertations. One particular of the very first composed operates by a Sierra Leonean in 1865 reflected this concern. It was the work of the medico James Africanus Horton on West African Political Overall economy of British West Africa. His second e book a few several years later on in 1868 was West African Nations around the world and Folks, British and Native. This was like many of the other works printed in London. There is also A.B.C. Sibthorpe’s monumental historical function on Freetown.
Number of innovative is effective throughout this time period were being made by creative writers like Adelaide Casely-Hayford and Gladys Casely-Hayford. Gladys Casely-Hayford was potentially the best-regarded from this time period. Some of her poems and stories have appeared in American and British publications and are nevertheless been included in latest anthologies compiled in the West. A person of her poems which she revealed in a small book of poetry, Get Am So in Freetown in 1948 is prepared in the country’s lingua franca, krio.
The Educationist Mrs. Adelaide Casely-Hayford (nee Smith) wrote stories adhering to the traditions of Ghanaian writers like Efua Sutherland and Ama Ata Aidoo. The most common of these is “Mister Courifer” which is component of Paul Geoffrey Edward’s anthology for educational facilities which was greatly used in Freetown colleges in the early 60s.,West African Narrative This worry for tradition is even found in her do the job in the educational discipline. In accordance to historian, Akintola Wyse, immediately after finding out in England and Germany and returning household she was so appalled by the process of schooling for females that she devoted her full lifetime to introducing a procedure that gave an essential put to African customs, arts and crafts amongst some others.
Yet another poet printed for the duration of that period was Crispin George whose collection of poems titled Treasured Gems was printed by a perfectly recognised vanity publishing outlet, Arthur Stockwell in 1952.
A most essential identify in Sierra Leone Literature is the broadcaster Thomas Decker. His great importance is not only mainly because he spans both of those the colonial and independence intervals, but mainly because his pioneering get the job done in propagating the wider use of Krio for literary uses was what created the flowering of Krio plays intensified by Dele Charley, Raymond De Souza George, Esther Taylor-Pearce, Lawrence Kweku-Woode amongst a lot of others. He is observed as the principal poet in Krio on to the mid 50’s. Some of them ended up posted in the mid 60’s in the Sierra Leone Language Evaluate and Sierra Leone Scientific tests. He also came out with Krio adaptations of Shakespeare’s performs like Julius Caesar.
It is tricky to account for all of the inventive is effective revealed then as many appeared in different media, newspapers, journals and journals locally as well as abroad.
Abioseh Nicol’s limited stories experienced attained renown internationally, showing up in British Literary journals and anthologies. Some of these fashioned component of his two well known shorter story collections Two African Tales and The Definitely Married Lady and other Stories all posted by Cambridge College Press.
This colonial period of time was marked by small publication of innovative works in reserve form. But with the onset of independence and the publication of Robert Wellesley Cole’s autobiographical operate Kossoh City Boy by Cambridge College Press more will work in e book sort have been revealed.
The plays of Raymond Sarif Easmon. Dear Parent and Ogre, The New Patriot and his novel The Burnt Out Marriage profited from this.
Dr. William Conton’s perform, The African was a breakthrough for the Sierra Leone novel. It was virtually like our individual. Matters Drop Aside. Like Points Slide Aside, The African was first printed in London. American editions appeared the identical 12 months. It was printed in 1960 with one more edition next a calendar year just after. It was reprinted in Wonderful Britain in 1964. Translations of it have been made into Arabic, Hungarian and Russian. EkundayoRowe also experienced his assortment of stories. No Seed For The Soil, self- revealed in e book type.
Later on, new names like Yulisa Amadu Maddy, Muctarr Mustapha, Wilfred Taylor, Delphine King and Syl Cheney-Coker all broke out into print in many sorts.
From the 70’s onwards extra new writers emerged. Yema Lucilda Hunter’s novel Street to Independence was revealed in Nigeria by a Sierra Leonean publishing outfit, African Universities Press A.U.P. She has lately printed another novel titled Bitter Sweet. Prince Dowu Palmer’s novel The Mocking Stones was revealed by Longmans in 1982 in their Drumbeat series. The exact publisher experienced a calendar year before posted Raymond Sarif Easmon’s The Feud and other stories. This interval is also characterised by the aggressive advertising of Macmillan publishers in Sierra Leone. They have already a few novels from Sierra Leone in their Pacesetter series. This incorporates two younger writers, the journalist and teacher Edison Yongai who arrived outwith Who killed Mohta and the insurance coverage manager, OsmanConteh, with Double Difficulty. From abroad also news of the publication of Yayah Swarray’s performs was obtained. His worksinclude ‘De Wol Do for Fraide.‘ Other writers, notably, Talabi Aisie Lucan, Melville Stuart, Marilyn Awoonor- Renner, Winston Forde and Clifford N. Fyfe channeled their imaginative energies into generating children’s literature lots of of which have been printed by Evans.
Right after independence a couple of newspapers and other journals of educational facilities, schools and churches carried confined quantity of resourceful creating. The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Services which was then in the resourceful hands of the late John Akar, a author himself, gave considerably outlet for creativity, whether or not literary, or performing. SLBS without a doubt gave prominence to artists like Ebenezer Calendar, Allie Ganda and the Rokel River Boys. There was also a frequent shorter tale program in some radio programming quarter. This highlighted the short tales of youthful as perfectly as older Sierra Leoneans like two stories of mine. In addition, there have been e book evaluate courses. The children’s 50 percent hour systems in English as nicely as the national languages ended up options for the airing and dissemination of the abundant folklore of the region. Indeed several of us who had no grandmother at home spinning these types of prosperous and intriguing yarns for us, the story telling line on SLBS in truth crammed in a yawning gap in our social and cultural instruction.
With independence also there ended up a lot of newspapers including the Everyday Mail which was then a really every day paper that gave significantly area to imaginative crafting, limited stories as well as stories for children in the children’s corner. There were also regular publications of ebook critiques as properly as some notice provided to other artistic activities this kind of as dramatic performances and musical live shows.
But unfortunately these days the literary arts no for a longer time gets as considerably focus as just before in the press. The pressmen them selves complain of paucity of house which limits their publication to just political social and economic information. The Day-to-day Mailitself experienced plummeted to an all time reduced in which it could no longer be properly termed a weekly or bi-weekly. It far too is in dire shortage of area. But right now it has eventually absent silent. The New Citizen presents some house to the serialized stories of it’s Controlling Director and proprietor, I.B. Kargbo.
A commendable trend commenced in the 70’s with the interest shown by a Swedish Linguist Nevillle Shrimpton in the rising performs in krio of youthful as well as older playwrights. Thomas Decker’s translation of Julius Caesar was happily one of the plays he posted. Also published in the Shrimpton collection have been Lawrence Kweku Woode’s (God pas Konsibul) Raymond De Souza George’s (Bohbohlef) Dele Charley’s (Fatmata, Petikot Korner) and Esther Taylor Pearce’s (Lousy Person Pas Emti Os).
There were occasional breakthroughs when Sierra Leonean young writers have been published in journals and magazines overseas. A notable medium outside which featured limited tales regularly was WEST AFRICA Journal. Stories of more youthful writers like Peter Karefa-Sensible and Brima Rogers have appeared there. However a further of Rogers’ stories was broadcast on the BBC’s Small Tale programme on Globe Support. And a girl author won the brief story level of competition arranged by the BBC African Service adopted by Mohamed Sheriff who has in addition gained several playwrighting contests structured by the B.B.C. His title seems like 1 to be viewed as he has shown continually strong indications of promise. He has posted three operates previously which includes a engage in, Sorie Clever, one more engage in The Crook and the Fools and a novella titled Mystery Anxiety, which was co-winner of the ECOWAS prize for excellence in literature. Macmillan Publishers printed it in the McTracks series in 1997.
