Liberian Literary Magazine
Our Spotlight author of
this issue is a man of many
passions- a scholar, music
lover, poet, journalist
Carl Patrick Burrowes
Author Interview
C. PATRICK BUURROWES
Liberian Literary Mag
conducted an interview with
C. Patrick Burrowes,
LLR: First, we would like to
thank you for granting this
interview. Let us kick off
this interview with you
telling us a little about youyour
early
childhood,
upbringing, education.
I grew up on Bushrod Island,
between Duala and Tweh
Rubber Farm. My parents
operated a coffee roasting
business, so our yard was
constantly filled with the
distinctive aroma of Liberica
coffee.
Our home stood in the shade
of an awe-inspiring cotton
tree, inhabited by bats and,
according to neighborhood
lore, a colony of ghosts. I
grew up in a yard filled with a
variety of fruits, including
mango,
guava,
soursop,
breadfruit,
pawpaw
and
banana.
Promoting Liberian Literature, Arts and Culture
Why writing?
By nature, I’m am observer, a
disposition shared by many
writers and other creative
people.
I think it goes back to my
childhood, which was unique.
Most of my schoolmates lived
in Central Monrovia and
played with each other after
school.
My
afterschool
playmates on Bushrod Island
attended different schools, so
they didn’t know my “school
friends.” To make matters
more
interesting,
some
parents of my schoolmates
were well-to-do and powerful
while the parents of some
neighborhood friends were
fishermen, stevedores and
school teachers.
My writing career also grew
out of an early love of
storytelling and reading. My
earliest
entertainment
consisted of folktales, riddles
and eavesdropping on adults
telling jokes, some bawdy and
off-color. Until television
became available in 1960, I
listened to radio a lot, mainly
ELBC, but also music from
Voice of America, stories of
Spider the Trickster told by
“Aunt Clara” on ELWA, and
the newscast from the BBC
World Service.
My passion for reading was
fueled at home. My parents
didn’t attend college, but
they
believed
in
the
transformative
power
of
education. Although we were
Presbyterian, they scraped
and sacrificed to send all
their children to Catholic
schools,
given
their
10
reputation for high quality
and discipline. In addition,
they bought magazines like
National Geographic and the
UNESCO Chronicle, as well as
a set of encyclopedia.
To make a long story short, I
think a love of reading and
moving between different
age-groups and communities
nurtured my stance as a
“watcher.” That’s not to say
I’m introverted, just a keen
observer.
Do you focus on a specific
type or genre of writing?
I write free-verse poetry
(most of which remains
unpublished),
and
I
occasionally
publish
commentaries in the media.
But, mostly I write history –
Liberian history and media
history. To be more precise,
you could describe my work as
deeply researched historical
nonfiction. As you might
know, I co-authored the
current edition of the
Historical
Dictionary
of
Liberia and published a book
on
government-press
relations in Liberia from 1830
to 1970. The rest of my
writings
have
appeared
mainly
in
peer-reviewed
scholarly journals.
Writing
history
is
not
something I planned. It’s just
the latest stage in a
convoluted writing career.
I started writing for pleasure
at St. Patrick’s High School,
mainly short stories, brief
articles
for
our
mimeographed
newsletter
and poetry as an exercise in