Liberian Literary Magazine
teams. And I also write
about my family, my
children a lot, about love
and about women.
6) Tell us a little about your
book[s]storyline,
characters,
themes,
inspiration etc.
I hate this question, you
know that. There is a whole
lot on the web about my
books. I think this question
was also answered when I
talked about myself and in
the previous question.
7) What inspired you to
write The River is Rising? Tell
us about the inspiration of
Part IV; why the simple
“Woman” when there is
more to it than that? How
did you come up with the
pieces in that section?
The entire book is about
women. There is only one
man in that book, and he is
looking to find a drowned
woman. So, the book is really
about women. And in case
you taught it was inspired by
the title poem, or about the
Liberian leader, no way. It
was not inspired by her.
I wrote the book as I do all
other poems one after the
other without any plan or
focus. This is how poetry is
produced. But because
certain things are happening
around you, on your mind,
etc., those things shape your
book. So, the book was
shaped in those final few
years of the civil war, written
mostly right after the second
book came out, and
completed in celebration of
Promoting Liberian literature, Arts and Culture
the end of that bloody war
era. I was extremely troubled
by the fourteen year old war,
the death, the suffering of
women, my country, and I
kept writing about my pain,
and about the place women
have in our society. That is
how the book turned out the
way it is.
The section was simply to
show the importance of
women. I write a lot about
women anyway.
10) Do you have any
advice for other writers?
Well, advice for writers?
Hmmm. Writing is about
writing. WRITE, WRITE, WRITE,
and WRITE.
The reason a writer writes is
because
they
have
something they feel and
want to say for themselves,
first, to give them pleasure
first. Fame is not the aim of
writing, therefore, focus on
8) Is there an underlying
message in your books that
you want your readers to
grasp?
The books do not have any
one underlining message.
They’re five now, and each
has several messages. I want
readers to read every book
and every poem for what it is.
I have been reviewed and
written about by many
scholars, and they have
much to say, but I rarely care
to make one sense out of
anything. I think it is the job of
the literary critics and book
reviewers’ job to get the
message out of the books.
9) Is there anything else
you would like readers to
know about your books?
The books have a lot
about our history, our
culture, our ways of life, our
heritage. They’re poetry, so
they may be a bit difficult
for those who don’t care
about poetry, but those
who read me say it is easy
reading.
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your art and craft. Writing is
both art and craft. And most
poets and story tellers have a
talent inside them that gives
them the power to write, that
moves them, but they need
the passion to drive that
talent. Hone your talent.
Here is my strong advice:
Do not be proud of what you
have achieved so far, find
writers you admire and let
them help you grow into the
best you can be, attend
workshops to learn more
about the writing, be
vulnerable and not arrogant
about who you are. When
you humble yourself and
listen to advice about your
work, you grow and people
support you. I am not an
advocate of self-publishing
because it kills the good or