origin.He began the project with the publication of the English edition of his book Hybrid Eyes – Reflections of an African in Europe.
To add more impetus to his enterprise, Professor Sankoh went on to open a Sierra Leone Writers’ Series bookshop and public library at his native Warima, near Songo, a settlement about 30 miles outside his country’s capital, Freetown.
Mallam O discovered that his countrymen and women have matched his desire by producing books covering all themes and issues pertaining to Sierra Leone. The Professor told Vitabu Books that “SLWS has achieved a major presence in Sierra Leone with one of its books. “Sierra Leone Since Independence – History of a Post-Colonial State” by Joe A. D. Alie, SLWS 2007, has been designated a recommended text for students reading government and politics at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. ” (Vitabu).
The academic wizard of warima village proudly displays the fruits of his enterprise
Few Years ago, Professor Mallam O in an interview with SEWA NEWS about the number of titles the SLWS has published , told the outlet : “I am pleased with this development because along the line I found people who are even more passionate about and committed to promoting Sierra Leonean writing.” He said he had discovered Sierra Leoneans “who immediately identified themselves with SLWS and have continued to support the initiative since it was launched. These are equally great people who have submitted their manuscripts to SLWS and others who are on the SLWS Editorial Board. They have seen that it is not about me; it is about creating a platform for all writers of Sierra Leonean origin to publish their books and reach their compatriots. ”
At Facebook few days ago, Dr. Sankoh displayed a deluge of books Sierra Leoneans had written since he set up the SLWS and joked: “A publisher complains… Please stop Sierra Leoneans from writing, won’t you? It’s getting too much for me. I didn’t know we could get so many! Now my house at Adonkia in Freetown is books, books all over. Unfair!”
With the country’s baby boomers now aging and entering their twilight years, there is a burning desire in many of them to produce some memoirs or adventure stories to relive the drama and excitement of their halcyon days. In a recent discussion at Facebook on the issue, Mohamed Tayyib-Bah, a one-time student leader at Fourah Bay College told other respondents that he was working on a book that would recapture campus life at the country’s premier institution of higher learning in the 1970s , to which Professor Kenneth Osho, who taught English Literature at the college and served as Head of Department of the English Faculty, averred : “Indeed we need to record these memories before we pass away.”
Whether Professor Sankoh may have just been musing at Facebook or not, he may yet realize that he has indeed opened the floodgates of Sierra Leonean creativity and art.
