Home to a thousand treasures *

Following our call for submissions, we are proud to present our first round of published work for 2024.

The voices of Sierra Leonean writers continue to bear witness to our history, narrate our daily lives and illuminate our beautiful cultural tapestry. In our selection, we hope you find the creative richness in Sierra Leonean storytelling and continue to follow us on this ride inside the Poda Poda. Enjoy!

POETRY

ESSAY

FICTION

* From the poem I am the Sierra Leone by Samuella Conteh.

Aurora Foundation Hosts Maria Bradford and Ishmael Beah

Aurora Foundation hosted chef Maria Bradford and best-selling author Ishmael Beah on Wednesday October 11th, 2023, for an author event and book sales program. The rainy evening was perfect for learning and inspiration as the two celebratory guests talked the audience through their unique experiences and literary journeys.

Maria Bradford has recently released a dazzling cookbook, Sweet Salone—Recipes from the Heart of Sierra Leone, a riveting literary masterpiece which leaves no stone unturned in telling the beautiful stories and techniques of cooking Sierra Leonean food. The event was marked by her inspiring conversation with Beah, in which she discussed her creative muse, writing process and support system. Bradford believes her inspiration to become a chef surfaced during girlhood when she and other kids would “play cook”. Her curiosity in the kitchen with her mother spurred her to do mock cooking with her playmates. This precocious beginning helped her to become who she is today, and Bradford encouraged parents to allow their children to experiment with all forms of cooking with their peers. Furthermore, Bradford advised schools to prioritize Home Economics and help build a culture of appreciating our own in Sierra Leone.

“My husband would tell me to keep notes of all the assorted recipes I use for cooking my delicious meals…and that one day I could tell a great story…and here it is today”, Bradford commented while responding to a question from the audience on her support system. She said her husband is her great motivator who encouraged her to pursue a career in catering when all her family members wanted her to do accounting.

P1: The author event was held at Aurora Foundation’s office in Freetown, Sierra Leone. P2: Poda-Poda Stories Fellow Sulaiman Bonnie with Ishmael Beah.

Ishmael Beah, author of best-sellers A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Little Family, and Radiance of Tomorrow had an inspiring talk on his literary odyssey—one marked by rejection and hope; and mired but inspired by Sierra Leone’s gruesome eleven-year-old civil war. Amidst a culture of rejection and pessimism, Beah has mustered every courage and effort to write. He said he quickly dismissed thoughts of studying for a law degree in the U.S because his passion for writing and knack for storytelling surpassed the weightiness of every other occupation in the world. On his creative process, Beah disclosed how he embodies several characters when he writes a story, remarking that a writer’s flexibility of ideas and the spontaneity of character development make one a great and read-worthy author.

One would be quick to call it a coincidence that both guests consider their spouses their greatest supporters; however, I think these experiences rightly qualify one of the requirements of good writing: let your first reader know you! Beah, too, lauds his partner for being his go-to support system. “My wife is my first reader,” he boasted. “Everything I write she reads…and she is a harsh and honest critic”.

Both guests ended their talk by recommending that a conducive space should be created for young people to imagine, create, and write those wonderful Sierra Leonean stories that can stand the test of time. Beah concluded that this generation must write and revive the culture of storytelling, for the stories of who we are outlive all of us. Bradford also encouraged all Sierra Leoneans to discard their anti-culinary attitude towards our African foods by knowing, cooking, and eating the recipes from Sweet Salone!

The event ended with book sales featuring Beah’s Radiance of Tomorrow and Little Family, and Bradford’s Sweet Salone: Recipes from the Heart of Sierra Leone.

Aurora Foundation is reputable global non-profit supporting cultural, social, and educational projects in Iceland and some parts of Africa.

Tributes for Sierra Leonean Poet and Journalist, Professor Gbanabom Hallowell

Gbanabom Hallowell was a Sierra Leonean writer, journalist and professor. Born Elvis Jacob Hallowell in 1965, he got his first degree from the Milton Margai Teachers College (now Milton Margai College of Education), where he studied English. He later went on to Vermont College of The Union Institute & University in the USA, where he got his MFA in Writing. He published Drumbeats of War; A Little After Dawn; My Immigrant Blood; and Manscape in the Sierra: New and Collected Poems 1991-2011, among other poetry collections. He also published many plays and novels, including A Case of Four Pillows and The Road to Kaibara. Professor Hallowell also briefly served as Sierra Leone’s Direct General of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation.

He was truly one of Sierra Leone’s literary heroes and served as a mentor to many writers and journalists. His death was announced on September 20th and we are thankful to these writers who shared their tributes to him with us.

Philip Foday Yamba Thulla, (PhD) Director, Institute of Languages & Cultural Studies (INSLACS), Njala University.

Late Dr Gbanabom Hallowell led an accomplished life, guiding many in the art of writing. His 'The Dining Table' still lingers in the minds of pupils who read it for WASSCE. He will be sorely missed and happily reinvented by the SWF members. RIP, mentor.

Elizabeth LA. Kamara, Fourah Bay College & Sierra Leone Writers Forum

It is so hard to say goodbye to someone larger than life. It is hard to say goodbye to someone with such an overabundance of exuberance. If words could bring Prof. Gbanabom Hallowell back to life, what would we not say? What will we not write? Ah, death! You take oh!

Prof. Hallowell was one of Sierra Leone’s greatest illustrious literary minds. He was a catcher and tamer of words - he could bend, mould and stitch words into anything - into poems, plays, essays, articles, short stories, and novels. He was in love with all the genres of literature (especially poetry which first stole his heart) and published over twenty works. Even on his sick bed, he kept asking about his manuscripts. One of them, The Devil in the Mail, was published two or three months ago. His publisher and other writing community friends were planning to launch it when the greedy fingers of death snatched him.

I have known Prof. Hallowell for about 34 years now. He taught me briefly at the Annie Walsh Memorial School. I lost touch with him after that, but our paths crossed again in 2012/13 during a book launch programme, and since that time, we became a staple in each other’s life. We have worked on a few writing projects, and he was once my colleague at Fourah Bay College, the University of Sierra Leone.

Prof. Hallowell was a people person and loved nothing better than to have people and poetry around him. He also delighted in providing opportunities for his mentees and friends to write and shine.

He was one of the shoulders on which I stood and was also one of those that encouraged me to write poems and reviews. He was always eager to provide mentorship for budding writers, and his humour was contagious.

When illness struck him in 2020, we all thought he would pull through. We never knew that it would last so long or that he would never recover. Whenever we visited him, it wasn’t easy to hold back tears. It humbled us to perceive an eloquent, vocal, exuberant personality now caged by sickness. It depressed us to see Prof. Gbanabom, who had hitherto tamed words into servitude, now at the mercy of words - words that were full to the brim in his mind, and yet, he lacked the wherewithal to string them into coherent sentences. Despite this, he hardly lost his buoyancy.

On that fateful Tuesday, when I heard that his situation was critical, little did I realize that two hours later, Prof. Hallowell would dust his feet and leave this problematic world in our hands.

Ah Prof, you na bin porsin. You touched and transformed many lives. You will live on for this, for all the books you have written and for all the things you have done.

Farewell, my dear teacher, mentor, friend, and cheerleader. May your soul rest in peace.

Moses Kelvin Fembeh, Managing Editor Heroes Media Newspaper.

I first met Prof. Elvis Gbanabom Hallowell through his works in 2012, which was after I read his collection, titled: "When Sierra Leone Was A Woman” and the "Dinning Table" which the latter talks about his experiences of the civil war in Sierra Leone. Since then, I became one of his secret admirers because his artistic nature was appealing to me. Prof Gbanabom was not only a veteran journalist and a literary guru but a mentor and a friend that one can easily confide in. It was difficult for one to meet with Prof. Gbanabom without him talking about poetry to him/her. He was very much familiar with poetry to the extent that even in his conversations with people, there were some mixtures of poetry.

I first had the opportunity to meet with him face-to-face in 2014 at his office, when he was the Director General of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC). He has been a few of the nicest men I have ever met in this literary journey. He was very approachable and had a sense of humour and very accommodating.

He was a member of the Sierra Leonean Writers Forum, a Forum he created with the sole aim of promoting writing and a platform for writers to meet, write and discuss national issues. I had the opportunity again to meet with him in person at his former Congo Water, Wellington residence in 2019, during the fifth memorial service for his late father Rev. Jacob Hallowell. It was there he introduced me to some of his family members like Mr. Prince Hallowell and others whose faces I could not remember and since then our relationship continued till his death on the 20 September 2022 at 7:39 p.m. in the presence of his niece, nephew (Alieu) & I. We started Prof's health challenge and we sadly ended up in tears.

Prof. Gbanabom Hallowell was offered a lecturing position at Tubman University in Liberia where the university gave him the title of Associate Professor of Literature and Drama. He got his appointment letter from the University in January 2020 and before his departure to Monrovia in February, of that same year, to take up his new assignment, I was the one he contacted to check for him for a ticket price and I did. I sent him the update, a few days later he messaged the Sierra Leone Writers Forum that he was travelling to Liberia and we joyfully bided him farewell and today we bid him farewell in tears.

Before his death, He continued to send more poems and updates about his new environment in Liberia. By July 2020 he stopped sending in poems and essays to the Sierra Leone Writers' forum but most of us thought that he was too busy with academic workloads, little did we know about his health condition at the time. By September of that same year, he was sent back home to seek medical attention.

However, the message of his illness was told by Mrs. Elizabeth Kamara, Mr. Mohamed Sheriff & Mr. Oumar Farouk Sesay and a few others. When Prof. arrived in Freetown in September 2020, Mrs. Elizabeth Kamara author of "Stolen Laughter” told me to accompany her to pay a visit to Prof. Hallowell.

By January 2021 there was a committee was set up, including the following people: Prof. Osman Sankoh popularly known as Mallam O, Mr. Mohamed Sheriff, Mr. Oumar Farouk Sesay, Mr. Samuel Kargbo Esq, Ms. Samuella Conteh, Mrs. Annie Barrie, Prof. Patrick Muana, Dr. Abdullai Wallon Jalloh Mr. Ambrose Massaquoi, .Mr. Mohamed Gibril Sesay, Rev. Moses Kainwo and I as an intermediary between the association (SWF) and the family. The committee continued to be supportive throughout the late man's illnesses.

Prof. Osman Sankoh directed us to take the late man to Dr. Dan Yokey at Connaught hospital but since Doctor Dan had a stroke project for people suffering from strokes, he referred us to Dr. Thompson. Prof started treatment with Dr. Melvina Thompson in January 2021 and she (Dr. Melvina Thompson) referred us to Choithram hospital for X-rays and the results were out but with little favourable interpretation.

Later when the writers' association was planning to take another dimension, a special therapist in Ghana Dr Patrick Bankah advised that we do an MRI of the brain test in Freetown. We went to EcoMed where the MRI test was done and Dr. Bankah ordered the MRI test results to be sent to Ghana, which we did as directed. It was truly unbelievable when Alieu and the young woman who happened to be Prof's., niece called me and said "Moses cam see Doc e done die, Doc done die." Since I was a bit sceptical about it, I said to them "NO, he is not dead, let's give him some time." Yet, I didn't believe it and I had to tell Alieu to stop calling family members but it was not too long before we had to call an experienced person from the neighbourhood to testify to us about Prof.’s health and the response from the neighbour was "let thy will be done".

Indeed Prof., let thy will be done, as you joined your ancestors rest assured that your impartation and the great books you left behind, shall live after you.

And to you, our established writers, both home and abroad and young aspiring writers, hold your pen tightly for it shall live after you.

Our literary guru is gone. Prof. Hallowell, sleep on, sleep on, our dear beloved HERO; take your rest.

May his soul Rest In Peace and may his legacy live on.

In Memoriam: Honoring Sierra Leonean novelist and literary icon, Yema Lucilda Hunter.

Sierra Leonean literary icon, novelist, biographer and librarian Yema Lucilda Hunter, has passed on. Her death was announced on Sunday August 21st , 2022. She was 79 years old. Hunter wrote across genres as a biographer and a novelist, publishing Road to freedom (1982), Mother and daughter: memoirs and poems (1983), Bittersweet (1989), An African treasure: in search of Gladys Casely-Hayford, 1904-1950 (2008), Builders: the Annie Walsh story, 1849-2009 (2009), Nanna (2014), and Her name was Aina: a historical novel (2018). Her work was respected and widely read, although many times, she was reluctant to identify as just a writer. In her interview with us in may last year, Hunter said “I hesitate to call myself a writer as I don’t often feel compelled to put fingers to a keyboard, or pen to paper, though I always enjoyed and got good marks at school for what used to be called ‘Composition’. However, I AM the author of six novels and a work of non-fiction. My career as a professional librarian is what started it. While browsing the shelves of the Africana Collection at the National Library in Sierra Leone, I came across an old book in which a 19th Century visitor to Freetown mentioned a brief encounter with one of the black Nova Scotian settlers who arrived in the country in 1792.”

Hunter’s commitment to archiving and documenting Sierra Leone’s history through storytelling made her a literary treasure whose writing style was accessible and brilliant. Hunter was a chronicler of Sierra Leone’s history, life and culture and many of us were inspired by her patriotism and commitment to sharing all facets of the Sierra Leonean story.

Yema Lucilda Hunter was loved by many , and Poda-Poda Stories is thankful to everyone who shared their farewell tributes with us to send her off as a community in our own little way.

Oumar Farouk Sesay

YEMA LUCILDA HUNTER

A torch lit years ago glowed in every corner of the land showing wayfarers the signpost to The Road to Freedom

We sang Redemption Songs as we match with Joy that came in the Morning.

We trudged and searched for Nana and An African Treasure to pay homage to

womanhood.

But now the torch is burnt out

The signpost uprooted and the beacon tempest tossed.

We savored the sweetness her life gave us as we tasted the bitterness of life

We are in Deep Waters clutching Bittersweet as Charon,the ferry man of Hades, ferries her soul across the River Styx to eternity .

Rest in peace Yema Lucilda Hunter.

Elizabeth Kamara

Ah, dead ones who have always refused to die, who have known how to fight death

                                                                                             Senghor, “In Memoriam”

Yema Lucilda Hunter was an inspiring woman and one of the most eminent Sierra Leonean writers. I never had the honour of meeting her, but was first introduced to her work in college, where I studied her debut novel, the insightful Road to Freedom.

Yema Lucilda Hunter was very passionate about research, writing, her homeland and yearned for a healthier and happier world for all. She raised the bar for novel writing in Sierra Leone and created characters that will never die. Though she has answered the final call, she remains one of those individuals” …who have always refused to die, who have known how to fight death”. Whenever we read her works, we’ll remember what a talented writer and beautiful soul she was.

We shall treasure her legacy.

May mother earth rest gently on her.

Syl Cheney-Coker

DEATH & THE MAIDEN: An Homage to Novelist Lucilda Hunter

once had the uncomfortable  experience of travelling, in an official capacity, with one of our former Ministers of Education, to a Unesco sponsored conference, in another African country. I will not mention his name in this tribute to a writer, on the understanding that, should this political operative happen to  read this, he will endeavour to correct a great lapse in his EDUCATION- a non-enlightened one, as I was to discover !

On paper, he had all the right QUALIFICATIONS; a PHD in a scientific field; some particulars of research, and so on. But that was where the bridge of his attributes stopped: he was completely devoid of  the vast, necessary pylons of cultural enlightenment, for such a job!

In my seventy-five plus years, I have often wondered how we (Sierra Leoneans ) ended up being one of the most dichotomous people on the African continent, as far as our "EDUCATION" goes! Whereas great emphasis was placed on some form of tertiary education, until very recently, there was , and continues to be, the lack of a concomitant manifestation in our lives! Now, of course, we are producing graduates who massacre the official language in voce, and on paper! We have, if I may put it this way, fallen from the sublime to the burlesque!

 Which brings me back to Mr Minister!

Not only had he not read any Sierra Leonean writers, besides, I believe , 'DR CONTON,' as he referred to Willie Conton, I quickly discovered he was completely ignorant of the great sweep of African literature, from the fifties down to the mid-nineties, and that he was just as ignorant of the artistic activities- grand music; sculptures, ballet and the Fine Arts , with a distinctive African flavour!

How did he come to his job?

I could not imagine him serving in a cabinet led by the great poet- philosopher Leopold Sedar Senghor, when he was president  in Senegal; I do not believe Jerry Rawlings , who appointed the  distinguished Ghanaian writer Ama Atta Aidoo, as MInister of Education, would have welcomed him into his cabinet! But this was  Sierra Leone, where anything goes. Where a massive percentage of people, aged between 55-85, have not read a single African writer, besides Chinua Achebe; and that was because he was on their college syllabus ! Not only do we not read to be enlightened, we delight in our ignorance ( Nar book man go eat?)

We don't go to the theatre; we don't buy art pieces, but spend a fortune on asiobi and other gowns! We build mansions, with three car garages, but without a study of even twenty books! Government ministers cut down entire forest, to sell the land to their cronies, but do not even preserve ten acreas for a park, where children might play!  In short, we are a nation of philistines, and Freetown, for one,has become a CONCRETE jungle!

Lucilda Hunter, who has just died, was aware of this strange phenomenon, and said so! She was not only one of the handful of writers of my generation who sought to offer a dose of enlightenment to a society tragically, and willfully, devoid of the fine aspects of a civilized  life, she despaired, as a former female  lawyer associate of mine put it, that she came from a people who refused to be civilised!

As we descended from the sublime to the burlesque, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that , perhaps, ninety percent of the people, charged with MIS-EDUCATING our children and grandchildren, had not read any of her books!  And I am not  just talking about ill-equipped ministers of education, but of the entire gamut- lawyers, doctors, social scientists, theologians and engineers- who have not read a single Sierra Leonean writer; something un-thinkable in a country like Senegal or Ghana, where writers are read.!

While she earned a living , as most writers do, by having a day job, Lucilda found the time to create a reputation as one of Sierra Leone's finest novelist. In books such as ROAD TO FREEDOM , and JOY CAME IN THE MORNING, she chronicled some of our best and worst chapters in the formation of our identity as a nation; our foibles and and mishaps; but. with the novelist's sense of wisdom, asked us to reflect on what could have been, and may yet  happen to  make us not a perfect union ( as  that is not the  novelist's business), but a  people  sufficiently arouse to think outside of our disquieting mindset.

That imperative for us to start thinking anew can best be answered if her books, and those of other Sierra Leonean writers, ( I do not espouse anything for myself !!) are not only read in schools and colleges, but become part of a new enlightenment; in which we read as much as we drink those expensive bottles of whisky and campari, we shop for , when on holiday abroad, or we save a little bit of the amount we spend on asiobi,  for the pleasure of buying books to enlighten!!  Only then will all the tears that people are  going to shed over her passing make sense to me!

May her attempt to enlighten us continue to thrive, long after she has now  danced with the ancestors!      

Miriam Conteh-Morgan

As one of Sierra Leone's contemporary female writers, Yema Lucilda Hunter, blazed the trail. Her works spanned different genres but it is her clean, simple and beautiful prose that connected them all. Her death will create a void in the national literature landscape and echoes will be felt in Sierra Leone's literary future for many years. May her sweet soul find its own road to freedom.

Osman Sankoh, Sierra Leone Writers Series

Yema Lucilda Hunter (YLH, as I fondly called her), was one of the most easygoing people I have met. I was introduced to her in 2000 when my familyand I relocated to Accra, Ghana from Heidelberg, Germany by her friend in the US, Ms Amy Davies, who taught me Literature in English at Njala University in Sierra Leone. I had read her book, 'Road to Freedom'; so meeting her, an author I admired, was unquestionably terrific. My familybecame very close to hers, with her late husband Kobina Hunter, becoming our unpaid building contractor when he offered free service to supervise the construction of our house in Accra. Yema Lucilda Hunter became the editor of the international organisation based in Accra where I was the Executive Director and she fully supported the Sierra Leonean Writers Series (SLWS) not only with her own historical novels many of which I published, but also with editing several manuscripts by other writers. I was particularly saddened to hear of her passing away a day after she and I had chatted about her latest novel which I had just published, 'Deep Waters'; she was anxiously waiting to receive the hard copy of it from the UK mailed by her daughter Jessie. Yema Lucilda Hunter published the following books in SLWS: 'Redemption Song' (2014), 'Joy Came in the Morning' (2014), 'Nanna' (2016),'An African Treasure: In Search of Gladys Caseley-Hayford 1904-1950' (2016),'Her Name was Aina' (2018) and 'Deep Waters' (2022). All these books are available on amazon.com May her soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.

Moiyattu Banya-Keister

So glad I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with you and your dear husband of blessed memory in Ghana several years ago. You are a gem to our community. My cousin Luba of blessed memory was one of your biggest fans, when she passed you made it a point to reach out and extend your condolences. Your gift of words and writing will bless many generations to come. Thank you for sharing your light with us. May your legacy live on and may your beautiful soul rest in perfect peace.

Joseph Kaifala

For those of us still trying to tell Sierra Leone’s story, Lucilda Hunter was a trailblazer, a storyteller with a love for country. Our country is still developing its reading culture, and when reading eventually becomes a natural seam in our cultural fabrics, we will rediscover and marvel at her literary contributions to Sierra Leone and Africa. A great Sierra Leone writer, librarian - lover and keeper of books - has passed on, but we are happy she lived.

Nyamakoro Sillah

Mrs Yema Lucilda Hunter was an inspirational person. I regarded her as a mentor and a person I could look up to in most areas of my life. She was firm and fair in her responses to our collective issues in Sierra Leone. I liked her encouraging approach to matters great and small. I feel as African women the impact we make in our communities is oftentimes not recognised by the world we live in. However Mrs Hunter had been through the literature she wrote and her engagement with others on social media platforms and in real life. Rest in peace ma'am. May the Almighty comfort your dear children and family.

Alimatu Dimonekene

I will always remember you Mrs Lucilda Hunter for all your kind words and advice you gave and shared with me. Always so sweet and always so loving. I don’t want think you are no longer here with us but to think of you as that wonderful spirit who surrounds us all. Just a day ago you encourage to keep speaking on the issue of women and girls of Sierra Leone. Please say hi to your darling Kobi you both take your peaceful rest now sweet Angel . I will miss you

SierraEye Magazine

The late “Ms. Lucilda” was a simple soul. A calm, measured, gentle, kind-hearted and generous lady who lived an uncomplicated life and was loved by many. Someone aptly described her some years back as ‘No airs and grace - just a kind smile for everyone. She SAW everyone.’ She had friendly and good advice for all who crossed her path. Whatever came her way, she was able to deal with it. She was the epitome of a selfless character. She never saw herself as the prolific writer we revered. Her first and most famous work, Road to Freedom, was a fascinating historical account of how hard our forefathers struggled to form the Province of Freedom – a free cry from what is today when almost everyone wants to leave. She will be reminded as a true patriot who loved her country and continent. Her legacy will live on in her writings. Pray we have many more Yema Lucilda Hunters.

Pascal Mouhouelo

The sorry is deep in my heart. Mum Lucilda closed the door of life and departed from us.

I have known her in Brazzaville, Congo. I just came back from Sénégal where I did my studies in librarianship. She was very happy to see a local librarian speaking English in a francophone country. Then, she recruted me and became colleagues. She allowed me to call her Mum.

Mum Luclida was an African leader with a strategic vision. After her retirement, we kept in touch trough Facebook. We talked last week.

My prayers and thoughts are with the children and the whole family at this most difficult time.

I will miss you Mum. Goodbye.

Akindele Decker

Mrs. Lucilda Hunter was no ordinary writer, she was one of Africa’s best.  She helped to usher Sierra Leonean literature into the mainstream of West African literature in the 1980s, with her novel “Road to Freedom”.  In more than five novels since, she has told the story of 18th and 19th century Sierra Leone, stories of war, peace, and love.  An Author of some of Sierra Leone’s most brilliant works of literature, even more importantly, she moved among her people the way a writer of the people should.  The care she had for our stories are not only reflected in the number of books she wrote about us, but also in the way she navigated our space.  Through her novels, she made space for the parts of us that needed to know where we come from and who we are.  A descendant of one of the oldest of Sierra Leonean families, the Caulkers, it was as if it was to her nature to hold Sierra Leoneans in her palm, guiding us through our various journeys with her words.  Her words were powerful and authentic.  The many novels she wrote, collectively tell the Sierra Leonean story.  She poured her heart and love for her country and her people into her writing, and she wrote and wrote and wrote.  She wrote about every part of us.  Each of her novels were as brilliant as the one before, and in all her stories we could find our own, because she wrote for us.  Even more importantly, she wrote with us.  She never seemed reluctant to come among us and interact with us, enthusiastically sharing and expressing, guiding and communing.  She understood the core of who we were and every encounter with her, in physical or digital spaces proved that.  She was an iconic figure for many of us, especially young Sierra Leonean writers or anyone with the urge to write.  She was one of the best writers Sierra Leone has ever had, and maybe part of that was because she always created a safe space where the better part of being a Sierra Leonean could be found and felt.  

She was always supportive, always willing to provide constructive criticism and tips on not just how to make a work of literature better, but also how to better portray Sierra Leone. She had Sierra Leoneans at the center of her heart and at every chance she had, with humility, authenticity, passion, and brilliance, she wrote, and wrote, and wrote.  I am so grateful to have briefly crossed her path, for every word of encouragement she shared over the years, for her immense contribution in telling the Sierra Leone story, and for all the exceptional works of literature that she shared through her novels.   

It is hard to imagine that Mrs. Lucilda Hunter is no longer with us.  Her words, her compassion, her selflessness will live on forever. 

Bassie Turay

Early this year, I was invited to sit in on a Language Arts class at the Sierra Leone Grammar School. Yema Lucilda Hunter’s Road to Freedom was being discussed. Beyond my thrill that a Sierra Leonean novel was being used as prescribed text, I enjoyed the content of it. The Grammar School boys seemingly did too. As the boys took turns to read, I felt it was a brilliant and exciting historical fiction! After that visit, I put Road to Freedom on my reading list, but did not get to read it. Regrettably, I still haven’t read it or any of her work. This will change. In Yema Hunter’s passing, I have been reminded of her contributions to Sierra Leonean literature and society. Her writing shiningly helps us make sense of our identities, history and heritage. It is a rare contribution. Her work will live on, and Sierra Leoneans now & in the future, will be glad she wrote for and about Salone.

Osman Bank Sankoh

Yema Lucinda Hunter was a hunter who pierced our hearts with her literary works even at the formative days of our growth. Because of people like her, we were able to plant and water the seeds of our desire for telling our stories the African way- the Sierra Leonean way. Now, she is gone but her legacy lives on. Rest on Yema Lucinda Hunter.

Eleanor Thompson

Yema Lucilda Hunter’s novel, Road to Freedom, taught me so much about my own history. As a Sierra Leonean descendent of formerly enslaved and repatriated people, I felt as though I was getting a glimpse into the real lives of my ancestors in her fictional tellings of that which I had only otherwise read about in history books. The narrative journey that she takes readers on through each of her books reflects her brilliance as both writer and documentarian. She will be missed but her legacy will remain for generations through her contributions to Sierra Leonean literature.

Charmaine Denison-George

For the memory of Yema Lucilda Hunter’s blessed life and legacy, for her trailblazing career as a female Sierra Leonean writer among other things. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

We have truly lost a gem, but Yema Lucilda Hunter’s light will continue to shine. Her books can be purchased on Amazon or Sierra Leonean Writers Series.

Poda-Poda's Creative Stops II

The second quarter of the year has come and gone, and we are half way through 2021 already. This past quarter, there were some really cool creative events both both online and offline, and here’s a wrap up of some of them:

Salone at 60: There were many celebrations and events this year to mark Sierra Leone’s 60th independence anniversary. Among them were the unveiling of the “I Love Salone “ art installation by Madengn Association, and another Jaylai Gomei festival with John Akar Foundation.

3rd Culture Kid Productions, owned by Sierra Leonean creative Adenike Hamilton, hosted a Made In Salone festival, which featured good old gumbe music, Dr Olo’s milo band, fresh palmwine and the most peppery pepper soup we’ve had in a long time. It was a really great vibe to usher in our independence day!

Poda-Poda Stories also interviewed legendary playwright Charlie Haffner, about his creative journey and his message to Sierra Leoneans for our 60th independence anniversary.

The Young Sierra Leonean brought Salone Week in honor of Sierra Leone’s 60th independence anniversary, and they had so many goodies! One of them was a virtual event about the Krio Language, which you can watch on their IGTV.

We have a new favorite hangout spot, and its at one of our favorite places in Sierra Leone-Barla at Lumley Beach! Owned by Sierra Leonean writer Ibe Kabba, Barla is more than a beach bar. With it’s mini library and excellent sea view, its’s fast becoming a creative hub as well. In May, they started a poetry slam called Nu Griots, hosted by Sierra Leonean folklore singer, Fantacee Kamara AKA Fantacee Wizz, and another open mic night in June. We can’t wait to see more Nu Griots events at Barla!

Kip Kompin Cinema Series: More Kip Kompin cinema series, this time brought to you by Poda-Poda Stories and Young Salone. This Kip Kompin held in June was focused on Sierra Leone Women in film, and featured a social justice segment with a film produced by Purposeful called Blood Rite. Other films shown were Bureh Beach by Filmmaker Seun Babalola, and a beautiful love story Okada Love, produced by Fantacee Wizz. Our plan with Young Salone is to bring Kip Kompin live in Freetown in December, we’re excited!

The Gilded Ones Homecoming: Remember when we had the IG live chat with Namina Forna in February? Well the Gilded Ones came home for real this time! Namina Forna visited Sierra Leone in June and had two events which we attended. The first was hosted at her home in Freetown, and it was amazing to chat with her about the book and readers had a lot of really great questions for the author. The second event was hosted by Yasmine Ibrahim of Mina Bilkis, and it was an intimate chat between Namina Forna and readers . She offered a lot of good nuggets about writing , how to navigate the world of publishing and did a book signing as well .

Poda-Poda's Creative Stops: Arts, Culture & Photography

Freetown is slowly becoming a creative arts hub, and I love it! Life is getting back to normal as Sierra Leone has managed to limit the spread of COVID-19.For the first quarter of 2021, several creative events took place both virtually and offline, and of course the Poda-Poda was there.

Here’s a roundup of what you missed, and how to catch up:

1.       The Gilded Ones-Homecoming, with Namina Forna: First up was a live conversation with New York Times bestselling author, Namina Forna ! As part of the book tour of The Gilded Ones, Poda-Poda Stories organized a Homecoming event for the Sierra Leone community to chat with Namina about her book and her creative journey, on Instagram Live.

It was so much fun; Namina talked to us about the journey to writing her book, embracing the hard but beautiful road of creativity and the important themes in the book. If you missed it, it’s still here on our Instagram page-catch up on the laughs, technical difficulties, and any nuggets from the book you might have missed out.

2.   Yasmix: Next was a photography exhibition and mixer event by the incredible travel blogger and photographer, Yasmin Metz -Johnson of Yasmin Tells . Highlighting different parts of Sierra Leone, the photography exhibition featured pieces like” Don’t Hurt Yourself”, “ Beach Day on a WeekDay” and “Representation Matters”.

Photos 1-3 Courtesy of Yasmix( Instagram: yasmix_freetown)

Poda-Poda was proud to sponsor and purchase a piece “ Don’t Hurt Yourself”, that highlights the hustle and bustle of Lumley Circle. This is the first Yasmix event for this year, so stay tuned for more events by following the page on Instagram .

3. Vagina Monologues: Presented by Sierra Leonean feminist organization Femme Collective on International Women’s Day this year, V monologues featured epic performances, sex education snippets, and powerful spoken word poetry, including A Bin Smɔl, a poda-poda poem.

Photos Courtesy of Femme Collective ( Facebook: FemmeCollectiveSL)

It was a great evening, where performers talked about sexuality, pleasure, abuse and sexual liberation for Sierra Leonean women.

4.  Kip Kompin Cinema Series : Our cousins over at Young Salone organised virtual film screening called Kip Kompin Cinema .

The event highlighted short films shot in Sierra Leone by Sierra Leoneans, and it was amazing to see the incredible talent by Sierra Leonean cinematographers. We hope to see another Kip Kompin series soon.

5.    Jaylay Gomei: A storytelling and poetry festival featured stellar performances from Alim Kamara and N.Doe. The highlight of the night was the poetry battle from emerging Sierra Leone poets and it was definitely an unforgettable experience.

Photos Courtesy of Jaylay Gomei (Instagram: jaylay_gomei_festival)

If you want more of Jaylay Gomei, look out for their event on the 26th of April.  

6.    Girls Behind The Lens: A female photographers collective put together their photography and art exhibition, followed by a really exciting auction sale of the prints.

Girls Behind the Lens (GBL) is a group of young female photographers, who also provide training and mentorship to young girls and women who would like to pursue a career in photography and videography.

7.  Female Art exhibition: Organised by Swiss Hotel, this event featured work of Sierra Leonean female artists, including Bondumani Art and Josephine Dauda. Set up by the swimming pool, there was food, as well as art and painting classes for kids and adults.

Check out Bondumani and Josephine Dauda’s art on Instagram.

That’s it for now. Here’s to many more exciting creative events in the second quarter of 2021.

Celebrating Women's Contribution to Sierra Leonean Literature

On International Women’s Day, we are highlighting some of the storytellers who have documented the lives and experiences of Sierra Leoneans through novels, poetry and other forms of literary expressions. We are dedicating this post to all young Sierra Leonean women writers and storytellers-keep pushing, keep writing, keep telling our stories.

Gladys Casely-Hayford: A literary powerhouse, Gladys May Casely- Hayford was the only child of writer and women’s rights activist Adelaide Casely-Hayford. Her creative work spanned drama, poetry and painting. Her collection Take Am So was published in 1948, two years before her death.  

Marjorie Jones: Marjorie Jones was a Sierra Leonean researcher, editor and writer. She was the assistant editor of the renowned journal, African Literature, which promoted African literature and writers. She supported the work of her husband Professor Eldred Jones tremendously, and they co-wrote several books including a memoir, The Freetown Bond: A Life Under Two Flags.

Daphne Pratt: Daphne Pratt is a Sierra Leonean literary icon, poet and educator. Her books Krio Salad and SoSo Parebul are widely used to learn the Krio language. She wrote Masire, a play in Krio which was performed in Freetown in December 2006, and Salon Na Wi Yon, a collection of Krio poems published in 2008.

Yema Lucilda Hunter: Yema Lucilda Hunter is a librarian, novelist and biographer. She has written a number of novels including BitterSweet and Redemption Song. Hunter is also the author of Biography:An African Treasure: In Search of Gladys Caseley-Hayford, where she documents the life and work of Gladys Casely-Hayford.

Dr Talabi Lucan : Dr Talabi Aisie Lucan was a renowned Sierra Leonean educationist, writer , scholar and biographer. Her work includes The life and times of paramount chief Madam Ella Koblo Gulama , Jeneba, and various textbooks for primary schools in Sierra Leone.

Amie Kallon: A renowned musician and dancer, Amie Kallon is a prominent figure of oral  literature in Sierra Leone. Amie Kallon is a cultural icon and a pioneer in bringing traditional music and Mende folklore to the international stage.

Aminatta Forna: Aminatta Forna is a Scottish and Sierra Leonean writer. Her novel The Memory of Love was awarded the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for "Best Book" and was also shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Her acclaimed memoir, The Devil That Danced on the Water highlights the brutal political climate that led up to Sierra Leone’s civil war.

Samuella Conteh: Samuella Conteh is a Sierra Leonean poet and dramatist, whose rich has been internationally recognized. Her poetry collections include Love Colors and The Unsung Sung, and she has been featured in several anthologies.

Dr Fatu Taqi: Dr Fatu Taqi is a writer, scholar and women’s rights activist. Her books include Contemporary Fireside Poems: An Anthology, and her work has been published in various Sierra Leonean collections.

Nadia Maddy: Nadia Maddy is a writer and founder of the Indie Book Show Africa. She’s the author of The Palm Oil Stain, a book that documents the lives of women during Sierra Leone’s civil war.

Sylvia Savage: Sylvia Modupeh Savage: A Sierra Leonean educator who wrote several textbooks and children’s story collection written entirely in Krio-Grama Os and Stori Lɛf Pan Yu.

Marilyn Awoonor-Renner: Marilyn Awoonor-Renner was a Sierra Leonean writer and educator. She wrote Sierra Leone children’s literature classics Kamara Family and Pa Demba’s Heir .

Elizabeth Kamara: Elizabeth Lucy Kamara  is a Sierra Leonean writer, poet and scholar. She is the Head of the English Unit at the Fourah Bay College , the University of Sierra Leone. Kamara is the author of Distilled : A Collection of Poems and has published some of her works in several anthologies.

Namina Forna : Namina Forna is a Sierra Leonean -American writer and author of the New York Times best seller The Gilded Ones. This book is significant as it centers a black West African female hero in young adult fantasy genre.

Never Again: 10 Books That Bear Witness

Happy new year to all our readers and literature enthusiasts!

On January 6th 1999, rebels invaded Sierra Leone’s capital city Freetown, and started a horrific ordeal of rape, torture and murder of innocent civilians. Sierra Leone’s civil war began in 1991, and for eleven years, many lives and dreams were lost.

The power of literature is the ability to bear witness, to document and archive, and to force humanity to face truth. These books by Sierra Leonean authors account not only for the horrors of the brutal civil war, but also help us to understand that war only harms the vulnerable and innocent. It is never the answer.

Some of these books are first hand accounts , and some are fiction , but they all bear witness to our history. As we honor the lives lost during the war, may we collectively build our path to healing, recovery and unity. Sierra Leone is all we have.

1. Redemption Song, by Yema Lucilda Hunter: This story told partly through diary entries of the protagonist, Emmanuel. Yema Hunter brilliantly writes compassionately about the war, and you can read the prologue here.

2. Adamalui: A Survivor's Journey from Civil Wars in Africa to Life, by Joseph Kaifala: Historian and Scholar Joseph Kaifala shares his ordeal as a child prisoner and refugee who survived civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

3. The Palm Oil Stain, by Nadia Maddy: This novel is the story of Shalimar, who goes through love and loss against the backdrop of the rebel war in Sierra Leone.

4. The Devil that Danced on the Water, by Aminatta Forna: To understand the civil war in Sierra Leone, it is important to understand the myriad of factors that led to the breakdown of governance and democracy. This memoir gives an account of how that happened in post-independence Sierra Leone.

5. Youthful Yearnings, by Jedidah Johnson: This is the story of Alhaji and Claire, of love, strength and the tragedy of war. Read chapter one of it here.

6. The Bite of The Mango, by Mariatu Kamara and Susan Maclelland: This book is a first-hand account of a young woman’s ordeal during the civil war. It is also about hope, resilience and new beginnings. Mariatu Kamara, now a UNICEF Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict and lives in Canada.

7. God Still Delivers: The Untold Stories of Divine Interventions in the Sierra Leone Civil War, by David Musa: This book is a collection of testimonies from survivors, who share stories of the war, using faith as a lens.

8. A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah: In this New York Times Best Seller, Ishmael Beah details the war through the eyes of a child soldier. It is about the loss of innocence and the power of redemption.

9. Rising Heart, by Aminata Conteh-Biger : In 1999, Aminata Conteh was kidnapped from her family, and held captive by rebels. In this memoir, she shares the story of how she was rescued by UNHCR, found a new life in Australia, and giving back to Sierra Leone through her maternal health foundation.

10. A Dirty War in West Africa: The R.U.F. and the Destruction of Sierra Leone, by Lansana Gberie: This is another non-fiction account to read to understand how the war started. It describes the formation of the Revolutionary United Front , and analyses their recruitment of young people into brutal rebel forces.

A Creative Renaissance in Sierra Leone

This year, I attended three art exhibitions in Freetown: The Barray, Bondumani Art, and The Reunion.

I was blown away by the raw talent of Sierra Leonean artists, and the salient themes that ran through their work. In the midst of a pandemic, in this year of collective grief and loss, Sierra Leonean artists managed to create beauty.

The Barray has been a pioneer of art collaboration in Sierra Leone and it was exciting to see established and emerging artists in the same space. The theme “ In Black We Trust” was a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, showing the interconnectedness of black liberation and the lived experiences of black people globally.

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Next stop was Bondumani Art, another collective of young Sierra Leonean artists. The pieces showed Sierra Leonean heroes such as Senge Pieh and Mammy Yoko, and highlighted themes of masculinity and vulnerability .

At The Reunion Sierra Leone, there was a showcase of digital and abstract art , and it was a space for emerging artists who were exhibiting their work for the very first time. The Reunion is a new network of artists in Sierra Leone, and it is part of a larger global network of contemporary and visual artists in Switzerland, Costa Rica and Honduras. This is great , as it shows that Sierra Leonean artists can be a part of global creative collectives.

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Three art exhibitions in Freetown in one year is an amazing growth spurt in the creative scene, and I hope to see more of these in the coming years. Artists need creative validation , and these spaces not only grant them exposure, but also give them the creative confidence they need to carry on in an environment that is quite challenging to thrive as an artist. One of the artists I spoke to at The Reunion, Ranya Nirvan, mentioned how difficult it is to get quality art supplies in Sierra Leone. Artists have to import supplies and pay heavy duty taxes , taking a financial toll on them. A permanent space to exhibit remains a challenge as there aren’t any art galleries in Sierra Leone. These exhibitions therefore serve as the only opportunity for emerging artists to network with potential buyers, get more traction for their virtual platforms on social media, and make their work feel worthwhile.

I hope to see more of such celebration and showcasing of our beauty and our realities as a nation through art. Art is a balm , so I appreciate these artists for coming together to create such beauty and pour out light. As we close a very tumultuous 2020 and hope for a fresh start in 2021, here’s to more exhibitions, more creative collaboration, and to more celebration of our beautiful Sierra Leone!

Words and pictures by Ngozi Cole. Send enquiries about this post to editor@poda-poda.com