| To start examining the topic requires defining and | | | | Taylor-Pearce, Lawrence Kweku-Woode amongst |
| understanding the key terms. Of course the | | | | many others. He is seen as the principal poet in |
| phrase "looking back" implies recollecting and | | | | Krio on to the mid 50's. Some of them were |
| reflecting on what has gone on in the past and in | | | | published in the mid 60's in the Sierra Leone |
| our specific case this is confined to what has | | | | Language Review and Sierra Leone Studies. He |
| gone on in the past of the literary arts scene in | | | | also came out with Krio adaptations of |
| Sierra Leone which is the former British colony in | | | | Shakespeare's plays like Julius Caesar. |
| the West coast of Africa, surrounded by Guinea, | | | | It is difficult to account for all of the creative |
| Conakry and Liberia which became independent on | | | | works published then as many appeared in |
| 27th April 1961. | | | | varying media, newspapers, magazines and |
| The word "ART" in The Oxford Dictionaries has | | | | journals locally as well as abroad. |
| been defined as follows: | | | | Abioseh Nicol's short stories had achieved renown |
| 1. The production of something beautiful, or the | | | | internationally, appearing in British Literary journals |
| skill and ability in such work. | | | | and anthologies. Some of these formed part of |
| 2. Works such as paintings, sculptures produced | | | | his two well known short story collections Two |
| by skill. Creative activities such as paintings, | | | | African Tales and The Truly Married Woman and |
| theatre and story or poetry writings. | | | | other Stories all published by Cambridge University |
| 3. Skill applied to design, representation or | | | | Press. |
| imaginative creation. | | | | This colonial period was marked by little publication |
| 4. The conscious use of skilled imagination | | | | of creative works in book form. But with the |
| especially in the production of aesthetic objects. | | | | onset of independence and the publication of |
| These then suggest that the broad gamut of art | | | | Robert Wellesley Cole's autobiographical work |
| covers music, cinema, photography, painting, | | | | Kossoh Town Boy by Cambridge University Press |
| theatre, dance, literature and architecture. | | | | more works in book form were published. |
| This article, for reasons of space, has been limited | | | | The plays of Raymond Sarif Easmon. Dear Parent |
| to the literary arts. I will as the situation demands | | | | and Ogre, The New Patriot and his novel The |
| be making passing references to other aspects of | | | | Burnt Out Marriage profited from this. |
| the arts as we go along. | | | | Dr. William Conton's work, The African was a |
| Literature itself is a central art. It is of course the | | | | breakthrough for the Sierra Leone novel. It was |
| finer material of theatre and sometimes of dance, | | | | almost like our own. Things Fall Apart. Like Things |
| more so ballet. It is also related to those | | | | Fall Apart, The African was first published in |
| performing arts in the sense that it also | | | | London. American editions appeared the same |
| recaptures the dramatic representation of action | | | | year. It was published in 1960 with another edition |
| or slices of life, albeit through the written mode. | | | | following a year after. It was reprinted in Great |
| But depending on the skill of the presentation such | | | | Britain in 1964. Translations of it have been made |
| representation resonates with life almost as if it | | | | into Arabic, Hungarian and Russian. EkundayoRowe |
| were a dramatic recreation or even the very real | | | | also had his collection of stories. No Seed For The |
| situation itself. It also captures what the visual | | | | Soil, self- published in book form. |
| arts capture through not the brush of a painter or | | | | Later, new names like Yulisa Amadu Maddy, |
| the camera of the photographer but through its | | | | Muctarr Mustapha, Wilfred Taylor, Delphine King |
| presentation through a carefully selected arranged | | | | and Syl Cheney-Coker all broke out into print in |
| sequence of words, which convey a vivid and | | | | various forms. |
| accurate image of that picture. | | | | From the 70's onwards more new writers |
| Through words then, a literary writer recaptures | | | | emerged. Yema Lucilda Hunter's novel Road to |
| the visual images of a painter or photographer in | | | | Freedom was published in Nigeria by a Sierra |
| the written mode. Through the reader's skills in | | | | Leonean publishing outfit, African Universities Press |
| unraveling the mental images, unveiling of the | | | | A.U.P. She has recently published another novel |
| symbols hidden behind language through mental | | | | titled Bitter Sweet. Prince Dowu Palmer's novel |
| images, he gets the visual representation of | | | | The Mocking Stones was published by Longmans |
| reality that words carry. The rhythm is most | | | | in 1982 in their Drumbeat series. The same |
| prominent in poetry, particularly in drama. This | | | | publisher had a year earlier published Raymond |
| should not suggest that rhythm could not be | | | | Sarif Easmon's The Feud and other stories. This |
| found in novels and short stories. We all know | | | | period is also characterized by the aggressive |
| how deep an ingredient, music and dance is in | | | | promotion of Macmillan publishers in Sierra Leone. |
| African drama which the late Dele Charley, John | | | | They have already three novels from Sierra |
| Kolosa Kargbo, Yulisa Amadu Maddy, Raymond | | | | Leone in their Pacesetter series. This includes two |
| De Souza-George and Charley Haffner, often | | | | young writers, the journalist and teacher Edison |
| exemplify in their performances. | | | | Yongai who came outwith Who killed Mohta and |
| I intend to look at the literary scene as it was | | | | the insurance manager, OsmanConteh, with |
| before independence in 1961. Literature was then | | | | Double Trouble. From abroad also news of the |
| seen largely through the medium of newspapers | | | | publication of Yayah Swarray's plays was |
| of which the famous Sierra Leone Weekly News | | | | received. His worksinclude 'De Wol Do for Fraide.' |
| was the most prominent. It was almost like a | | | | Other writers, notably, Talabi Aisie Lucan, Melville |
| literary journal, though printed in the form of a | | | | Stuart, Marilyn Awoonor- Renner, Winston Forde |
| newspaper. Sawyer's Bookshop at Water Street | | | | and Clifford N. Fyfe channeled their creative |
| also played a vital role as not only making wide | | | | energies into producing children's literature many |
| selections of literary works from the Western | | | | of which were published by Evans. |
| world available, but in also publishing small | | | | After independence a few newspapers and other |
| pamphlets and little books from time to time. | | | | magazines of schools, colleges and churches |
| At that time clubs flourished and many of them | | | | carried limited quantity of creative writing. The |
| had literary activities as part of their program. | | | | Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service which was |
| Clubs like the City Literary Institute and Greenfield | | | | then in the creative hands of the late John Akar, |
| Club organized lectures and dramatic shows. The | | | | a writer himself, gave much outlet for creativity, |
| Greenfield Club was aimed particularly at | | | | whether literary, or performing. SLBS indeed gave |
| promoting literary activities. The Eccentric Society | | | | prominence to artists like Ebenezer Calendar, Allie |
| (a Multiracial group) organized periodic | | | | Ganda and the Rokel River Boys. There was also |
| "mind-uplifting concerts. However many of these | | | | a regular short story program in some radio |
| clubs were short lived. According to historical | | | | programming quarter. This featured the short |
| analysts this was due to the majority of Krios | | | | stories of young as well as older Sierra Leoneans |
| lacking interest in self-improvement and disunity | | | | including two stories of mine. In addition, there |
| within the ranks of the upper level of Freetown | | | | were book review programs. The children's half |
| society. This was limited to a few hundred people | | | | hour programs in English as well as the national |
| from whose ranks many of the other clubs drew | | | | languages were opportunities for the airing and |
| their membership. With this sort of close-knitted | | | | dissemination of the rich folklore of the country. |
| society, personal disagreements were easily | | | | Indeed many of us who had no grandmother at |
| brought into these societies thus disrupting their | | | | home spinning such rich and interesting yarns for |
| harmony and causing their break up. | | | | us, the story telling line on SLBS indeed filled in a |
| It could then be deduced that literary activities | | | | yawning gap in our social and cultural education. |
| then were more or less of an academic and | | | | With independence also there were many |
| philosophical or religious nature. Seldom were | | | | newspapers including the Daily Mail which was then |
| genuine literary efforts displayed. Such a scenario | | | | a truly daily paper that gave much space to |
| was transferred to the production of books. Many | | | | creative writing, short stories as well as stories |
| of the books have been more of textbooks or | | | | for children in the children's corner. There were |
| dissertations. One of the first written works by a | | | | also regular publications of book reviews as well |
| Sierra Leonean in 1865 reflected this concern. It | | | | as some attention given to other artistic activities |
| was the work of the medico James Africanus | | | | such as dramatic performances and musical |
| Horton on West African Political Economy of | | | | concerts. |
| British West Africa. His second book three years | | | | But unfortunately today the literary arts no longer |
| later in 1868 was West African Countries and | | | | receives as much attention as before in the press. |
| People, British and Native. This was like many of | | | | The pressmen themselves complain of paucity of |
| the other works published in London. There is also | | | | space which limits their publication to just political |
| A.B.C. Sibthorpe's monumental historical work on | | | | social and economic news. The Daily Mailitself had |
| Freetown. | | | | plummeted to an all time low in which it could no |
| Few creative works during this period were | | | | longer be safely termed a weekly or bi-weekly. It |
| produced by creative writers like Adelaide | | | | too is in dire shortage of space. But today it has |
| Casely-Hayford and Gladys Casely-Hayford. | | | | finally gone silent. The New Citizen gives some |
| Gladys Casely-Hayford was perhaps the | | | | space to the serialized stories of it's Managing |
| best-known from this period. Some of her poems | | | | Director and proprietor, I.B. Kargbo. |
| and stories have appeared in American and British | | | | A commendable trend started in the 70's with the |
| publications and are still been included in recent | | | | interest shown by a Swedish Linguist Nevillle |
| anthologies compiled in the West. One of her | | | | Shrimpton in the emerging plays in krio of young |
| poems which she published in a small book of | | | | as well as older playwrights. Thomas Decker's |
| poetry, Take Am So in Freetown in 1948 is | | | | translation of Julius Caesar was happily one of the |
| written in the country's lingua franca, krio. | | | | plays he published. Also published in the Shrimpton |
| The Educationist Mrs. Adelaide Casely-Hayford | | | | series have been Lawrence Kweku Woode's (God |
| (nee Smith) wrote stories following the traditions | | | | pas Konsibul) Raymond De Souza George's |
| of Ghanaian writers like Efua Sutherland and Ama | | | | (Bohbohlef) Dele Charley's (Fatmata, Petikot |
| Ata Aidoo. The most popular of these is "Mister | | | | Korner) and Esther Taylor Pearce's (Bad Man Pas |
| Courifer" which is part of Paul Geoffrey Edward's | | | | Emti Os). |
| anthology for schools which was widely used in | | | | There were occasional breakthroughs when Sierra |
| Freetown schools in the early 60s.,West African | | | | Leonean young writers were published in journals |
| Narrative This concern for culture is even seen in | | | | and magazines abroad. A notable medium outside |
| her work in the educational field. According to | | | | which featured short stories regularly was WEST |
| historian, Akintola Wyse, after studying in England | | | | AFRICA Magazine. Stories of younger writers like |
| and Germany and returning home she was so | | | | Peter Karefa-Smart and Brima Rogers have |
| appalled by the system of education for women | | | | appeared there. Yet another of Rogers' stories |
| that she devoted her whole life to introducing a | | | | was broadcast on the BBC's Short Story |
| system that gave an important place to African | | | | programme on World Service. And a lady writer |
| customs, arts and crafts amongst others. | | | | won the short story competition organized by the |
| Another poet published during that period was | | | | BBC African Service followed by Mohamed Sheriff |
| Crispin George whose collection of poems titled | | | | who has in addition won several playwrighting |
| Precious Gems was published by a well known | | | | contests organized by the B.B.C. His name seems |
| vanity publishing outlet, Arthur Stockwell in 1952. | | | | like one to be watched as he has demonstrated |
| A most important name in Sierra Leone Literature | | | | consistently strong signs of promise. He has |
| is the broadcaster Thomas Decker. His | | | | published three works already including a play, |
| importance is not only because he spans both the | | | | Sorie Clever, another play The Crook and the |
| colonial and independence periods, but because his | | | | Fools and a novella titled Secret Fear, which was |
| pioneering work in propagating the wider use of | | | | co-winner of the ECOWAS prize for excellence in |
| Krio for literary purposes was what generated | | | | literature. Macmillan Publishers published it in the |
| the flowering of Krio plays intensified by Dele | | | | McTracks series in 1997. |
| Charley, Raymond De Souza George, Esther | | | | |