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Books by
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley
Before the Palm Could Bloom
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Becoming Ebony /
The River Is Rising /
Where the Road Turns
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Bio-Sketch
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley,
born in Tugbakeh (Maryland County, Liberia) and grew up in
Monrovia, is the author of
Before the Palm Could Bloom: Poems
of Africa, which retells her experiences in the Liberian
civil war. Her second book of poems is Becoming Ebony.
She attended the
prestigious College of West Africa (CWA), a United Methodist
High School which was founded in 1839. Her college days were
marked by Liberia’s political unrest in the late 1970s, which
resulted in the country's first military coup in 1980. Prior to the Liberian civil
war, Wesley was awarded a World Bank
Fellowship to do graduate studies at Indiana University in
Bloomington, IN, where she obtained a Master of Science degree
in English Education. After completion of her studies, she
returned with her family to Liberia.
She and her family became
caught up in the Liberian civil war when rebels overran Monrovia
in 1990. They were forced to flee their home in Congo Town, a
suburb near Monrovia, and lived in the Charles Taylor held
territory where they experienced the torture that classified
Taylor's warfare. She and her family thereafter immigrated
to the United States in 1991, having lost possessions and family
during the continuing Liberian civil war.
She has taught English and
Literature classes at the University of Liberia in Liberia, and
at a few American universities and colleges. Her first book of
poems, Before The Palm Could Bloom: Poems of Africa (New
Issues Press, 1998) successfully captures some of her war
experiences. Wesley writes poems of the Liberian civil war and
of the devastation it has wrought. And in poems of village
life and customs, the city of Monrovia, the rites of childhood
and adolescence, Wesley records for the reader a world that has
been forever changed. Wesley's poems incorporate many African
voices, and range in tone from sorrow and longing, to humor and
ironic wit.
Her second book of poems,
Becoming Ebony,
(second place winner of the Crab Orchard Award Series 2nd book
open competition) has just been released from Southern Illinois
University Press.
Four years ago she returned
to school upon the publication of her first book of poems in
1998, and completed a Ph.D. in English and Creative Writing in
June 2002. Her work has appeared in The Cortland
Review, Crab Orchard Review, Midday Moon, and New
Orleans Review.
She lives with her husband,
Mlen-Too, and their four (often) adorable children. * * * *
* As a little girl,
I used to wonder why the Grebo, Kru & Krahn word to describe
God, the sovereign one or the creator is "Nyesuah, Nesuah,
Nyonsua, etc." which means "human thirst" or the one we thirst
after." I got to know that later. This is because in my own
life, I have discovered that if I want to beat my enemies, fight
prejudice & discrimination, win, overcome or when friends, loved
ones, family or even workmates fail me, I turn to that source
the Grebo call "Nyesuah." That's my spirituality for you, my
Jesus, my King, my powerful, dependable source, the one I thirst
after even in the midst of what humans call "success." That's my
power!.—Patricia
Jabbeh Wesley
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Update
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley—Liberia
(video) /
Writers Talk featuring Patricia Jabbeh Wesley
(video)
A Reading by Poet Patricia Jabbeh Wesley
The image-concrete & abstract (imagery), the line (structure),
tone & language (figures of speech, particularly, the metaphor
in all its powerful forms) are four of the most important/basic
elements of a poem. There is however, no disputing of the power
of the concrete image in transporting the feelings & language of
a poem from poet to audience, from speaker to reader. To a poet,
image is as important as canvas is to an artist. The powerful
image in its most concreteness takes a poem off the page to the
mind's eye of the reader. This is why we laugh & cry & scream
and jump when a good poem is read, & let's be clear, that image
must be fresh, new, and relevant to the poem. Unless you know
how important these are, the writing of a poem is as difficult
as cutting steel.
I was quite surprised, but
very honored when at the end of my first workshop experience,
one of the students, a woman probably over 70 yrs old exclaimed:
"Wow, you just make it so easy for us to open up, to be
ourselves and write about everything. You free & empower us. You
ARE our liberator from Africa!" She was too genuine for me not
to get up and give her a hug. Glad it turned out well today.
Tomorrow is my big day: 8:30-10:30 teaching & in-class
discussion of participants' poems written in class today & my
12:15 solo brown bag lecture on "Writing as a Tool in Healing."
Today is a busy day: Done
with my early morning teaching, now, I have lunch with the
Director, then my solo talk on "Writing as a Tool in Healing: A
Living Experience." Hope I don't disappoint them since I never
really talk point to point from my outline, hahaha, terrible
with scripts, guys, so forgive me. In the past, I've not done
bad, and since I never get nervous about any talks or readings,
I should be okay, don't you think?—Patricia
Jabbeh Wesley
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I got a
surprise invitation to visit the President of
Liberia, Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf at her office today at 5 pm., so you can
imagine how excited I was to see her & tell her
about Poetry Parnassus London 2012 & my
representation of Liberia. It was an inspirational
discussion during which we talked about teaching
more Liberian literature in Liberian schools.
After a few
minutes I asked if the President would allow my son,
Mlen-Too II (MT), who was waiting in another room,
to come in & see her in person even though he was
not scheduled to, and she was so gracious to allow
MT. Then Mr. MT came in and stole my entire show.
She loved him to bits & was so excited to talk about
his computer software skills, but of course, I
couldn't be more proud.
When I told her
I'd be back next year, she said, "When you do, I'll
like to see you again." What a day!—Patricia
Jabbeh Wesley |
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Explosives in my
luggage? Read this. I departed London Heathrow, my first time in
the UK with a sour heart, hurt by the treatment at the border
security. I had mistakenly left juice in my overnight, so they
held me in line for 40 mins. while their uniformed girls slowly,
& I mean slowly checked each passenger, 1st come, 1st served,
six people before me. No black person was in that line and no
one was given extra inspection. When my turn came, the black
girl checking turned over to an Asian girl, who checked me for
20 mins. then called the head security. He came & told me that I
had explosive in my luggage, to my shock.
I, Patricia Jabbeh Wesley,
a war survivor, with explosives, so they needed my passport,
which they took, intending to disgrace me before everyone with
questioning about my reason for coming into their country. So I
told them that I would not answer any questions unless they did
their investigation in a private room. They then led me there,
all my medicines, my personal things scattered in their bins.
They held me there, not even a chair to sit on, until this
security guy went up and down, checking all the data to prove I
had explosives.
He finally discovered after
an hour more, my plane nearly ready to depart, checking my
records with the US. Each time he found me clear, he picked on
another aspect. The Asian girl who had started the stupidity in
the first place was now complaining about what her boss was
looking for. I told her, he's looking for the explosives you saw
or tested. The two women security were waiting with me, then
they began to read three of my books in my luggage, and they
began to apologize, talking about, "Oh, she came for the
festival." At that moment, I was in tears, standing for more
than an hour, never seen anything like this in the US,
unqualified people, they were. Their chief came back and said,
"She's totally clear. She
is no risk, no explosives, but why did you say she had
explosives again?" The Asian girl said, it was the juice and she
drank it there. Wow, they tried to make up by taking me to my
gate, but they had already told me something about the UK. My
plane was boarding when I got to my gate even though I was in
line 2 hours before boarding. If you're going to the Olympics,
be ready for being falsely accused of having "EXPLOSIVES" in
your luggage even before they test you.—Patricia
Wesley 5 July 2012
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Table
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Where the Road Turns
By
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley
In this her
fourth volume, I witness Patricia Jabbeh Wesley
courageously dipping her pen into her own wound and
splashing vivid imagery upon the canvas of her own
skin. That is an illusion, for that pen is really a
scalpel cutting the gangrenous and the rotten out of
her nation's violated flesh. But that too is an
illusion. That scalpel is a steel tongue in a
powerful Grebo woman's mouth weaving a fine gauze
from dirges, love songs, praise songs, fragments of
aphoristic wisdom, fables, new myths, narrative and
lyrical dialogues in order to bind our own wounded
psyches.
Proud Grebo
women's voices burst through her mouth to chastise
depraved men who harvest babies to stoke diamond
wars as they blaze through forests of dry human
bones in their imported death chariots. Beyond
celebrating these fiery taboo-breaking warrior women
who are passionate about peace, justice, their right
to forbidden fantasies, she also claims her place,
though exiled, in the lineage. Condemned to bear
upon her back her home, she is the strong earthen
vessel that safeguards the essential spiritual Grebo
values bequeathed to her by the village elders in a
circle. Because moving is never a leaving, memories
of home constantly surge through the poet's wry
humor and wit that serve as balm for the
ever-nagging pain. |
To honor her ancestors' memories Wesley has planted
these enduring trees whose fruits must nourish us all if
we are willing to avail ourselves of her poetic gifts.
These are brave and fearless poems in a harsh dark
season, yet necessary for the witness they bear to human
folly while insisting on our capacity to love. With each
new volume, her voice grows stronger as it blends with
those of Ama Ata Aidoo, Alda do Espirito Santo, and Jeni
Couzyn. She is without doubt among the most powerful of
the younger generation of African poets.—Frank
M. Chipasula, editor,
Bending the Bow: An Anthology of African Poetry/
co-editor of
The Heinemann Book of African Women's Poetry
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Wesley writes with clear-eyed lyricism about her ruthless and
beleaguered homeland, and the bittersweet relief and loss of the
diaspora. Her poems are scintillating and vivid, quickly
sketched fables shaped by recollections of childhood playmates,
moonlight and ocean surf, hibiscus hedges, and big pots of
boiling soup. But these paeans to home blend with percussive
visions of falling rockets and murdered children, sharp
recollections of hunger and mourning, and a survivor's careful
gratitude in a land of cold winds and rationed sunlight, her
carefully measured memories and cherished dreams of return.
--Booklist
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley's The River is Rising is both brilliant
and heartbreaking. Survivor of the brutal Liberian Civil War,
Wesley bears witness to a life she lost to that war, and to what
it means to be a refugee who has remade herself.... "To every
war," she says simply, "There are no winners." .... I am in awe
of these beautiful, necessary poems, and the glory and largesse
of Wesley s vision. --Cynthia Hogue
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley's poetry is heartfelt, wise, and alive...
One senses in her that rare combination of someone who has been
deeply schooled in both literature and life, and who has
integrated those two into a deeply felt and shrewd worldview.—Stuart
Dybek
In Patricia Jabbeh Wesley's third collection of poems, the poet
writes about being caught between two cultures: her native
Liberia and her adopted America. The struggles of the immigrant
are contrasted with her memories of the Liberian Civil War.—Publisher
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Murder in the Cassava Patch
By Bai T. Moore
Based on a true story,
Bai T. Moore's Murder in the Cassava Patch
is Liberia's best-known novel. Published by Ducor
Publishing House (Monrovia)
in 1968, it remains required reading for every
Liberian high school student, and is widely regarded
as the one real Liberian literary classic in a very
small literary tradition. . . . Bai Tamia Johnson
Moore (12 October 1916 – 10 January 1988), commonly
known by his pen-name, Bai T. Moore, was a
Liberian poet, novelist, folklorist and
essayist. He also held various cultural, educational
and tourism posts both for the Liberian government
and for
UNESCO, and was the founder of Liberia's
National Cultural Center. He is best-known for his
novella
Murder in the Cassava Patch (1968), the tale of
a
crime passionel in a traditional Liberian
setting.Wikipedia
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Murder in the Cassava Patch (Trailer) |
Celebrating Bai T. Moore, The Late Liberian Poet, Writer,
Culturalist, and Statesman ((Patricia Wesley)
Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf (video)* * * *
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Pray the Devil Back to Hell
A film directed by Gini
Reticker
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
is a captivating new film by director Gini Reticker.
It exposes a different story angle for the largely
forgotten recent events of the women of Liberia
uniting to bring the end to their nation's civil
war. This film is amazing in the way it captivates
your attention from the earliest frames. It doesn't
shy away from showing footage of the violent events
that took place during the Liberian civil war. But
the main story of the film is that of
Leymah Gbowee
and the other women uniting, despite their religious
differences, to force action on the stalled peace
talks in their country. Using entirely nonviolent
methods, not only are the peace talks successful,
but Charles Taylor, the president of Liberia, is
forced into exile leading to the first election of a
female head of state in Africa. The women of this
film are truly an inspiration and no one can fail to
be moved by the message of hope that comes through
clearly in this film. These are heroes that deserve
to be remembered and with Pray the Devil we are able
to do that, gaining both a knowledge of the history
we are ignorant of through archival footage and an
understanding of the leaders of this movement
through close-up interviews with the many women who
lead it. The film also offers a great soundtrack &
inspirational song- "Djoyigbe" by Angelique Kidjo &
Blake Leyh.—Amazon
Reviewer |
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Mighty Be Our Powers
How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War
By Leymah Gbowee
As a young woman, Leymah Gbowee was broken by the Liberian civil war, a brutal conflict that tore apart her life and claimed the lives of countless relatives and friends. Years of fighting destroyed her country—and shattered Gbowee’s girlhood hopes and dreams. As a young mother trapped in a nightmare of domestic abuse, she found the courage to turn her bitterness into action, propelled by her realization that it is women who suffer most during conflicts—and that the power of women working together can create an unstoppable force. In 2003, the passionate and charismatic Gbowee helped organize and then led the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, a coalition of Christian and Muslim women who sat in public protest, confronting Liberia’s ruthless president and rebel warlords, and even held a sex strike. With an army of women, Gbowee helped lead her nation to peace—in the process emerging as an international leader who changed history. Mighty Be Our Powers is the gripping chronicle of a journey from hopelessness to empowerment that will touch all who dream of a better world.—Beast Books / Pray the Devil Back to Hell |
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Faces At The Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of
Racism
By Derrick
Bell
In nine grim
metaphorical sketches, Bell, the black former
Harvard law professor who made headlines recently
for his one-man protest against the school's hiring
policies, hammers home his controversial theme that
white racism is a permanent, indestructible
component of our society. Bell's fantasies are often
dire and apocalyptic: a new Atlantis rises from the
ocean depths, sparking a mass emigration of blacks;
white resistance to affirmative action softens
following an explosion that kills Harvard's
president and all of the school's black professors;
intergalactic space invaders promise the U.S.
President that they will clean up the environment
and deliver tons of gold, but in exchange, the
bartering aliens take all African Americans back to
their planet. Other pieces deal with black-white
romance, a taxi ride through Harlem and job
discrimination. |
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Civil rights lawyer Geneva Crenshaw, the heroine
of Bell's
And We Are Not Saved (1987), is back in some
of these ominous allegories, which speak from the
depths of anger and despair. Bell now teaches at New
York University Law School.—Publishers
Weekly
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Malcolm X
A Life of Reinvention
By
Manning Marable
Years
in the making-the definitive biography of
the legendary black activist.
Of the great figure in twentieth-century
American history perhaps none is more
complex and controversial than Malcolm X.
Constantly rewriting his own story, he
became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and
an icon, all before being felled by
assassins' bullets at age thirty-nine.
Through his tireless work and countless
speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands
of black Americans to create better lives
and stronger communities while establishing
the template for the self-actualized,
independent African American man. In death
he became a broad symbol of both resistance
and reconciliation for millions around the
world.
Manning Marable's new biography of Malcolm
is a stunning achievement. Filled with new
information and shocking revelations that go
beyond the Autobiography, Malcolm X unfolds
a sweeping story of race and class in
America, from the rise of Marcus Garvey and
the Ku Klux Klan to the struggles of the
civil rights movement in the fifties and
sixties |
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Incognegro: A Memoir of
Exile and Apartheid
By Frank
B. Wilderson III
Wilderson, a professor,
writer and filmmaker from
the Midwest,
presents a gripping account
of his role in the downfall
of South African apartheid
as one of only two black
Americans in the African
National Congress (ANC).
After marrying a South
African law student,
Wilderson reluctantly
returns with her to South
Africa in the early 1990s,
where he teaches
Johannesburg and Soweto
students, and soon joins the
military wing of the ANC.
Wilderson's stinging
portrait of Nelson Mandela
as a petulant elder eager to
accommodate his white
countrymen will jolt readers
who've accepted the
reverential treatment
usually accorded him. After
the assassination of
Mandela's rival, South
African Communist Party
leader Chris Hani, Mandela's
regime deems Wilderson's
public questions a threat to
national security; soon,
having lost his stomach for
the cause, he returns to
America. Wilderson has a
distinct, powerful voice and
a strong story that shuffles
between the indignities of
Johannesburg life and his
early years in Minneapolis,
the precocious child of
academics who barely
tolerate his emerging
political consciousness.
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Wilderson's observations
about love within and across
the color line and cultural
divides are as provocative
as his politics; despite
some distracting
digressions, this is a
riveting memoir of
apartheid's last days.—Publishers
Weekly
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
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The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
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Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
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January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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