Interviews

April 12, 1980–40 years later: Surviving the Coup that Transformed Liberia

April 11, 2020 admin21980 Coup, Doe, Liberia, Tolbert0 comment

Liberia erupted in violence on April 12, 1980 as Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe seized power from President William Tolbert, ending 133 years of political dominance by Americo-Liberians. Americo-Liberians traced their ancestry to African Americans and Black British subjects who immigrated to Africa and became the founders of the Republic of Liberia, in power from 1847-1980. In October 1985, having promised to return Liberia to civilian rule, Doe was declared the winner of Liberia’s first multi-party elections. The results were largely rejected by the international community after his own staff took the ballots…

Interviews

Patrice Lumumba: 50 Years Later, Remembering the Pan Africanist leader

February 20, 2020 admin20 comment

On the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically elected leader of what is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lumumba’s Pan-Africanism and his vision of a united Congo gained him many enemies. Both Belgium and the United States actively sought to have him killed. The CIA ordered his assassination but could not complete the job. Instead, the United States and Belgium covertly funneled cash and aid to rival politicians who seized power and arrested Lumumba. On January 17, 1961, after being beaten…

Janetta Marilyn Konah is a Liberian Poet and Author of "Beautiful Pieces" a poetry chapbook published on Amazon. She writes themes that explore the full range of human emotions, nature, life, and society. Her writing has appeared in KWEE, a Liberia Literary Magazine where she was featured as Author of the month of January 2020. She is a member of the reading literary team, Monrovia Reads, and WeWrite Liberia, where she gets to hone your creative passion for both writing and reading. The author lives in Monrovia where she moves through her daily life on the wings of poetry.

Interviews

Interview : Janetta Marilyn Konah, Liberian Poet and Author

February 19, 2020February 19, 2020 admin2Liberia, poet, Writer0 comment

Janetta Marilyn Konah is a Liberian Poet and Author of “Beautiful Pieces” a poetry chapbook published on Amazon. She writes themes that explore the full range of human emotions, nature, life, and society. Her writing has appeared in KWEE, a Liberia Literary Magazine where she was featured as Author of the month of January 2020. She is a member of the reading literary team, Monrovia Reads, and WeWrite Liberia, where she gets to hone your creative passion for both writing and reading. The author lives in Monrovia where she moves…

HBF: It was my way of delineating social classes and their reactions to the questions of patriotism and nationalism in a situation of political crisis. Again, the attempt was to draw our attention to that facet of our history which some ethnicists were trying to deny after the coup: that there ever were progressive and enlightened members of that social group called Americo-Liberians. This perception was ahistorical and downright reactionary. There have always been enlightened and progressive members of that group as one could see from the works of Blyden, Barclay, Bracewell, etc. Joe Benson was a symbol of that progressive tendency within this group which had maintained power after Barclay, would have altered the history of our country in a very positive direction.

Interviews

On his-Novel Behind God’s Back: a chat with Dr. HB Fahnbulleh, Jr.

August 23, 2019 admin2Behind God's Back, Boima Fahnbulleh0 comment

When I came across Dr. Fahnbulleh’s novel, “Behind God’s Back” at a local library in Monrovia in 2010, I was fascinated to know that he’s not only a militant agitator for social political change in Liberia, but a very good creative writer. I had read so much of his militant polemics of vexing Liberian social issues. But I could not imagine he had written a brilliant novel such as “Behind God’s Back.” Perhaps what fascinated me more than anything about this novel is the fact that as much as Dr. Fahnbulleh is well…

Interview by Professor Patricia Wesley, Penn State University

Interviews

Interview: Dr. Patricia Wesley & Comrade Cherbo Geeplay

August 14, 2019April 25, 2020 admin2Cherbo Geeplay, Interview, Patricia Jabbeh Wesley0 comment

Comrade Cherbo Geeplay was born in Pleebo, Southeastern Liberia, Western Africa, and is a Liberian and African poet whose work has appeared in many journals and publications, and was interviewed by Dr. Patricia Jabbeh Wesley. Can you talk a little bit about how you came to poetry? What has poetry offered to you? And what do you add to the dialogue of Liberian poetry? I think it was in high school, I got my spark from high school. High school was instrumental, and then during the Liberian civil war too,…

Editor's Desk Interviews

11 Questions Zubin Cooper, Actor

June 25, 2016June 30, 2016 adminCannes France, featured, Liberian Actor, The Last Face, Zubin Cooper

Zubin Cooper is a Liberian documentary maker, actor and producer. He just finished his first Cannes Film Festival appearance, starring in ‘The Last Face’, a movie that covers Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and South Africa. He joined the project as a consultant, but given his immense talent, Zubin ended up making his acting debut in the role of ‘Dr. Mousa.’ 1. Liberians have been excited and more so since you appeared on the red carpet in Cannes, France. What has the reception for you been in Liberia and from…

Interviews

11 Questions: Ophelia S. Lewis, Writer, publisher, Humanitarian

January 31, 2016January 31, 2016 adminfeatured, Liberia, News, Ophelia Lewis

Born Nov.7, 1961 Ophelia S. Lewis is a Liberian writer and publisher. Her first book, “My Dear Liberia” [2004] was published in memory of pre- civil war Liberia. She is referred to in some quarters as a feminist-nationalist, and is the founder of Village Tale Publishing. She is also the author of novels, and children’s books, poetry, short stories and essays. Ophelia is active in helping other authors getting their writing published using a self-publishing platform. When she is not writing she can be found fundraising for worthy causes such…

Interviews

11 Questions: Althea Romeo Mark, Writer, Poet, Educator

January 21, 2016January 24, 2016 adminAlthea Romeo-Mark, Black Writers, featured, News

Althea Romeo Mark is an educator and poet who grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She earned a B.A. in English and Secondary Education from the University of the Virgin Islands and a M.A. in Modern American Literature from Kent State University in the U.S.A. She considers herself a citizen of the world having lived and taught in the Virgin Islands, U.S.A, Liberia, England and now currently Switzerland. She has published 5 collections of poems as well as various short stories and poems in a variety of literary magazines.…

Interviews

11 Questions Wleh Bedell: Football Analyst, Consultant and Journalist

April 27, 2015June 19, 2015 adminfeatured, Liberia, Liberian Football, Wleh Bedell

Wleh Bedell is the founder of the Liberia Football Players Association (LIFOPA), an analyst, pundit, writer who is currently writing his first book on Liberian football. Mr. Bedell is described by some as a critic, the walking encyclopedia of Liberian football for his in-depth knowledge of the country’s football. Bedell worked as a reporter and editor of www.liberiansoccer.com, also, as Assistant Secretary General of the Sports Writers association of Liberia (SWAL), and Public Relations Officer at the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC). As a commentator, over the years he has…

Interviews

11 Questions Vamba Sherif: Writer, Novelist

April 18, 2015April 18, 2015 adminfeatured, Interviews, Liberian Writer, Vamba Sheriff

Vamba Sherif was born in Kolahun, Lofa County. His upcoming Novel Bound to Secrecy will be published by HopeRoad this month. A novelist principally, Sherif has written stories for The New York Times, The French magazine Long Cours, which is a subsidiary of L’Express, the German magazine Kultur Aaustauch, and for various Dutch newspapers and magazines like Trouw, De Volkskrant, One World, and many others. Vamba Sherif has had stints in acting and likes reviewing films. He’s currently an ambassador for the Dutch Refugees Council. In this capacity, he helps…