What The Seashell Said To Me: A Collection Of Poems From Sierra Leone
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Bee James is delighted to announce the publication of ” What the Seashell Said to Me” now available on Amazon. A collection of poems put together by Sierra Leoneans both at home and abroad.
The Sierra Leone Poems Project was launched to assist socially disadvantaged poets in Sierra Leone, who may write well but struggle to get any sort of recognition. Often this is because of the lack of publishing outlets back home or the lack of state funding for emerging poets and established writers.
“What the Seashell Said to Me” scrutinizes current issues Sierra Leoneans face while others reminisce about the past or lament the injustices of the Civil war. Brilliant writers sought to express their deepest opinions and emotions about a topic. One might say the poem: Stand Back and See Sierra Leone by B. James captures the beauty of the landscape of our country, celebrates diversity and reminds us of the need for cohesion and joint-up working in order to continue to progress as a nation, while Kemurl Fofanah’s: A Woman in Africa re-echoes some of those sentiments but furthermore, gives a rich descriptive insight.
“What the Seashell Said to Me ” honours the beauty of the landscape of our country, celebrates diversity, and reminds us of the need for cohesion and joint-up working in order to continue to progress as a nation. It is a wonderful resource for parents, patriotic Sierra Leoneans, and teachers to help explain the beauty of Sierra Leone to young children.
“This anthology is a labour of love. It consists largely of work created by writers who live in an economically deprived climate. Mobile phone data is costly, computers and laptops very expensive and often there are power outages. Most of the young poets included type on their smartphones. I’m grateful for the support of renowned writers like Oumar Farouk Sesay and Kayode Robbin-Coker.” Bridgette James
Bridgette James
What the Seashell Said to Me features fifteen Sierra Leonean writers living at home and abroad. It was edited by Dr Kayode Robbin-Coker and compiled by Bridgette James. Oumar Farouk Sesay a writer of over twenty years gave a synopsis of the development of Sierra Leonean Literature in the foreword.
Published is also Ibrahim Sorie Mansaray, a passionate Sierra Leonean Poet whose passion for writing started as a child. He used to write letters to his late father. It was not only an outlet for his emotions, but additionally writing was also a means for Ibrahim to show other children his intellectual gift.
“My professional writing carrier started last year when I had my first article featured in PoliticoNewspaper.” He told Salone Messenger.
Speaking to Salone Messenger about his poems being featured in What the Seashell Said To me,
he said: “it’s joyfully unexplainable. I’ve always dreamt of achieving such glory. To be among the soldiers of Literature stored in the halls of time. More than anything, publishing gifted me the drive to do more. To believe that I really can do more and that there’s much more ahead if only I’m consistent.”
Ibrahim Sorie Mansaray
The collection of poemswas inspired by the need to showcase the work of talented writers in Sierra Leone who through socioeconomic hardship are still writing. The compiler Bridgette James sought to demonstrate that different genres of poetry can be found in the writing of featured poets who are mainly graduates and more importantly that our writers have a lot to offer to the field of West African Literature.
Bee James said “When I started interacting with emerging poets online on Facebook in January 2022, I quickly realised there was a wealth of unnurtured talents; contemporary styles needed to be introduced and old patterns of writing metered stanzas challenged.”
The anthology stocked in prestigious British libraries such as Oxford Solo and Cambridge University libraries comprises fifty-one poems some of which were written by Ibrahim Sorie Mansaray.
Amazon is the official online store for the ” What the Seashell Said to Me ” compiled by Bee James, a British Sierra Leonean Poet.
Born in Freetown Bridgette James is a 48-year-old British Sierra Leonean author and poet. Bridgette attended the Methodist Girls High School (MGHS) and later moved to the Albert Academy where she continued her Sixth form. She later attended Fourah Bay College to study English Language and Literature. Upon graduating she travelled to England in 1996 and went back to University to study Criminology & Social Policy.
Moving to the United Kingdom, Bridgette has spent most part of her life in the United Kingdom studying, working, and building a family. Despite the distance, Bridgette has never forgotten her home country, she always followed up by reading and watching the news to be updated on things happening in her country. Her love for writing and her birth country led her to embark on writing books as way to reflect and connect with her country. She has been published in several Poetry Magazines and Journals in the United Kingdom and is the author of Sierra Leone in the Diaspora. During an interview with us at Salone Messenger, Ella said “My book is all about our landscape, our tribes, our food and is meant to enlighten Britain about our diverse culture. Sierra Leone in the Diaspora which is in Legal Deposit Libraries in the UK addresses social and political themes such as gender inequality, FGM, child marriage, socio-economic deprivation, and corruption in politics, using a mixture of English and Creole words.
Sallu Kamuskay is a Sierra Leonean communication strategist, fixer, blogger, youth organiser, event manager, spokesperson, and public relations expert. His work has been regularly referenced and published by national and international media and public policy institutions.
Sallu Kamuskay was a child during the brutal war in Sierra Leone. Growing up in the midst of conflict, Sallu witnessed unimaginable abuse of children and gross violations of human rights. The horrors he witnessed during the Civil War had a terrible impact on him at a very tender age. But despite the shock of the war, Sallu never lost hope. He started on a journey of recovery, studying, and working for a better future. At age 15, Sallu entered into the world of activism and advocacy.
Sallu Kamuskay was the Vice President of the Young Leaders Organisation, a member of the National Youth Council. The Young Leaders is one of the oldest youth-led organisations in West Africa. The organisation was formed by a group of young leaders, and launched by the then Head of State/President of Sierra Leone.
Sallu was part of the group of young leaders who participated in and contributed to the establishment of the National Youth Council. The Commonwealth supported the training for trainers programme with line ministries and youth stakeholders in which key, representatives of youth council, student union and civil society/private sector youth platforms were engaged and empowered in the effective engagement and inclusion of youth.
Sallu is co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global multimedia and public relations firm based In Sierra Leone.
Sallu has worked on various developmental and policy issues such as Poverty, Climate Change, Human rights, Child Rights, Education, Health, Gender Equality, Civic Engagement, Government policies, Information Communication Technology for Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and has also been contributing to various global events and advocacy campaigns.
Sallu Kamuskay is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global Multimedia and Public Relations Firm based in Sierra Leone with the latest news and information, on top stories, business, politics, entertainment, and more.
Sallu is working with a leading technology company in Africa, Techfrica, that has recently developed and launched a social media, messaging Supfrica with over 150,000 downloads on the Google play store in less than 4 days. He is the Adviser and Media coordinator for the App to give people the platform to connect and communicate to help shape their future with a very fast internet that allows users that live in deprived and hard-to-reach areas with poor internet facility to be able to communicate as it allows and stronger on 2 and 3 G network reception.
Sallu has over 9 years of experience in youth engagement, inclusion, and coordination both at local and global levels, giving voice to young people and engaging young people to build a better world. He has served as coordinator for the Wave Alliance which brought together youth-led organisations who attended an international training in South Africa organized by the International Organization – Waves for Change.
Sallu is working with the MLT, Waves For Change, and the Government to develop safe spaces for young people, with a view to contributing to the overall development goals of young people including health, as well as to community rebuilding. Sallu is currently the Programme Director for the Wave Alliance, which is a coalition of youth-led and community-based organisations that have successfully introduced evidence-based Surf Therapy programs to young people in communities, with a focus on mental health, peace building and sustainable development.
Sallu is currently the focal point and face of Africa’s Faces Social media platform which is a global Social media platform that brings together people from across the world to share their moments, connect, share videos, and interact with friends giving more preference to excluded continents like Africa.
Sallu Kamuskay has devoted his time to working for or contributing to a number of national and international organizations and companies, including the Techfrica Technology Company, United Nations, ECOWAS, European Union, Commonwealth Africa Initiatives. This work has led him to travel to a number of countries to contribute to global youth platforms.
Sallu is the lead Coordinator for Peace Tour programme, an initiative supported by the European Union, Africa Union, ECOWAS focusing on uniting and empowering young people and local communities.
Over the years, Sallu Kamuskay has been using his Techno phone to be able to tell stories, the phone he used to tell the story of Gbessay during Ebola who was admitted at one of the Ebola treatment centers after rumors that she had Ebola when the actual sickness was ulcer, she was almost abandoned at the treatment canter with no medication provided to her. She could have died. Sallu told the story via social media and was able to secure funding from the United Sierra Leone to buy her medication and advocated for her. She was later discharged and taken home, He did the same to a patient that died and was abandoned in the street, Sallu Kamuskay used his phone and shared the message across, the corps was later taken and buried. It could have been more disaster without his voice. The story of late America Stress 3-year-old daughter. The hero’s daughter was abandon after his father's death. He shared her sad story and was able to get a sister who has taken the child as her own and is currently providing her with educational support. The article of America Stress can be read on the link below http://ayvnewspaper.com/index.php/k2-categories/item/7350-america-stress-a-hero-to-recognize.
Sallu Kamuskay feels the stories of Gbessay, America stress and that of many others need to be told. The media house we have cannot better tell these stories, they are better reporters than telling human interest stories. He created the Salone Messenger platform and brought together passionate storytellers to be able to tell these compelling stories.
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