Words without Borders; The Home of International Literature

Words without Borders; The Home of International Literature
Check out an interview with Rwandan Writer Scholastique Mukasonga

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Nina in Liberia

Many are unfamiliar with this chapter in Nina Simone's life; the years she lived in the West Africa country of Liberia- 1974-77. She left on the eve of the start of Liberia's civil war. She said in Liberian Calypso, a song inspired by her time there:

*Artwork-Martha Rich


"1974, that's the year
I went straight home 'cause I had so much to fear
I had dreamed for oh so long
That one day I'd be going home…"
To read more about this period in Nina's life, see link here: https://www.guernicamag.com/nina-simone-in-liberia/
.
Kudos to literary activist Debra Wright who organized the ultimate tribute to Nina Simone; a poetry anthology dedicated to her. Wright compiled and edited "Philly Jawns:
For Women Revisited" which features 40 Philadelphia women poets exploring the nuances and complexities of the incomparable Nina Simone. My poem, Nina in Liberia, which is included in this project, pays homage , in a small way, to the time when Nina graced the coast of West Africa.



                                                      Collage by Pat McLean-Smith

Link to purchase this anthology: