ABSTRACT
Dr. Patricia Jabbeh Wesley is a survivor of the Liberian war and accomplished African poet/academic in the United States. She has won major awards for her poetry and has been featured on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). In this interview, she talks about her life, the women of her village, and what it means to be an African poet writing in the West. Not many academics who leave Africa under harsh circumstances write books that capture the experiences of war in such as marvelous manner Wesley. Her volumes of poetry are not only considered relevant documents of history but also pieces of creative writing that illustrate the spirit of the time and the significant events that shaped the stories of Liberia. Wesley discusses in this interview her books, her upbringing, her family, and her community in Liberia. At the crux of her views is the relevance of memory to the poet.
