In Sierra Leone

Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book In Sierra Leone by Michael D. Jackson, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael D. Jackson ISBN: 9780822385561
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: March 8, 2004
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Michael D. Jackson
ISBN: 9780822385561
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: March 8, 2004
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

In 2002, as Sierra Leone prepared to announce the end of its brutal civil war, the distinguished anthropologist, poet, and novelist Michael Jackson returned to the country where he had intermittently lived and worked as an ethnographer since 1969. While his initial concern was to help his old friend Sewa Bockarie (S. B.) Marah—a prominent figure in Sierra Leonean politics—write his autobiography, Jackson’s experiences during his stay led him to create a more complex work: In Sierra Leone, a beautifully rendered mosaic integrating S. B.’s moving stories with personal reflections, ethnographic digressions, and meditations on history and violence.

Though the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.) ostensibly fought its war (1991–2002) against corrupt government, the people of Sierra Leone were its victims. By the time the war was over, more than fifty thousand were dead, thousands more had been maimed, and over one million were displaced. Jackson relates the stories of political leaders and ordinary people trying to salvage their lives and livelihoods in the aftermath of cataclysmic violence. Combining these with his own knowledge of African folklore, history, and politics and with S. B.’s bittersweet memories—of his family’s rich heritage, his imprisonment as a political detainee, and his position in several of Sierra Leone’s post-independence governments—Jackson has created a work of elegiac, literary, and philosophical power.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In 2002, as Sierra Leone prepared to announce the end of its brutal civil war, the distinguished anthropologist, poet, and novelist Michael Jackson returned to the country where he had intermittently lived and worked as an ethnographer since 1969. While his initial concern was to help his old friend Sewa Bockarie (S. B.) Marah—a prominent figure in Sierra Leonean politics—write his autobiography, Jackson’s experiences during his stay led him to create a more complex work: In Sierra Leone, a beautifully rendered mosaic integrating S. B.’s moving stories with personal reflections, ethnographic digressions, and meditations on history and violence.

Though the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F.) ostensibly fought its war (1991–2002) against corrupt government, the people of Sierra Leone were its victims. By the time the war was over, more than fifty thousand were dead, thousands more had been maimed, and over one million were displaced. Jackson relates the stories of political leaders and ordinary people trying to salvage their lives and livelihoods in the aftermath of cataclysmic violence. Combining these with his own knowledge of African folklore, history, and politics and with S. B.’s bittersweet memories—of his family’s rich heritage, his imprisonment as a political detainee, and his position in several of Sierra Leone’s post-independence governments—Jackson has created a work of elegiac, literary, and philosophical power.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book The Discovery and Conquest of Peru by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Empire Burlesque by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book The American Colonial State in the Philippines by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Global/Local by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book A Flock Divided by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book The Cinema of Naruse Mikio by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Remembering Pinochet's Chile by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Wet Earth and Dreams by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book The Official World by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Health Care at Risk by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Experimental Practice by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book The Mayan in the Mall by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Dilemmas of Difference by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Disrupting Savagism by Michael D. Jackson
Cover of the book Sounds of Crossing by Michael D. Jackson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy