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GeneralLiberia news

Young Liberian poet releases ‘Scary Dreams’

By Naneka Hoffman

Liberian Poet Lekpele M. Nyamalon says his latest work, Scary Dreams is an anthology of the Liberian Civil Wars.

Mr. Nyamalon disclosed that he was born in 1983 after the bloody military coup of the People’s Redemption Council, and six years later on December 24, 1989, came the rebel invasion by the National Patriotic Front Liberia, so he grew up in the crisis period.

According to him, the book of poems leads readers on a journey of these experiences, as he lived and grew up through conflicts, and adding that this is how he looks at present-day Liberia hence, Scary Dreams is more important than ever as its a reflection of the past to know how far the nation has come. 

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the New Dawn over the weekend at iCampus in Monrovia, Mr. Nyamalon explained that the book is conversational through story-telling, allowing readers to share their personal experiences of the civil war – what they went through and how their experiences could lead to both personal and national healing.

He said Scary Dreams is his second book and the first was “’Yearnings of a Traveler.”  

He expressed optimism that Liberians can rise from these terrifying dreams and become great again, which is why he titled the book ‘’Scary Dreams.’’

The young Liberian writer detailed that Scary Dreams is all about the conflicts of April 12, 1980; April 14, 1979, Rice Riot; the November 12, 1985, Abortive Invasion; the December 24, 1989, Rebel Invasion and the April 6, 1996 clashes between rebels loyalty to jailed former President Charles Ghankay Taylor and rebels of the late ULIMO-J leader Roosevelt Johnson on Camp Johnson Road, respectively.

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He said the books are on sale for 10 United States Dollars and hopes that Liberians collectively would not forget about their past in order to heal from it.

According to him, the way not to forget is to remember these stories, not to be bitter about them, but to avoid the circle of violence that has destroyed them for so long in order to build a path of reconciliation that would help in stopping people from returning to the past of tribalism, ethnicity, violence and abuse.

He noted that book is a general reflection of all the things they’ve gone through as a people.

‘’Because we don’t reflect on these stories, we are more likely to repeat them’’, he added. Editing by Jonathan Browne

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NewDawn

The New Dawn is Liberia’s Truly Independent Newspaper Published by Searchlight Communications Inc. Established on November 16, 2009, with its first hard copy publication on January 22, 2010. The office is located on UN Drive in Monrovia Liberia. The New Dawn is bilingual (both English & French).
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