Dirges for My Homeland

Dirges for my homeland is a collection of poems inspired by the experiences of the author with the Liberian civil war and his life as a refugee in the diaspora. Saah’s poems on war are chillingly powerful, poignant and moving. He uses his work to promote peace and reconciliation among his fellow Liberians and other war-affected populations.

He writes passionately about his experiences in the Liberian civil war, as well as about his hopes and dreams for peacetime Liberia. Saah writes with flare and simplicity that transports his readers to scenes of his experiences. He hopes his work would inspire other war-affected people to use similar gifts.

Saah has shared his poems with large and small audiences in the Europe, Africa and the USA. He was a guest on the BBC (once on Network Africa and twice on the Art House program in 1997) broadcasting to millions around Africa and the rest of the world. He was also a guest poet on WBUR Boston in 2003. Some of his poems, including, “Little Boy Soldier”, “When it is calm again”, and “The Unwilling Soldier” have been translated into two languages (Dutch and Arabic) and published in various magazines.

Saah C. N’Tow is one of Africa’s brilliant upcoming young poets. He is a community organizer, a peace activist and a founding member and a former leader of the Liberian Community Organization (LICO) in London. He works with the Liberian Community Association of Rhode Island (LCARI) as its Development and Immigration Committees chair. In 2002, he was awarded a Rhode Island Foundation Fellowship to promote poetry as therapy in post war societies. 

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (University of Liberia); a Masters of Science in Human Services Administration from (Springfield College, MA); and a Postgraduate Certificate in Youth and Community Services from Brunel University (Middlesex, England).

Saah has shared his powerfully moving poems with large and small audiences in the UK, Holland, Africa and the USA. He was a guest on the BBC (once on Network Africa and twice on the Art House program, in 1997) broadcasting to millions of listeners all around Africa and the rest of the world. The author lives with his wife and children in Providence, Rhode Island.