Liberian Poet Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, born and raised on the west coast of Africa, fled her country in 1991 to escape the Liberian civil war “” an event that continues to inform her work to this day.
“We saw the devastation of our homeland and lived through the massacre of thousands,” Wesley said in her written biography.
On Thursday, Nov. 2, Point Loma Nazarene University’s Women’s Studies Center and Cultural Events Series will welcome Wesley on campus for a reading of her poetry at 7:30 p.m.
With bold and powerful words, Wesley’s writing reflects the hardship, struggle and survival that she witnessed and experienced in her life. But she is not victimized by an unjust past; instead she evokes a will to survive.
“Surviving is not about being alive after tragedy; surviving is about faith, perspective and finding laughter again and again in order to move on,” she wrote.
Wesley grew up in small Liberian villages, swimming in nearby streams and working on her uncle’s farm harvesting rice. She recalls sitting by the fire and listening to tales of wars worldwide. She also heard of the Grebo and Gbologbo wars, which were closer to home.
While in school, Wesley learned “to speak the Grebo language with fluency, to wail on the Mat, to eat kola nuts, to fight village boys, and to stand [her] own ground.” Wesley then went on to become a teacher at the University of Liberia in the English department.
In 1991, Wesley and her family left Liberia to escape the violence. They moved to the United States, first settling in the Grand Rapids area, then Kalamazoo.
“Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Southwest Michigan, where I lived for 12 years, is where I learned to wipe dry my tears, where I learned to live again for many years while war ravaged Liberia,” Wesley wrote.
It was there, in Michigan, that Wesley completed her doctorate. Eventually, she moved with her husband and children to Western Pennsylvania, where she currently teaches at the Penn State University, Altoona campus.
Wesley has published two poetry collections, entitled “Before the Palm Could Bloom: Poems of Africa,” and the 2003 acclaimed work, “Becoming Ebony.” The themes she explores include the pain of exile and war, the shared love of her homeland, the realities of being an African woman and the universality of human relationships. Her poems have been published in several literary magazines, and she often attends poetry festivals.
While Wesley was victorious in escaping a home destroyed by war, “many others much better and more loved never survived that cruel war,” she continued. “I will never let their stories die as long as I can write.”
Wesley will present her poetry at the San Diego First Church of the Nazarene, 3900 Lomaland Drive. The reading is open to the public and there will be a book signing to follow. For more information, call the Literature, Journalism, and Modern Languages Department at (619) 849-2297.