Modou Lamin Sowe, pen name Modou Lamin Age-Almusaf Sowe, is a young Gambian scholar and creative writer. He has written five books: Don’t Judge the Book by the Cover (novel), The Throne of the Ghost (play), The Memories of Reflection (novella), AfriKa Not AfriCa (poetry collection), and TWAWEZA (an anthology of 24 Non-fiction African Stories published by the African Writers Development Trust).
He was awarded the African Literature Award 2021–2022, presented to him by the International Association of African Authors and Scholars Professional Development Institute (IAAAS-PDI), based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
His drama book, The Throne of the Ghost, was listed by the Pan-African Writers Association as the book of the month in May 2022. His poetry collection, AfriKa, Not AfriCa, was awarded the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Award in 2020 by the Winning Writers based in Texas, USA.
ML Sowe is a literary activist, sustainable development and climate change champion. He promotes SDG Goal number 4, 11, and 13. He is currently a Board Member of the African Union Commission Youth Advisory Board on Disaster Risk Reduction and Regional Coordinator of the International Association of African Authors and Scholars.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
The ability to touch another human being through my work as a writer is divine. It is a divine inspiration to transmogrify the human mind into humanity. To right what is wrong—and to teach what is morally right with great aplomb. The language of knowledge is wisdom. I’m always infatuated by the speed of logic, the storytelling of Chinua Achebe, the writings of American Paul Beatty and Nigerian Femi Osofisan, and the out-of-this-world literary versatility of William Shakespeare. I write stories I like to read. But the English language has greatly influenced my writings because I wrote all my works in English language. The proper study of human beings is books. If you want to study people, read books. Charles Dickens, Chinua Achebe, Femi Osofisan, and William Shakespeare influenced my writing.
What inspired you to start writing this book?
I was inspired to write this book because of my travel across Africa to fifteen different countries. The languages, the food, the cultures, water, mountains, the seas, and our common values as Africans, inspired me to write this book for Africa. Particularly the notable speeches of Pan-Africanist Prof. Plo Lumumba and Ousman Touray. A child that must speak on behalf of the gods should first speak his mother tongue. I write to tell African oral traditional Gambian stories that must not be forgotten. If I can understand William Shakespeare, I want to believe that people can understand me. I am compelled to incorporate local languages into my writings in order to be proud of who I am. Most of my writings in my native languages address contemporary challenges true to African identity. Whenever I write in local languages, I am compelled to address socio-cultural, economic, linguistic, political and economic barriers to true African cultures. Both at the institutional, state, and regional block levels.
Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
AfriKa, Not AfriCa, is a collection of 26 poems, which promotes Pan Africanism in what Prof. Plo Lumumba calls Africa, which “belongs” to Africans. The book speaks about Africa under dictatorship and further addresses global politics, modern world religion, and the new world order. The title of the book takes its name from Afrikaana, the language and culture of the black people, and addresses current happenings in Africa—war, corruption, coup d’état, hatred, poverty, bribery, and the inferiority of the black race, to name a few. Haunting, gripping, and lyrical—a book you won’t want to put down for its distinct diction and inexplicable eloquence—this is an excellent debut that sensitively prophesies the coming of the Antichrist and the present chaos in the world in connection to religion and terrorism.
The book also centers on African leaders, poor governance, and corruption. It’s descriptive, lyrical, and poignant, and it creates an intimate and visceral read that is both solid mystery and fast-paced psychological poetry in a world of deception. I defined politics as intellectual deception, stating that they will charge us with having capably allowed the destruction of some of those records of creation we had in our power to conserve.
If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?
If my book had a soundtrack, some of the songs that would be on it are:
“AfriKa, Not AfriCa”
“Love After Heartbreak”
“Snow White or Snow Black”
“Ex-husband”
“Decolozing the Heart”
“Letter to Satan”
This is so because most of these poems are lyrical in nature and could be accompanied by soundtracks. My love for rap music, especially American hip-hop and rap, in general, influenced some poems in the book.
Describe your dream book cover.
To bite or be bitten; we all have teeth. My dream cover is an African young man stranded in the desert and imagining an integrated AfriKa with one currency and one passport. A borderless AfriKa for Africans. My writings are lucid yet opaque, lyrical and philosophical yet fictional, informative yet imaginative. I write to speak the language of different voices in my head: the invisible, the oppressed, the voiceless, the unemployed, the poor, the rich, the powerful, and also, the unrepresented mental shifts of human stories misunderstood by the majority. The role of realist literature is to tell the truth in a lie. Some people read me the wrong way when I integrate local languages into my English-based writings. They shouldn’t just read for the story but also the content, the diction, the situation, the moral cultural values, and the world of cultural heritages to which I belong.
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
I have been volunteering with the African Union for almost five years now. I teach both in Gambia and outside Gambia. I used to teach English as a Foreign Language while in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, while I teach Creative Writing, English Language, and Literature-in-English in The Gambia. Something about me that my readers shouldn’t is that I’m also an artist and can paint very well. But I am hiding that talent in me and looking forward to doing a live painting at a college or university abroad because my long-term goal is to become a lecturer or professor of creative writing, literature, and African studies.
What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?
Things Fall Apart
Women of Owu
Ninty-Nine Days for the Thief
Animal Farm
The Sellout
Lord of the Flies
The Tempest
Great Expectations
What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?
I would like my readers to embrace the power of knowledge and education to reclaim our true identity. This is perhaps the only way to overcome the societal challenges we are confronted with. I might not live long and face a lot of challenges in Africa, especially in my own country. But I’m fulfilled that my writings might one day inspire people.
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