When the Wanderers Come Home

by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley

Described by African scholar and literary critic Chielozona Eze as “one of the most prolific African poets of the twenty-first century,” Patricia Jabbeh Wesley composed When the Wanderers Come Home during a four-month visit to her homeland of Liberia in 2013. She gives powerful voice to the pain and inner turmoil of a homeland still reconciling itself in the aftermath of multiple wars and destruction.
 
Wesley, a native Liberian, calls on deeply rooted African motifs and proverbs, utilizing the poetics of both the West and Africa to convey her grief. Autobiographical in nature, the poems highlight the hardships of a diaspora African and the devastation of a country and continent struggling to recover.
 
When the Wanderers Come Home  is a woman’s story about being an exile, a survivor, and an outsider in her own country; it is her cry for the Africa that is being lost in wars across the continent, creating more wanderers and world citizens.
 

Genres: Poetry, War, Liberia

126 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2016

Reviews

[Mariam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a lot of poetry anthologies but this will remain one of my favourites. It really is an ode to life and the Liberian conflict. My favourite thing was how Patricia juxtaposes and merges the topics. She vividly describes the death and violence of war but puts it right next to life. She talks about the mundane parts of life with despair and horror. Also all the poems are from a first person point of view, making you feel like it's your story too.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in three sections:
1, specifically about the Liberian Civil War, it's effect on the author, her family, community and the country - harrowing; a difficult read.
2, the experience of dual nationality, of having a relatively safe new home, being aware of the dangers and violence faced by those in the country of the heart - relief, survivors guilt, a feeling of displacement wherever you happen to be.
3, personal experiences and impressions (my favourite being "I Want Everything", a conversation overheard between divorcees), and of the impact of a cancer diagnosis and treatment.

I think I'm appreciating the poems more on reflection than in the reading of them, which may make a second reading more affecting (but who's got time for a second reading? 🤷🏻‍♂️).

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...wanting my old range and a fridge some wartime
squatters, passing through my home, did not take

away these twenty-two years, while my home floated
like a leaf, through the hands of mere strangers."

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite strong, particularly the first section.