Once referred to as “the Athens of Africa” by virtue of its enormous contribution to the growth of academia in Africa, the country is again gradually regaining that past glory as young and talented play writers, novelists, dramatists etc. are emerging with the fullest of determination, and poised to act as pioneers to regain that lost glory.
Among these emerging young writers set to take the place of foremost writers in the likes of Joe A.D. Alie, Magbele Fyle, Arthur Abraham, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka et al, is Patrick Michele Wilson, 29, who has published his first book titled, “Holy Sin” past weekend at the British Council Auditorium in Freetown.
In a short statement of exultation after the book launch, P.M. Wilson encouraged potential writers to explore their potentials and bring out something special in them and help build the community. He advised that it does not start by going out in the street acting like Shaba Ranks, 2 Pack or 50 Cent. But about concentration, focusing on the future, and urged all (someone) to pick up a pen and start writing anything that comes in his or her mind and develop their minds.
He said people like William Shakespeare were not born writers, “they all started with a stroke of a pen, from writing about anything that they had on their minds- using their imaginations and realities around them to make their work tangible and popular.
In a brief grasp of P.M. Wilson’s work, the ‘Holy Sin’, the lead character, Hayden Smith was sexually molested by a Catholic Priest and at the end, Smith chose retributive justice and killed the priest; a crime that is considered one of the most gruesome atrocities in human nature. The character also ended up committing suicide which is also another sinful act.
The story, though fictional, mostly epitomizes the situation that he said, “exists in the Catholic Church in not only Europe where he claimed is prevalent but also in Africa. He said people like the lead character do exist, and as a result, there is need for a spirit of revengefulness towards “the fact that they were raped, violated, tutored and their manhood stolen from them.”
Wilson said he chose the theme of the story under the Catholic denomination not to vilify or demonize the denomination but, “in consideration of the fact that it is more prevalent in the Catholic Church,” noting that though other denominations do commit such crimes “but when you talk of pedophiles, you talk about Catholic Priests. They are the ones on top of the pinnacle of pedophilic society,” Wilson pointed out.
He said though he is not a Catholic and claimed he does not have any intention to demoralize the priests, the institution and the denomination alongside its members but because “I drifted along with my imagination and I used some other characters (boys) to portray my idea.”
Wilson said he spent three years to write and publish his work with just a stroke of a pen as, he noted, “writing has been part of my life as young as when I was 13 years.” He said he has five more works that are yet to be completed. He said his second novel which he said will be published in the African Writers series will carry the title, “the Great Eagle in the Sky.”
Wilson, the only son to his mother, is a Sierra Leonean born in Freetown. He partly spent his pre-teen years in the United States of America where he attended elementary school. He later came to Sierra Leone and attended the Sierra Leone Grammar School. Upon completion of his secondary education, he went to the Republic of Guinea and studied French at the University of Kofi Annan. He has taught in many schools both at home and abroad, and presently he is pursuing a Masters Degree at the Njala University.
By Poindexter Sama
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