I’ll find out. I know just the person.

Thanks,

RD

So, Mr. Ed… palm wine, eh? Well, the Brits seemed most concerned with distilled spirits which was fine by most rural Sierra Leoneans (and almost every citizen save the Krios claims roots to some village in the provinces) who tapped palm wine directly from the tree. No processing necessary (although palm wine can be distilled to make a powerful spirit called ‘omole’). The pure palm wine, unadulterated by water and sugar by unscrupulous sellers, is still proffered with the hallowed claim ‘from god to man’. By the way, when negotiating for a draught of ‘fresh’ one can query the seller on the beverage’s purity by citing the old reggae standard, ‘many rivers to cross’. If he smiles, the jig is up. Should he vigorously deny check out the status of the ‘tumbu’ larvae floating on the surface. Live and active, the better the chances of pure ‘kadams’. If the the larvae are missing or doing the deadman’s float it is likely that the wine has been tainted. You may still opt to imbibe but at least you’re informed of the gastrointestinal risks introduced with the water and gain some leverage in the negotiations.

Many are the vessels (plastic mug, tin can, calabash, cow horn, bamboo cup, and so on) that carry nature’s nectar to parched throats. Just be sure that when the container is empty you turn it on its side. Otherwise, another sot seeking refreshment will have her hopes needlessly dashed thinking that some wine still remains in the upright vessel. Palm wine credo – “a dead man should not be standing” (Krio: ‘daiman no foh timup’).

Lahai Hindowa

Here is the article: Cochlear Implant Supports an Author’s Active Life, and here a link to The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa.

I’ll post again after I read it.

RD

I just read your book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quoted and recommended in another book I had read at someone’s recommendation: Serving with Eyes Wide Open.

Anyways, just wanted to stop in and say thanks.

A couple of years ago I listened to White Man’s Grave on tape while going about other business. The scene where the insurance man goes to confession is one of the funniest I’ve ever read…and I’m sure my fellow shoppers at the supermarket were wondering what prompted my raucous laughter. You have combined a black satire, realism and a tasty modern supernaturalism to make “my kind of book.” I recommend it to everyone!

~ Helden Kline

http://tinyurl.com/m4mn4

Paul Brest

White Man’s Grave was optioned in the late 90s by Lawrence Bender, whose deal was with Miramax at the time. I wrote a draft for them, the option was not renewed, I moved on, and the White Man’s Grave film rights reverted to me.

I still think it could be a feature film, but I am older and wiser now and believe that it might require the aesthetic distance and objectivity that another writer could bring to it. I was told repeatedly that it’s hard to develop your own novels into screenplays. Being headstrong by nature, I didn’t listen. Thanks for your interest.

Of the three countries you mentioned, I visited only Mali, though I heard time and again great things about Cameroon. Would love to visit.

RD