April 2003 - PGF Person of the Month

PGF [Polona Global Fund] honors Simon Moleke Nije (pen name Simon Mol) as its Person of the Month for April 2003. It is difficult to cite only one reason for honoring Mr. Mol. We believe the greatest accomplishment of his young career is the story of his survival and the beauty the world has received as a result. How can a person who has endured so much continue to evoke the wonder of human life and culture? Perhaps the the translator Edward Osiecki says it best: "Reading Simon's poetry is an adventure. Caged birds do not sing. It is awesome indeed to see such a bird singing, and Simon in this case sings in an extraordinary style that deserves recognition."

We honor Mr. Mol for the beauty of his words, the beauty of his life in the face of struggle, and to assist in bringing the wonder of his words to the world community. Aleksander Nawrocki (Editor, Poezja Dzisiaj/Poetry Today) states in the introduction to Mol's recent work Africa My Africa: "Great literature is the synthesis of many cultures. Through his poems Simon captures the many faces of the magical and heroic continent of Africa. The author tells of an Africa seeking its own identity. In one of the poems (Bogini Polska) he unites two homelands (African and Polish) in the eyes of one woman."

Simon Mol, fled Cameroon in 1995 after the publication of articles in which he denounced a corruption scandal. He initially sought asylum in Ghana, where he was granted refugee status in 1998. In Ghana Mol resumed his career as a journalist working for an independent weekly and worked to complete his studies. He had previously interrupted his university degree in Media Studies due to Cameroon's national education crisis.

Upon his arrival in Ghana, the Common Wealth Press Union and the Ghana Journalist Association assisted him. He continued to receive threats of criminal charges if he resumed publishing. Ignoring those threats, he continued to publish to earn a living. He was helped by human rights activists to secure travel documents so he could flee to a place where he could resume writing. While attempting to leave, he was arrested at the airport and detained for six weeks. After his release the Ghanaian Centre of International P.E.N. played a decisive role by appointing him as the official delegate for the 1999 Congress of International P.E.N. held in Poland. Upon arrival in Poland he applied for refugee status.

Mol has said "As often as possible, I maintain a psychic tie with my culture, which forms a good dimension of my objective identity...it is a vital source of inspiration. As a writer I relentlessly promote my cultural heritage through my prose." In Cameroon's Tower of Babel a literary piece currently being employed by the Warsaw University Department of Oriental Studies, Mol recounts the anthropological and social framework of a society living in a country that uses almost 300 languages for a population of just 13 million inhabitants.

Currently Mol continues to write poems and prose, which are regularly published in the Indian monthly anthology Poet International and other Indian, British and American reviews. He also works as a staff writer for the Warsaw Voice. He has been published in several anthologies and Africa My Africa, a collection of 22 poems in English and Polish released in November 2002, is his first collection. It tells a story of survival in a poetry that summarizes the author's experience, both objective and subjective as well as his vision and cultural impetus against the backdrop of exile in Poland. He was appointed Honorary Member of the English Centre for International P.E.N.

http://www.pgf.cc/person/ppom2003.htm

Comments

[Zygmunt Stoberski]

I like Simon . I am delighted with his poetry
Iadmire his courage in every situation and friendliness . I will never forget him as my friend , Zygmunt Stoberski

[Hope Kale Ewusi]

A random online querry lead me to this site that chronicles the travails and literary endeavours of my tribal kinsman and compatriot Simon Moleke Mo Njie !This chance encounter, albeit through this most impersonal medium underscores the cosmic logic that invariably facilitates the union of kindred spirits.

Prolific journalist/poet and adventurer, the story of your life and your poetry that you've shared with us has enriched our lives in ways you may never imagine. I share your passion for poetry even though my vocation engages for the most part my emperical faculties as an accountant . Let me direct you to a site www.poetry.com where I have posted a few of my poems. Please enter my name (Ewusi, Hope) in the slot, it will automatically link you to my poems.

My poems in my opinion are a private intimate and subjective endeavour that encompasses the broad spectrum of the human experience - a personal inquiry and journey through life approached through different mediums - spiritual, socio-political, metaphysical and utilitarian;some light hearted and whimsical, others profound and abtruse. It is is whithin this range that I believe everyone with whom I share my poems would find something that speaks to his or her heart....I hope you find pleasure in ample measure reading my poems the way I did reading yours.You inspire me to indulge this shared passion with zest - I look forward to publishing my first collection of poems - 50 poems so far, in two volumes. I play classical guitar and electric rythm and bass .I perform with local reggae and Afro jazz fusion bands here in Atlanta Ga USA.
It is my sincere wish that through this chance encounter may ensue a true and meaningfull freindship.