Bai Tamia Moore
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Bai Tamia Johnson Moore (October 12, 1916 – January 10, 1988), commonly known by his pen name Bai T. Moore, was a
Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...
n poet, novelist, folklorist and essayist. He held various cultural, educational and tourism posts both for the Liberian government and for
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
. He was the founder of Liberia's National Cultural Center. He is best known for his novella '' Murder in the Cassava Patch'' (1968), the tale of a ''
crime passionnel A crime of passion (), in popular usage, refers to a violent crime, especially homicide, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as anger or jealousy rather than as a premeditated crime. A ...
'' in a traditional Liberian setting. It became such a classic in Liberian literature that it is still taught in high schools.


Life

Moore was born in Dimeh, a traditional Gola village on the Monrovia-Tubmanburg highway. He studied at local schools. For college, he traveled to the United States to study agriculture, graduating from
Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...
, a
historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...
in segregated
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
. He returned to Liberia in 1941 to take up a post in the national civil service. He was also deeply interested in Liberian culture and society. Together with Roland T. Dempster and T. H. Carey, he co-edited the Liberian poetry collection, ''Echoes from the Valley: Being Odes and Other Poems'' (1947). He was nominated to work for
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
on its Liberia desk. In 1957, he headed the government's Fundamental Education project, designed to bring education and information to rural parts of the country. President
William Tubman William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman (29 November 1895 – 23 July 1971) was a Liberian politician. He was the 19th president of Liberia and the longest-serving president in the country's history, serving from his election in 1944 until his dea ...
appointed him as Under-Secretary of State for Cultural Affairs. In 1962, Moore was one of a team of Vai scholars who took part in a conference at the
University of Liberia The University of Liberia (UL or LU in older versions of abbreviation) is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the university opened in 1862 as Liberia Coll ...
to standardise the Vai script for modern usage. Moore had continued his writing. In 1968 he published his first novella, '' Murder in the Cassava Patch,'' based on actual events. It was highly popular, securing Moore's reputation as Liberia's best-known writer. His book's success helped Moore maintain his public position through some of the most turbulent years of Liberia's history. Under the government of President
Samuel Doe Samuel Kanyon Doe (6 May 1951 – 9 September 1990) was a Liberian politician and military officer who served as the 21st President of Liberia from 1986 to 1990. He ruled Liberia as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council (PRC) from 1980 ...
, Moore was appointed Minister for Cultural Affairs and Tourism. He held this position at the time of his sudden death at the age of seventy-one. After a state funeral at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion, attended by cultural troupes from the
Dey Dey (, from ) was the title given to the rulers of the regencies of Algiers, Tripolitania,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. Twenty-nine ''deys'' held office from the establishment of the deylicate ...
, Gola, Vai, Kpelle,
Gbandi Gbandi (or Bandi, Bande, Gbande, Gbunde, Gbandi) is an ethnic group of Liberia. History The Gbandi people, one of sixteen of Liberia's original ethnic groups, originated from Sudan in the late 17th century. Some may have also migrated, along ...
, and
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tribes, Bai T. Moore was laid to rest in his native Dimeh.
Wilton Sankawulo Wilton Gbakolo Sengbe Sankawulo Sr. (26 July 1937 – 21 February 2009) was a Liberian politician and author who served as the President of Liberia, leader of Liberia from 1 September 1995 until 3 September 1996, as chairman of the Council o ...
wrote: "The best tribute we can pay to the memory of Bai Tee is making our culture part of our daily life, for culturally we are dressed in borrowed robes. Unless we replace these alien garments with ones of our own making, we will continue failing in all our attempts to build a society that can meet our needs and aspirations".


Works

Moore's earliest published poems appeared as part of the anthology ''Echoes from the Valley'' (1947). His first poetry collection was ''Ebony Dust'' (1962, reprinted 2001). He next published his novella, '' Murder in the Cassava Patch'' (1968), which has been called "a Liberian literary classic". This short novel - which deals with the murder of a young Liberian girl by her jealous lover - has been part of Liberian school curricula since its publication. It explores traditional Liberian life, referring to human sacrifice and indigenous slavery, as well as contemporary mid-20th century attractions. ''The Money Doubler'' (1976) is a novel about a trickster who convinces people to part with their cash on the promise that he will be able to use "African science" to double it. It also explores Liberian life from a realist perspective. Moore uses Liberian English in all the dialogue of the novel.John Victor Singler, "The Liberian government and creative fiction" , ''Politique Africaine'', originally published in ''Research in African literatures'' 2 (4), 1980.
/ref> Moore contributed one of the ''Four Stories by Liberian Writers'', edited by Sankawulo in 1980. Together with Jangaba Johnson, he compiled a collection of Liberian folk tales entitled ''Chips from the African Story Tree'' (1967).


Personal life

Moore was the cousin of
Yatta Zoe Yatta Zoe (born 1942), previously known as Victoria Snetter and affectionately called Ma Yatta, is a Liberian folk singer, percussionist, dancer, and cultural icon from Bomi County. Dubbed the "Queen of Liberian Folk", her music career spanned fou ...
's father.


References


External links


Global Connections: Liberia
PBS-WGBH, documentary video featuring Moore's hometown of Dimeh

Wilton Sankawulo Wilton Gbakolo Sengbe Sankawulo Sr. (26 July 1937 – 21 February 2009) was a Liberian politician and author who served as the President of Liberia, leader of Liberia from 1 September 1995 until 3 September 1996, as chairman of the Council o ...
, ''
Sea Breeze Journal of Contemporary Liberian Writings A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order sections o ...
''
''Ebony Dust''
Africa Book Centre
''The Money Doubler'' at Amazon.co.uk.
*
Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, "Celebrating Bai T. Moore, the late Liberian poet, writer, culturalist and statesman"
Poetry for Peace {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Bai T. Liberian poets Liberian novelists Liberian folklorists Liberian essayists Liberian people of Gola descent 1916 births 1988 deaths 20th-century novelists 20th-century poets 20th-century essayists