Lenrie Leopold Wilfred Peters (1 September 1932 – 28 May 2009) was a Gambian

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and educationist.

Biography

Peters was born on 1 September 1932 in Bathurst (now

Banjul Banjul (, (US) and ), officially the City of Banjul, is the capital city of The Gambia. It is the centre of the eponymous administrative division which is home to an estimated 400,000 residents, making it The Gambia's largest and most densely ...

) in The Gambia. His parents were Lenrie Ernest Ingram Peters and Kezia Rosemary. Lenrie Sr. was a

Sierra Leone Creole The Sierra Leone Creole people () are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Sierra Leone Liberated African, Liberated African slaves who ...

of West Indian or black American origin. Kezia Rosemary was a Gambian Creole of Sierra Leonean Creole origin. Lenrie Jr. grew up in Bathurst and moved to

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

in 1949, where he was educated at the Prince of Wales School,

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, gaining his Higher School Certificate in science subjects. In 1952 he went up to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, to read Natural Sciences, graduating with a BSc degree in 1956; from 1956 to 1959 he worked and studied at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and 1959 was awarded a Medical and Surgery diploma from Cambridge. Peters worked for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

from 1955 to 1968, on their Africa programmes. While at Cambridge University he was elected president of the African Students' Union, and interested himself in

Pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

politics. He also began writing poetry and plays, as well as starting work on his only novel, '' The Second Round'' (published by Heinemann in 1965). Peters worked in hospitals in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

and

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before returning to the Gambia, where he had a surgical practice in Banjul. He was a fellow of the

West African College of Surgeons The West African College of Surgeons is a professional organization that promotes education, training, examinations and research in surgery in Africa. The college is the first organization to organize surgical subspecialty training in the region.B ...

and the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

in England. Peters was President of the Historic Commission of Monuments of the Gambia, was president of the board of directors of the National Library of the Gambia and

The Gambia College The Gambia College is a Gambian tertiary institution with campuses located in Banjul and Brikama. Its origins lie in the Yundum Teachers Training College, which was founded in 1952 and became the Yundum College in 1955, and the Gambia School of Nu ...

from 1979 to 1987, and was a member and President of the

West African Examination Council The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is an examination board established by law to determine the examinations required in the public interest in the English-speaking West African countries, to conduct the examinations and to award certi ...

(WAEC) from 1985 to 1991. He died in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, on 27 May 2009, aged 76.

Published works

Poetry

Lost Friends *1964: ''Poems'' (Ibadan: Mbari Publications) *1967: ''Satellites'' (London: Heinemann,

African Writers Series The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann (publisher), Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an int ...

No. 37) *1971: ''Katchikali'' (London: Heinemann, African Writers Series No. 103) ; *1981: ''Selected Poetry'' (London: Heinemann, African Writers Series No. 238) *1984: A New Book of African Verse

Novels

*1965: '' The Second Round'' (London: Heinemann, African Writers Series No. 22)

References

Relevant literature

* Elimimian, Isaac I. "Contemporary Africa in Lenrie Peters’poetry." In ''The Humanities and the Dynamics of African Culture in the 21st Century'', edited by John Ayotunde, Isola Bewaji, Kenneth W. Harrow, Eunice E. Omonzejie, and Christopher E. Ukhun, (2017): 277-285. Cambridge Scholars Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Lenrie 1932 births 2009 deaths Gambian Creole people Gambian Christians Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Gambian surgeons Gambian novelists Gambian poets People of Sierra Leone Creole descent People from Banjul 20th-century poets 20th-century novelists 20th-century surgeons