Lush Green Canopy and Place of Refuge
Freetown, Sierra Leone and the Cotton Tree loom large in this debut collection of poems by Cyril A.Grant. The themes he writes about include family, legacy, loss, gratitude, friendship, politics, and Krio identity; all of which can be seen through the metaphors of "Cotton Tree Canopy" and "Place of Refuge". Lush Green Canopy refers to the striking, majestic cotton tree at the centre of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. The tree, a national and natural monument, has borne witness to the country's most pivotal moments, and survived natural disasters, fires, and human activity for over 230 years. The Place of Refuge, Freetown was created in 1787 as Granville Town under the patronage of British abolitionists of the Slave Trade, with the settlement of 400 freed former slaves and destitute individuals from London. The town was burnt down in 1790, and rebuilt and resettled by the Sierra Leone Company in 1792, with 1100 former slaves from Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotians had been granted freedom and land as compensation for fighting with British Loyalists in the American Revolution. Unhappy with the circumstances of life in Northern Canada, and disappointed with the pledged land grants, they lobbied and secured support for the cross-Atlantic journey back to the "Province of Freedom", in Sierra Leone. No one could have predicted the Tree's demise during a torrential rainstorm on 25th May 2023, and the subsequent psychological effect on Freetown and its inhabitants.The Cotton Tree and its ensuing history, inspires the organization of this book of poems into two sections. Section 1 - Branches, Leaves and Fruits are the outward themes in three parts: Fritong, Salon and Politricks. Section 2 - Soil, Roots and Trunk are the inner, more intimate and personal themes, also in 3 parts: Fragility, Gratitude and Nostalgia.
