Raymond Sarif Easmon

Raymond Sarif Easmon (15 January 1913 – 2 May 1997) was a prominent Sierra Leonean doctor known for his acclaimed literary work and political agitation.

Background and early life

Raymond Sarif Easmon was born on 15 January 1913 in Freetown, British Sierra Leone, and at the University of Liverpool (Diploma in Tropical Medicine).

Political agitation Easmon became politically active during the regime of President Siaka Stevens. Easmon criticized the rampant political corruption that occurred during the period and in 1970 was arrested and detained (1970–71) for his opposition to the government.

Writing Easmon's play Dear Parent and Ogre, first produced by Wole Soyinka in Lagos in 1961, won the Encounter Magazine prize. His second play, The New Patriots (1965), was performed in several West African countries. In the words of Simon Gikandi: "Easmon's plays are semi-comical commentaries on politics and culture in a community undergoing the birth throes of independence and corruption in the institutions of government." Easmon also wrote a novel called The Burnt-Out Marriage (1967), as well as short stories that were collected in The Feud and Other Stories (1981).

Personal life Dr. Easmon married Esther Campbell, the daughter of William Campbell, a teacher, and the granddaughter of Dr. William Frederick Campbell (1858–1926), a Sierra Leonean physician. The Easmons had six children.

Published works Dear Parent and Ogre (Oxford University Press, Three Crowns Books, 1964), play The New Patriots: a play in three acts (London, 1965), play The Burnt-Out Marriage (1967), novel The Feud and Other Stories (1981)