John H Sime

Ain't No Elephants in Timbuktu John H Sime

In the Summer of 1976, John Sime was among twenty-five young Americans serving in the U. S. Peace Corps sent to the West African republic of Mali. They were slated to teach English in the local school system. During the next two years, John kept a journal and wrote poetry depicting his experiences. After he returned to his hometown of Readstown, Wisconsin, his interest in Africa continued; he eventually returned to Mali in 2003 to see the changes that had taken place there. This journey resulted in more journal entries and more poems. Islamic militant terrorists seized control of half of Mali in 2012 and imposed a harsh, dehumanizing sharia based regime over that gentle land. Finally, in 2013, the French military liberated Mali from the terrorists. John responded to this crisis with more poems and an article for the news media. This volume, therefore, encompasses almost forty years of John Sime's life and depicts the importance of the ancient desert land of Mali to him. While most of the pages describe life in Bamako, the capitol city, there are also side trips to various other cities such as Segou, Djenne, and the legendary mystery desert city of Timbuktu. As some poems and journal entries are inspired by music, art, and local history, much of the book entails John's work as a school teacher at the national teacher's college of Mali-- École Normale Supérieure in Bamako.