Interview with Pramudith D. Rupasinghe, the author of Behind the Eclipse

The African Book Review : What drew you to writing about Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia ?

Pramudith D. Rupasinghe :”I worked as a humanitarian diplomat in that area and explored a lot of West Africa, and stayed there for five years. I don’t write about something if I didn’t live in the country in question. (…) I did the same thing when I was writing Bayan and Footprints inObscurity [his first book]. I had always dreamt of going to Africa because I also wanted to explore and draw my own conclusions. I did a road trip in 29 countries. Being there allowed me to explore a lot of the continent ; the cultures, the people, the landscapes, the history – it’s offering so much to the world ! It’s so far from the stereotype.”

TABR : What does Africa, and West Africa in particular, mean to you ?