Literature & Ideas
Landmark
Lenrie Peters
1932 – 2009
The father of Gambian literature — and a working surgeon
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the The Gambia Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
He operated by day and wrote at night, and did both well enough that Heinemann put three of his books in the African Writers Series.
Lenrie Leopold Wilfred Peters was a Gambian surgeon, poet and novelist, trained at Trinity College, Cambridge and University College Hospital London, and a fellow of both the West African College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
His novel The Second Round (1965) and the poetry collections Satellites (1967) and Katchikali (1971) all appeared in Heinemann's African Writers Series, putting Gambian writing into the postcolonial canon. He also served as president of The Gambia College and of the West African Examination Council.
His novel The Second Round (1965) and the poetry collections Satellites (1967) and Katchikali (1971) all appeared in Heinemann's African Writers Series, putting Gambian writing into the postcolonial canon. He also served as president of The Gambia College and of the West African Examination Council.
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