Advice from Kofi Awoonor

Nearly a month ago, NPR reported that Ghanaian poet  Kofi Awoonor was among those killed during the attack at a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya.

Melissa Block interviewed someone who said she was in the audience of a festival in Kenya at which Mr. Awoonor encouraged young writers.

I was struck by what the woman said Mr. Awoonor told them:

"When you want to write, look back at how your ancestors used to speak. Go back and listen to the stories of your people, and then you will know what to write about."