Cover Reveal: In Monrovia, the River Visits the Sea, by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley
Congratulations to author Patricia Jabbeh Wesley and artist Leslie Lumeh on the cover release for In Monrovia, the River Visits the Sea. This beautiful cover reflects a wonderful revision of Wesley’s poetic children’s book, coming from Panhandle Creek Press on November 10, 2026.
About the Book
Narrated by seven-year-old Geede, this engaging picture book explores Liberia’s Mesurado River, a river that shapes her world as it rises and falls with the tides. Set in Monrovia, it introduces young readers to a Liberian childhood through the rhythms of water and tide.
About the Author, Patricia Jabbeh Wesley
Dr. Patricia Jabbeh Wesley is a poet, memoirist, fiction writer, anti-war and human rights activist, and a war survivor who immigrated with her family to the US during Liberia’s 14-year civil war. She is the author of many books of poetry, including Praise Song for My Children: New and Selected Poems, When the Wanderers Come Home, The River is Rising, and Where the Road Turns.
Dr. Jabbeh Wesley has published dozens of poems, memoir articles, and short stories in literary magazines and anthologies, including Harvard Review, Prairie Schooner, Harvard’s Transition Magazine, and The New York Times Magazine. Her poetry has been translated into Hebrew, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian.
In 2023 she edited Breaking the Silence: Anthology of Liberian Poetry (University of Nebraska Press), a 340-page collection that is the most comprehensive volume of Liberian literature since 1847. It was named one of 100 Notable Books in African Literature in 2023. Learn more about Dr. Patricia Jabbeh Wesley here.
About the Illustrator, Leslie Lumeh
Leslie Lumeh is a Liberian artist based in France. Internationally recognized and described by CNN as “Liberia’s most celebrated artist,” his paintings are held in prestigious collections from the European Union to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and American embassies. Learn more about artist Leslie Lumeh here.
