Reviewed Music in the Wood

Folktales thread their way through all cultures. They serve as a psychic glue cementing tribal and national identities with their ethical instruction and worldly wisdom couched in the common grammar of the people. Their magical realism allows all creatures to become messengers of wisdom and all children to be recipients of their gifts. The tradition, whether spoken or written, deserves to be revitalised for new generations and Geraldine Sinyuy has done so with verve and honour.

Geraldine Sinyuy hails from Mbiame, Bui Division of Cameroon. She holds a Ph.D. in Commonwealth Literature and a Higher Teacher’s Diploma in English Modern Letters from the University of Yaoundé I. She started writing poems and short stories (particularly folktales) during her secondary school days and was often a participant and guest writer for the radio program: Literary Workshop - a radio program on Cameroon Radio and Television from 1993 – 2021. Sinyuy has taught in several schools including Université des Montagnes, Bangangte, where she taught English in Medicine from 2010-2014. She currently teaches English Language and Literature at Government Bilingual High School Down Town Bamenda. She’s been both GCE Superintendent and GCE O/Level English Examiner

In May 2017, Sinyuy was a Featured Storyteller at the World Pulse Story Awards. She is co-editor of Poetry in Times of Conflict (2020) and contributing poet of Love Letters to Water (2022) poetry anthology. Sinyuy is a member of the Anglophone Cameroon Writers Association and editor at Word City Literary Journal. She is also a copy editor, proofreader, and a Digital Ambassador at World Pulse; a 2023 IHRAF Fellow and nominated judge for the WritingUkraine International Poetry Competition from 2022-2023. Her book, Music in the Wood and Other Folktales was first published in Blantyre, Malawi by Foot Print Publishers in 2020.

Book Category: English Literature
Year of Publication: 2023
Number of Pages: 103
Book ISBN: 978-9956-454-98-3