Former Director General of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), Dr. Elvis Gbanabom Hallowell passed away on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 at the age of 57 years.

Dr. Hallowell was also a write and poet. He had written numerous poems and books. He is the author of a political novel, ‘The Road to Kaibara’.

Some of his works in poetry include Drumbeats of War; A Little After Dawn; My Immigrant Blood; and Manscape in the Sierra: New and Collected Poems 1991-2011. Hallowell’s ventures into storytelling include the publishing of Tears of the Sweet Peninsula: May 25, 1997; The Sierra Leone Civil Conflict; and The Lust of Cain.

As a teacher, librarian, journalist, and human rights activist, he endured his country’s ten-year civil war whose experiences have shaped his poetry.

He was the Founder and Executive Director of the project Save Heritage and Rehabilitate the Environment. He also founded the North America Center for African Writers (NACAW). He served as Director General of the Sierra Leone national broadcaster (SLBC) for a long time.

Elvis hailed from Yonibana, Tonkolili district and was educated at Birch Memorial Secondary School, Makeni, and Milton Margai Teachers College (now Milton Margai Technical University) where he studied English. He also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College in the USA.

He was also an alumnus of The School of Kennedy, Harvard University, Hallowell is a member of the Poro Society Sierra Leone.