Wayétu Moore

thumb Wayétu Moore (born 1985) is a Liberian-American author and social entrepreneur. Her debut novel, She Would Be King, was published by Graywolf Press in September 2018, and was named a best book of 2018 by Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Entertainment Weekly & BuzzFeed. Quotes The inspiration for She Would Be King came from a deep desire to reconnect with Liberia, a place I left at five years old during the civil war Like many young African immigrants and/or first generation Americans, the messaging I was receiving outside of the house about African countries was very different from the messaging I received at home from my parents. My family has been a cornerstone of my storytelling My children are my guiding light, my safest place I’ve learned that showing up and doing the work, even when the spark isn’t there, is essential to my creative process To mothers who are writers, I’d say: give yourself grace Author Interview with Wayétu Moore 23 March 2026 What really stuck out to me is the obvious restraint and fear and anxiety that would come from creating characters out of people you know In Liberia’s case—and in any other country that is homogenous and everyone is, to some extent, the same race or they have the same color of skin—there will be other ways that human beings choose to identify and self-isolate or collectively isolate All of my research has suggested that this narrative of the settlers going in and enslaving native groups is just not true There was the slavery that is suggested throughout these narratives. It comes from one of our previous presidents Black women are so radically disadvantaged Wayétu Moore on What It Means to Tell "Our Story" 24 June 2020 I got pretty used to the erasure of African histories and the prevalence of ahistorical perspectives When I started to write, I knew that I wanted to explore Liberian history Telling the story of Liberia was telling the story of pan-Africanist identity My parents, because they are very generous, loving people, always raised us to believe that it isn’t about us — we have to find ways to give back, to contribute in a substantive way White immigrants are usually accepted and embraced as American, because there’s institutional power in whiteness Africa” is an external designation Identity Across the Diaspora: A Conversation with Wayétu Moore 9 January 2019 It was in reading that I was able to make sense of my new country Magical realism is the term that’s being used to describe works by contemporary African writers that engage with supernatural beliefs and abilities Liberia also has a history that is ritually packaged for mass consumption, and that packaging neglects nuance, and sometimes even the humanity of Liberians Truth is the most humanist commitment we can make Wayétu Moore: 'Storytelling gives me a sense of belonging to this world 6 June 2019 The joy of contemporary literature is that you can also play around with the structure of the story you want to tell We no longer have to be rigid with our art, and that makes the artist’s relationship with the page more enjoyable, more productive, and overall, a more beautiful experience That I noticed right away was that there was a disinterest in literature, so I began to take them books with characters that looked like them Author Interview: Wayetu Moore 21 September 2018 I wanted my characters’ gifts to be in conversation with black motherhood My culture is what most inspires my choice of genre The Story of Liberia: An Interview with Wayétu Moore 11 September 2018 External links Category:1985 births Category:Women authors from Liberia Category:Living people