Letters to the Grammarians

The book is a collection of nine letters addressed to former high school classmates. It uses these letters as mirrors into the nostalgic past of a 'grammar school' (high school) experience at the onset of the postcolonial era in Nigeria. The aim of the book is to show the routine antics of classmates as 'informal' education and that this, in conjunction with 'formal' education, make a total high school experience. The first part of the book, the introduction, shows the process of recalling the experiences contained in the letters. The second part is the individual letters, among them are: 'A letter to Aranmsko,' which shows adventure as a form of learning and the trepidation of the 'curse' he receives from a religious studies teacher. 'A letter to Sosorakota' portrays the controversial topic of sex during the teenage years. The third part of the book, the conclusion, asserts that the Letters reveal aspects of human character such as kindness, trust, hope, and fear.

Dipo Kalejaiye, Poet, Playwright, and a winner of the James. D. Phelan award for playwriting is an Associate Professor of English at Prince George's Community College, Largo, Maryland. He received his B.A. in Dramatic Arts from the University of California at Berkeley, and his M.A. in Theatre Arts at the San Jose State University, San Jose California. Currently, he is working on a Ph.D. dissertation titled Ritual and Revolution in Selected Plays of Wole Soyinka.