Borders Between Us
Saidu Tejan-Thomas is a young poet. For a long time, he had a story he needed to tell: an homage and apology to his mother.
Best Documentary: Silver2020 Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition2020 / Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. / Jay Allison / Transom.org , USA
Saidu Tejan-Thomas is a young poet. For a long time, he had a story he needed to tell: an homage and apology to his mother.
It's a tragic love story driven by the tangled search for a better life. It's personal for sure, but set against the universal perils of immigration — in Saidu's case, from Sierra Leone in West Africa — but by extension, from anywhere. Borders Between Us uses Saidu's poems as narrative drivers, reveals, and resolutions. These are not easy tasks for poems.
Borders Between Us was written by Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. and produced by Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. and Jay Allison for Transom.org.
produced by
Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. (@SaiduTTJ) is a poet, writer, and producer born in Freetown Sierra Leone.
Jay Allison (@jay_allison) has been an independent public radio producer, journalist, and teacher since the 1970s.
Featured in
May we recommend…
-
![]()
She Sees Your Every Move
2012 / 06:33
While traditional street photography usually catches strangers passing by in a public space, the photographer Michele Iversen has been catching strangers passing by in their own private spaces, without their permission.
-
![]()
How to Remember
2020 / 10:24
How to Remember is sonically inspired by Axel's travels to Côte d'Ivoire.
-
![]()
The Whale's Choice
2013 / 13:20
In certain waters, moments of connection between humans and whales do happen... but not often.
