Jon Thiem

Letters from Ghana 1968-1970: a Peace Corps Chronicle Jon Thiem

Jon Thiem became a Peace Corps English teacher in a rain forest village of southern Ghana in 1968. Letters From Ghana 1968-1970: A Peace Corps Chronicle is a collection of raw, immediate impressions of the hard living and cross-cultural labyrinths faced by teachers in equatorial Ghana. It tracks the miseries and splendors of working in the tropics, while discussing dramatic changes in Ghana, village power struggles, U. S. Vietnam policy and controversies about Peace Corps. Thiem went to Africa to foster modern thinking but ended up becoming spellbound by the mythical world of Asante court poetry, which celebrates the bloody deeds and magical powers of ancient kings. Included are texts of other Peace Corps volunteers and the eloquent voices of Ghanaian nationals. Visit the book website at lettersfromghana.weebly.com.