Gladys May Casely Hayford

Gladys May Casely Hayford, born in 1904 in Axim, Gold Coast (now Ghana), was a West African poet who lived much of her life in Sierra Leone; she used the pen name Aquah Laluah. She was the daughter of the prominent Gold Coast lawyer and nationalist J.E. Casely Hayford. Her poetry appeared in African American periodicals such as Opportunity and The Crisis during the Harlem Renaissance era. Her work addresses themes of African cultural pride, the experiences of women, and the complexities of colonial society. Many of her poems were written in English, but she also composed verse in Krio, the creole language of Sierra Leone, which was unusual for literary poetry at the time. Her style blends vivid imagery drawn from West African life with a lyrical voice that challenges social norms. She is remembered as a pioneering figure among early twentieth-century African women writers. Though she did not publish a full-length collection during her lifetime, her poems were widely anthologized after her death. Her most frequently cited works include "Nativity" and "The Serving Girl." She died in 1950 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.