In 1998 and 2000, Lawrence F. Sykes (1931-2020) and Charles Cantalupo travel together in Eritrea. Sykes in Eritrea offers a visual record and an account in poetry of their journey. Sykes’s experience as a longtime American photographer, graphic artist, professor, and citizen of the world prepares him for a unique encounter with a unique place. Cantalupo’s familiarity with Eritrea and its culture, including its writers and poets, provides him with an inimitable sense of place.

"In a tribute to Lawrence  Sykes, Charles Cantalupo takes us through their artistic trip together from the world of Ngũgĩ wa Thiongo's into the essence of Eritrea. In picture after picture, Sykes captures the grace of aging Asmara, the elegance of its passing women, the dreams and hopes that the ubiquitous bicycle carries, the forbidding if inviting doors and windows of Massawa; and even the smell of roasted coffee beans settling on the curtains – the soul and scent of Eritrea."

--Alemseged Tesfai, Eritera’s renowned historian and novelist

Photography by:

Lawrence F. Sykes:  With an undergraduate degree in art education from Morgan State College and an MFA from Pratt Institute, Lawrence F. Sykes taught in New York City schools until he joined the faculty at Rhode Island College in 1967. Professor of Art, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Bannister Gallery, and he developed the college’s photography program.

Poetry by:

Charles  Cantalupo:  This is the Cantalupo’s fifth book of poetry. His previous books are The Woodstock Sandal and Further Steps, Where War Was, Light the Lights, and Anima/Wo/man and Other Spirits. He is also the author of books of literary criticism, three books of translations of Eritrean poetry, and a memoir, Joining Africa – from Anthills to Asmara.

Category: Photography, Poetry/AFRICA                                                              

Page count: 104    in Full Color 

Trim size:  7x10”