Age, Biography and Wiki

Tijan Sallah (Tijan M. Sallah) was born on 5 March, 1958 in Serekunda, Kombo Division, The Gambia, West Africa, is a Gambian poet and economist (born 1958). Discover Tijan Sallah's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 66 years old?

Popular As Tijan M. Sallah
Occupation N/A
Age 66 years old
Zodiac Sign Pisces
Born 5 March 1958
Birthday 5 March
Birthplace Serekunda, Kombo Division, The Gambia, West Africa
Nationality Gambia

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 5 March. He is a member of famous poet with the age 66 years old group.

Tijan Sallah Height, Weight & Measurements

At 66 years old, Tijan Sallah height not available right now. We will update Tijan Sallah's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Dating & Relationship status

He is currently single. He is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, He has no children.

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Not Available
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Tijan Sallah Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Tijan Sallah worth at the age of 66 years old? Tijan Sallah’s income source is mostly from being a successful poet. He is from Gambia. We have estimated Tijan Sallah's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income poet

Tijan Sallah Social Network

Instagram
Linkedin
Twitter Tijan Sallah Twitter
Facebook Tijan Sallah Facebook
Wikipedia Tijan Sallah Wikipedia
Imdb

Timeline

1958

Tijan M. Sallah (born 6 March 1958) is a Gambian poet and prose writer.

Tijan Sallah was born in Serekunda, The Gambia, on 6 March 1958.

His mother was of Wolof ethnicity and his father was a Tukulor, who, according to Sallah, was a descendant of the ruling families of Futa Tooro.

He attended koranic schools (locally known as daras) from the age of four, before entering Serrekunda Primary School, where he describes his teacher Harrietta Ndow as having been particularly influential.

He then entered St. Augustine's High School, run by Irish Holy Ghost Fathers, and was exposed to classical British literary texts (Shakespeare's plays, Orwell's and Dickens' works, etc.) and the Bible.

Although his father, Momodou Musa Sallah (Dodou Sallah), was imam of the local mosque in Serekunda, he did not mind his son studying the Bible, as it was part of the heritage of the Abrahamic religions.

Under these influences and encouraged by his teachers at St. Augustine's High School, in particular Joseph Gough, Sallah became interested in creative writing and started writing poetry by his third year.

He published his first poem, "The African Redeemer", a poem paying tribute to Kwame Nkrumah, in the St. Augustine's school newspaper, Sunu Kibaro.

This early poem had been uncharacteristically compliant to the traditional forms of rhyming and was clearly influenced by the English classics he had been studying.

Lenrie Peters, the founder of Gambian literature, was a major influence on Sallah's work by this stage, as Sallah took his poetry to Peters's clinic for him to critique it.

Peters wanted to promote Sallah's work, he managed to arrange for Sallah to appear on Bemba Tambedou's national radio programme, Writers of The Gambia.

1975

Having graduated from St. Augustine's in 1975, Sallah worked for two years as an audit clerk in the Customs Department and then in the Government Post Office, and at the same time tried to secure a scholarship to continue his studies at the United States.

1977

In 1977, Sallah went to the United States to study at Rabun Gap Nacoochee School in Rabun County, Georgia.

In Georgia, Sallah was influenced by Lloyd Van Brunt, an American poet who had been organising literary workshops at his high school, who was impressed by Sallah's writing.

1978

He published his first poem in the United States, "Worm Eaters", a satiric poem about hypocrisy in the Atlanta Gazette of February 1978; and also ran the school newspaper at this time.

After graduating with honours at Rabun Gap, he continued on to Berea College in Kentucky, where he also worked as a dishwasher in his first year to fund his studies.

He was then employed as a tutor by the English department, and edited three college journals.

He came under the influence of several prominent Appalachian writers, Jim Wayne Miller, Lee Pennington, Bill Best, and Gurney Norman.

Sakkah published several poems and short stories in Appalachian, American, African and European publications and edited several of the campus literary publications.

At Berea College, he also came in touch with a distinguished Indian philosopher and literary figure, Professor P. Lal, publisher of the Writers Workshop series in Calcutta, India, who at the time was a visiting professor of Hindu philosophy at Berea.

Upon hearing Sallah read his poetry, he was impressed and requested a manuscript to consider for publication.

1980

In 1980, Sallah published his first poetry collection, When African Was a Young Woman, under the Writers Workshop publication series.

It was reviewed on the BBC by Florence Akst and received several other favourable reviews.

Since then, Sallah's works have gained worldwide recognition.

He taught economics at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and North Carolina A&T University in the late 1980s, before joining the World Bank, where he is sector manager for agriculture, irrigation and rural development for eastern and southern African countries.

Sallah is married to the Malian Fatim Haidara, an engineer, and they have a daughter and son.

1982

He graduated from Berea College in economics and business as the most outstanding student there in 1982, and went on to Virginia Polytechnic Institute, where he received an MA and PhD in economics.

1997

He was interviewed by the American National Public Radio in 1997 by Scott Simon, and in August 2000 by Kojo Nnamdi.

Sallah's writings have received accolades from critics.

Charles Larson, the noted American literary critic, said that "there is little question about Sallah's talent".

Siga Jagne describes him as a writer of "genius".

Nana Grey-Johnson describes Sallah as "one of the finest young minds The Gambia has produced in years".

On the publication of Sallah's most recent poetry collection, I Come From a Country, E. Ethelbert Miller said: "Sallah writes about home after traveling around the world. He offers love without apology. There is brightness in this book."

Sallah had been interested in becoming a medical doctor, but upon realising the difficulties associated with this as a foreigner in the US, he changed his focus to economics.