Elom K. Akoto
Elom K. Akoto immigrated to the United States from Togo (West Africa). He earned a bachelor’s degree in Education and a master’s degree in TESOL (Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages). He is the founder of Learn and Care, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote Literacy and Adult Education, not only among immigrants but also among Native Americans who missed the opportunity to earn a high school diploma. The program offers ESL, literacy, GED preparation classes, and more. He self-published two ESL workbooks: Ideal Companion, ESL level 1 and Ideal Companion, ESL level 2. He teaches French in a high school and ESL at a community college in Omaha, Nebraska, where he lives with his family. Akoto’s debut novel, BLINDSPOT IN AMERICA, will be released by Red Hen Press on October 1, 2024.
Instagram: @ElomKAkoto
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100073241920196
Favorite non-reading activity?
Besides writing, I like watching and playing soccer. It’s a popular game in my home country of Togo (West Africa), and I’ve been playing it since I was a child.
Is there a work of art that you love. Why? Have you ever visited it in person?
I love the Mona Lisa. It is a compelling painting that draws me to imagine what life was like at the time it was painted. I had a chance to see it at the Louvre Museum, when I went on an education tour to France with a group of my students and their parents. It was an unforgettable experience.
Is there another profession you would like to try?
I teach besides being a writer. I feel like teaching is a second calling for me. I can’t see myself ever stopping teaching.
What do you worry about?
I worry that our lives will be run by robots in a near future
Do you speak a second language? Do you think differently in that language? Does it influence your writing?
I speak French and two African languages besides English. I do think in other languages depending on what I’m doing or where I am. For example, at home, I think in EWE and English, as that’s what I speak with my wife and children. I think in French and English when I’m in a classroom teaching French. I would say my writing is mostly influenced by Francophone literature, as throughout my teenage years all I did was read novels by French speaking writers, from France as well as from French speaking countries in Africa and around the world. Even books from authors of English literature that I read were from French translations. I enjoyed The Old Man and the Sea (Le Vieil Homme Et La Mer, in French) by Ernest Hemingway, The Pearl (La Perle, in French) by John Steinbeck, and some classics like Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, of course. They are beautiful books to read in any language.
