“Touch” is a word, and in a larger sense of it – it is a language portraying relationship. Various cultures speak this language, it mirrors the relationship between the virus and human interactions. In Nigeria, amidst our diverse cultural beliefs and traditions, every ethnic group understands the underlying power of touch; from pouring libations to the gods, to exchange of greetings and other realities captured in this performance piece by Donna Ogunnaike called “Touch”
“FACEBOOK IS NOT A SAFE PLACE TO POST YOUR POEMS” & OTHER ISSUES FOR NIGERIAN POETS
Again, by saving your works and releasing them only on foreign platforms, you are inadvertently taking everything away from us and making us have to borrow access. Right now, we can no longer read anything from most of our good poets unless we first access them from foreign platforms.
WHY POETS TAKE SNIPER: AN ESSAY ABOUT SUICIDE AMONG WRITERS (by Sa’id Sa’ad Abubakar)
Today, we have seen numerous death of young promising writers by suicide. Exactly last year, we lost the talented Chukwuemeka Akachi, whose death spreads like a sandstorm. The same year, an online literary blog published the name of five young students writers who died by suicide.
ON NIGERIAN WRITERS, DEPRESSION & SUICIDE…
In reality, many people discover writing after suffering some physical or psychological discomfort that they want to talk about. Perhaps due to their social circumstances, these people cannot find a voice loud enough to reach the audience they want, or they do not even think anyone is willing to listen or able to hear them. Then they discover writing.
NIGERIAN POETRY: IS THERE AN INFERIOR MENTALITY PROBLEM (commentary by Eriata Oribhabor)
A poet who won a poetry writing competition organized by a foreign group was presented an online certificate of appreciation that sent him/her celebrating to the world's ends. A party...
TALK ABOUT NIGERIAN BOOKS, DO IT FOR THE CULTURE (a commentary by Kukogho Iruesiri Samson)
I daresay the main reason foreign books seem to be eternally more accepted than indigenous books is that we hear about their new titles & authors every day via various media while ours, close to home, are published without anyone hearing about them.
BECOME AN AUTHOR: WRITE, EDIT, PUBLISH & SHARE WITH THE WORLD
If you ask me, everyone should write. Why? Everyone has a story (or stories) – idea, perspective, experience, philosophies, and aspirations – which other people will love to hear/read.
THE PROBLEM WITH NIGERIAN WRITING: THERE IS NO MARKET FOR WHAT WE WRITE (A COMMENTARY BY DIKE CHUKWUMERIJE)
If there is only one generously-funded literary prize in a country of 200 million people…it is because – difficulties of the Nigerian operating environment aside – there is no real market for what Nigerian writers are writing.
I AM JUST A BOY, I AM NOT A BURDEN (AN ESSAY BY JOHN CHIZOBA VINCENT)
So, are boys really a ‘special’ burden to raise? Is Life itself is a lot of work. Is parenting itself is a lot of work. Is raising girls also not a lot of work? What useful thing in this world does not require lots of work? Why just boys? Why not children?
ON REPUTATION, LIFE & DEATH (AN ESSAY BY OPPONG CLIFFORD BENJAMIN)
It is not death we must pray against or fear but rather sickness. Because sickness leaves us in between standing for life and falling for death. To be sick is to battle for life against death. It means something is coming for your dreams and aspirations, something is erasing your name gradually from the living and at the same time registering your name in the books of death.