Having had her imagination shaped from a young age by African stories, Brigitte Poirson has contributed immensely to the shaping of literature in the country in over a decade of active support. Her mark on Nigerian literature will remain indelible for generations to come.
POETICS OF SELFLESSNESS & SOCIAL CHANGE: ERIATA ORIBHABOR IS THE SELFLESS ‘MERCHANT OF POETRY’ IN NIGERIA’S ART INDUSTRY | A CỌ́N-SCÌÒ PACESETTER PROFILE
For Oribhabor, “everyone is an opportunity requiring opportunities to blossom,” and he’s ready to provide these opportunities even when funding and support are not there. He doesn’t mind taking from his personal pockets to encourage young poets, who he believes still have the energy and can afford the selflessness required to use poetry for social change, and he has been doing just that, always thinking of innovative ways to support young and aspiring poets.
OLUMIDE HOLLOWAY’S AUDACITY, FAITH & PASSION: QUITTING BANKING TO PIONEER THE TRICKY BUSINESS OF SPOKEN WORD SHOWBIZ IN NIGERIA | A CỌ́N-SCÌÒ PACESETTER PROFILE
King Olulu remains a pacesetter in the Nigerian poetry and spoken-word performance business. His works and their fruits speak for themselves, and it is only fitting that his name is etched in the good books of history.
FEMINISM IS ADVOCACY FOR EQUALITY, NOT A GENDER BATTLE: UKAMAKA OLISAKWE TALKS FEMINISM & RELATED THEMES IN OGADINMA WITH CỌ́N-SCÌÒ MAGAZINE
Feminism is advocacy for equality. The idea that it is a battle against a certain gender is disingenuous…people who hold onto these ideas, who underpin feminism with such harmful connotations, do not want to have an honest conversation.
SHAPES | by Mhembeuter J. Orhemba
I look up nude men on Google. A gathering pulls inside me, dies as quickly as it started. I try nude women. I soak in their fullness and curves. I wait, for the heady momentum of arousal. The fire in my chest rather grows hotter—I close the tab.
THE FEMINIST BURDEN: ATTAINING INDEPENDENCE ON THE WINGS OF UNAPOLOGETIC REBELLION | a Review Of Ukamaka Olisakwe’s “Ogadinma Or, Everything Will Be All Right” by Ehi-kowoicho Ogwiji
Ukamaka explores feminism and its subsets—the resoluteness of cultures around the world to commoditize and possess women, and female complicity in patriarchy, among others. I consider Ogadinma a very important story because of how it zooms in on areas of feminism that we barely talk about.
SELF-PORTRAIT AS A HELIUM CONTESTING FLIGHT WITH THE SPIRITS | an essay by Taofeek “Aswagaawy” Ayeyemi
Some nights, I am a wanderer. Clutched to my bed yet my mind breaking borders like nocturnal birds. Tonight, I peep through the window to see the sky– starless, moonless, with no glee except the sheen of a stray cat’s eyes.
WILL YOU MARRY ME? | a short story by Ude Vivian Chidimma
Somma is on the line. You are so glad someone is calling you at least. You would have preferred someone else to call, a man maybe? One of those you wanted to be with.
A CAPITALIST TALE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT | a short story by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
There was a time when she would cook only once and have leftovers to spare at the end of the day. In those days, Timbir would go in and chat with her. They would talk about anything and everything.
I SAY MY NAME | an essay by Ayomide Ruth Oluwagbenga
Somehow, I’m tired. I don’t even want to prove anyone right or wrong anymore. A simple step in front of another took me out of the chair of boredom and desperation, and straight through the doors onto the sunny passage.