On “Songs of Myself” by Tanure Ojaide
Songs of Myself (KraftGriots, 2016) is a collection of poems by Tanure Ojaide. It is the most personal of the three on the shortlist of this year’s Nigeria Prize, the most introspective, and also the...
View ArticleInterview With Professor Ben Elugbe (video)
Professor Ben Elugbe is on the Advisory Board of the NLNG-sponsored Nigeria Prize for Literature and has been for many years. He is a Professor of Linguistics and a former Head of Department of the...
View Article“No Serious Writer I Know Writes for a Prize”| Interview with Ogaga Ifowodo...
In this conversation with poet and James Baldwin lookalike Ogaga Ifowodo, I try to get at his purpose for writing a book about the June 12 crises, and what exactly he means by “the intimacy of evil”....
View Article“Every New Environment Has Its Own Inspiration”| Interview with Tanure Ojaide...
Professor Tanure Ojaide, author of Songs of Myself (review here) is an accomplished and prolific writer with 20 collections of poetry and countless awards to his name. He has been at The University of...
View Article“Things Fell Into Place Almost Miraculously”| Interview with Ikeogu Oke (video)
I have been enthralled by Ikeogu Oke’s book of what he terms “operatic poetry” since I first encountered it (review here). There was something about the work that speaks to joyful experimentation, hard...
View ArticleNigeria Prize for Literature 2017: The International Consultant’s Report
by Abena P.A Busia Finalists: Ogaga Ifowodo: A Good Mourning (Origami Books/Parresia Publishers Ltd, Lagos Nigeria 2016); Tanure Ojaide: Songs of Myself (Kaftgriots/Kraft Books Ltd, Ibadan Nigeria,...
View ArticleThe Judges’ Report of the 2017 Nigeria Prize
A total of 184 poetry collections were received for this year’s competition. The seriousness with which the NLNG literary prize is received by the teeming population of writers in Nigeria is a sign...
View ArticleAjinde: A True Resurrection
By Anthony Azekwoh “I know hate is a strong word, but who likes a weak one?”- Chika Jones, Spoken word poet. Friday, the 29th of December 2017, was a day to remember. That evening, Arts and...
View ArticleA Poem as a Dreamer and Pacifist
By Ikeogu Oke (Being the Acceptance Speech for the 2017 Nigeria Prize for Literature) The Way I Want To Go What you do you must do on your own. The main thing is to write for the joy of it. – Seamus...
View ArticlePoetry Collection: “Edwardsville by Heart”
Since I started this blog in 2009, I’ve imagined a book of travel stories, covering many of the journeys and memories I have made since I first set out of my country, and continent, in search of...
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