Words emerge on my heart’s scape the road from the mind to the hand is too far what appears on the sheets are remnants of a feast no orderings can render: Bald wonder of the roofed town Basking under a heavy literary crown I fall under the spell of all you do so well How … Continue reading For Servio, a birthday poem by S. V. Agema
This is awesome news for Niyi Osundare’s fans: he has a new book out in January 2022. Yaaaaay! Titled Green: Sighs of our Ailing Planet, the collection is an urgent collection of necessity born out of the poet’s need to speak to issues that plague the world. The overview of the book on Barnes and Noble notes that it “is a critical pastoral of poems concerning the environment aroudn the world, from place to place…a book relevant and hopeful for people to stop and reflect on the endangered beauty of all of nature.”
Continue reading “Niyi Osundare’s new book ‘Green: Sighs of our Ailing Planet’ debuts January 2022”
Friday, 22nd October 2021 In the sleepy back neighbourhood of Poor in Makurdi, at the RCM Primary School, there was a lot of excitement. The teachers, pupils, and invited pupils from NKST Primary School, Yaikyor and Promise of God International, Poor waited with bated breath for the arrival of Benue State’s First Lady and Founder, … Continue reading A DATE WITH BENUE’S FIRST LADY AT THE 6TH ESLF READ ALOUD CAMPAIGN by S. V. Agema
I am the sum of pain times a million regrets. Sailing I wish to twist the wind into a song of whispers to reach across the … Continue reading SEEKING HOME (a poem) by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema
I know, one of those titles. I assure you I will actively look into thinking about hiring someone to help me work on titles. When the thoughts come in, you let them flow or you lose them while trying to find a title. Etc etc.
I was talking to my friend, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim after a while and catching up on a gazillion things. Naturally, we had to talk about the new normal and the virtual festivals. How did we get there? I and the team at SEVHAGE are working on the Benue Book and Arts Festival, scheduled for December. Like almost everyone else in the literary world, we had a virtual plan but after talking to Abubakar, I think we can work on a hybrid. More on that later, for now, keep the date for first week of of December and we will ensure that whether it is physical or virtual or whatever else, there will be room for you to access our amazing festival in person and online. But that is not what this post is about… This post is about how you have moved on from a project and are on a new one, have spoken about the old projects so much that your mouth will pain you just remembering the book but because it is people’s favourite, it is the one they will want to keep asking questions about. To put it in perspective, imagine Chinua Achebe’s last published work of fiction was Anthills of the Savannah in 1987 but when people met him and wanted to talk about his works, it would often be a conversation revolving around Things Fall Apart of 1958!
So….let’s move on.
Originally posted on sevhage:
It has been some time coming and you all knew we were going to come through. HERE IT IS, Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto’s lovely chapbook, The Teenager who became my mother. It is the third in our SEVHAGE poetry Chapbook series that was inaugurated with Agatha Aduro’s The Enchanting. The series celebrates the best… Continue reading SEVHAGE presents The Teenager who Became my Mother by Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto
Words came in a whisper Echoed in thunder: Do not let the dust force your feet too many steps forward Many are the souls who sleep to wake Across borders where the lines of existence are blurred I was somewhere and it seemed I died Then I woke to the sight of a ceremony Where … Continue reading Do Not Let the Dust Force your Feet too Many Steps (A Poem) by Su’eddie Vershima Agema
Often our happiness is not a result of things happening to us per se but what we decide to concentrate on, and appreciate. Do we count our blessings or misfortunes. Do we look at the things that go right or the things left, the things thay went wrong?I’m learning and relearning that even in the … Continue reading Choosing the light
The 2020 K and L prize is now receiving short stories on the theme, Africanfuturism. The prize money is $1,000 (New Zealand dollars) while the deadline is 1st December 2019. You have to be 18 to 25 years old to be eligible and submit a story of about 2000 words in Microsoft word format to id.ojabo@gmail.com with the subject: 2020 K & L Prize.
Continue reading “CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: K & L PRIZE (WORTH $1,000) DEADLINE: 1st DECEMBER, 2019”
I was talking only yesterday night to Jennifer and Onyinye about plagiarism and how it is the fastest route to be deported in civilised societies. Walahi, if you want to return to your country and you don’t have transport, let me give you free advice and you can thank me later: plagiarise and ensure you get caught. The only thing I will add to that one is that no (reputable) university in the western world would look at your application to study, teach or affiliated with them in any capacity. Except maybe as a cleaner or one of those other odd positions. Well, that one too na job, no be so? Na you know.
Anyways, this morning here we are and my dear uncle/friend/biggest brother Chuma has one more tale for the road: of plagiarism of a high order. Haba na, some people should borrow sense small. So, the gist is that a certain new movie, MR PRESIDENT written and directed by BRIGHT WONDER plagiarised Chuma’s short story, ‘The Ten Commandments of Nigerian Politics.’ In Africa, people’s names often portend their future or somehow they get to live lives similar to their names directly or indirectly… Walahi, this oga is a bright wonder! And to think that Chuma has been advocating the #BribeCode project which seeks to end grand corruption while there is grand corruption playing ten-ten in his backyard.
Continue reading “OF CHUMA, PLAGIARISM AND THE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT: IF I AM PLAGIARIST”
Su'eddie in Life n' Literature 