Tag: African Poetry

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Accra Chronicles: An Unforgettable Journey to a Literary Extravaganza (1)

Accra called out to us from all over the world for a five-day feast of words, companionship and one of the biggest symposia on the continent this year, bringing writers of class across Africa’s breath and the diaspora for a top class literary production. The cast for the event was a scheduled thirty-seven all-star ensemble that grew into a larger gathering of legends. Topping the headlines for the NYU Accra Lagone Dialogue was the Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka and the keynote speakers, Chris Abani, Aminatta Forna, and Jennifer Makumbi – people whose names all speak for themselves. I found my name on the list, courtesy of an invitation by the Director of the NYU Accra site, Chike Frankie Edozien, seasoned journalist and author of The Lives of Great Men. He had pursued me with his invitation from Abuja to London and Nottingham, ensuring in his magnanimity that my costs of travel were fully covered, even if I was to come in from the North Pole. Well, that is where my story starts…like every journey, at the point just before I got to the bus park.

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ANNOUNCING THE SEVHAGE LITERARY PRIZES 2023 LONGLIST

The 2023 SEVHAGE literary competition collated several exciting entries from across several corners of Africa. With four categories to showcase the multifaceted talent of African writers, we are once again reminded of the incredible depth and breadth of our continent’s literary prowess. We are grateful to everyone who submitted entries for consideration of the various prizes.
After critical readings and reviews of the several entries submitted for the four categories of the SEVHAGE Literary Prizes, we are honoured to unveil the longlisted authors for the SEVHAGE Prizes in the following categories:

  1. E. E. SULE/SEVHAGE Prize for African Literary Criticism
  2. SEVHAGE Prize for Creative Non-Fiction
  3. SEVHAGE Prize for Short Fiction
  4. SEVHAGE-KSR Hyginus Ekwuazi Prize for Poetry

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EVOKING UBUNTU AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: AN EVENING OF AFRICAN HERITAGE WITH SU’EDDIE AGEMA, MCINERNEY, MWAMBULUKUTU, CHRIS AGAPE, JOSHUA OMEKE, VICTORY OSARUMWENSE AND ORAYYY

by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema

In showing the art side of its curriculum while celebrating Africa and Black History Month, the London School of Economics hosted its second Ubuntu Café (a.k.a Ubuntu 2.0) at the GenDen on 12th October 2023 from 5:30 to 9:00pm. Hosted by the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa (FLIA) and Programme for African Leadership (PfAL), the event was themed ‘Roots, Bridges, and Echoes: Reclaiming our Stories.’

Established in 2022, the Ubuntu Café aims to foster connections amongst African students at LSE and those with an affinity for African culture. Beyond a mere gathering, the café provides an avenue for intellectual stimulation, creativity, and lively discussions through several ways including competitions, talks, debates, poetry, music, and art.

Ubuntu 2.0 featured a book launch/conversation and performances from artists including Will McInerney, Victory Osarumwense, Chris Agape, Joshua Omeke, Su’eddie Vershima Agema, and Elizabeth Mwambulukutu, anchored by the dynamic creative, Orayyy. Kicking off at 5:30 pm at the LSE GenDen, the event was orchestrated by the FLIA team, comprising of Tosin Adebisi, Ivonne Olusoga, and Daniella Gutiérrez-Torres, ensuring attendees had a memorable experience.

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AFRICAN LITERARY TITANS GATHER IN ACCRA TO RECLAIM NARRATIVES AT THE LABONE DIALOGUES (OCTOBER 19-23rd 2023)

The literary headlines are set to explode with various takeaways and exciting episodes from Lagone, Africa from 19th October 2023 and beyond as Africa’s finest literary heavyweights across generations converge in Lagone, Accra, Ghana for what might be one of the continent’s finest literary festivals this year. ‘The Labone Dialogues by NYU Accra’ curated by … Continue reading AFRICAN LITERARY TITANS GATHER IN ACCRA TO RECLAIM NARRATIVES AT THE LABONE DIALOGUES (OCTOBER 19-23rd 2023)

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ANNOUNCING: The SEVHAGE Literary Prizes for Africans 2023 (Deadline: 21st August 2023)

Calling all African wordsmiths and literary trailblazers! Prepare to embark on an exhilarating journey into the world of captivating storytelling and profound insights. The SEVHAGE Literary Prizes are back, bigger and better than ever before, and this time, we are calling on African writers from all corners of the globe to unleash their creative brilliance. … Continue reading ANNOUNCING: The SEVHAGE Literary Prizes for Africans 2023 (Deadline: 21st August 2023)

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MY FRIENDS, HENNEH KWAKU KYEREH, EMMA OFOSUA AND ELIZABETH JOHNSON

This is a placeholder to sing the praises of three of my Ghanaian pals, literary stars and poets – Henneh Kwaku Kyereh, Elizabeth Johnson and Emma Ofosua. At the last Lagos International Poetry Festival, they shone bright, with Henneh and Elizabeth moderating fine sessions while Emma blazed the stage with extempore poems. There was a … Continue reading MY FRIENDS, HENNEH KWAKU KYEREH, EMMA OFOSUA AND ELIZABETH JOHNSON

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PAN AFRICAN WRITERS ASSOCIATION RELEASES POETRY LONGLIST WITH NIGERIAN ALL-STAR CAST FEATURING DENJA ABDULLAHI, TANURE OJAIDE, SERVIO GBADAMOSI, OBARI GOMBA, ONYEKA NWELUE, ECHE NDUKA AND OLUMIDE OLANIYAN

by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema The Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) has today released her poetry prize longlist in four categories (English, Arabic, French and Kiswahili). The signed release by the Association’s Secretary General, Dr. Wale Okediran, shows a total of fifty-three longlisted entrants, with fifteen in each category, except for Kiswahili with eight entries. … Continue reading PAN AFRICAN WRITERS ASSOCIATION RELEASES POETRY LONGLIST WITH NIGERIAN ALL-STAR CAST FEATURING DENJA ABDULLAHI, TANURE OJAIDE, SERVIO GBADAMOSI, OBARI GOMBA, ONYEKA NWELUE, ECHE NDUKA AND OLUMIDE OLANIYAN

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Niyi Osundare’s new book ‘Green: Sighs of our Ailing Planet’ debuts January 2022

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.”

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Wreaths for a Wayfarer: A Poetry Anthology in Honour of Pius Adesanmi (1972-2019)

adesanmi

On Sunday, March 10, 2019, Pius Adebola Adesanmi, writer, scholar, educator, and public intellectual, was killed along with 156 others from 35 countries in the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed close to Addis Ababa airport shortly after take-off. Prior to his death, Payo (as he was fondly called by many) was the Director of the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, in Ottawa, Canada. His tragic demise at the age of 47 has left people in the communities where he conducted his professional work and social activism reeling with pains. The tragic nature of his death invites us to reflect on his life and times, as well as to philosophize on the immortal lines of the English poet, John Donne, in his “Meditation XVII”: “All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated… As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all… No man is an island, entire of itself… any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

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