The Arts-Muse Fair

  Just For Words Arts Initiative invites spoken word poets all over Nigeria to participate in the Minna Poetry Slam 2021 and win N50,000 in cash prize.   Minna Poetry Slam 2021 consists of three rounds covering three themes. Participants will be eliminated from each round up until the final round, where the judges will pick a winner for the prize. Each participant is expected to have poems for each round. The poems must be written and performed by the original author. THEMES AND TIME LIMITS Round 1: Rape — 1 minute Round 2: Violence — 2 minutes Round 3: Mental Health — 3 minutes There are only 20 slots for participants this year. Apply now and get shortlisted. Registration for the slam is for a fee of N1,000. Payment confirms registration. Minna Poetry Slam 2021 will be judged by a panel of individual judges. For participation, send a message via any of our social media handles, email or the WhatsApp numbers below, with your full name and formal intention to parti

  Sir Eriata Oribhabor is a Nigerian poet, essayist, editor, social commentator, literary activist and publisher at Something for Everybody Ventures (SFEV) . He is a prolific writer who ranks amongst Nigeria's most published contemporary authors. B orn and raised in Warri, Nigeria, he has a degree in Political Science from the University of Abuja. His job as a federal Government employee has seen him traverse Warri, Kaduna, Abuja, and Lagos where he currently resides. He is a former Chairman, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Abuja Chapter, and President, Poets in Nigeria (PIN) Initiative, a platform that works with committed poets to render countless services to society via poetry. With many PIN Connect Centres spread across Nigeria, Poets in Nigeria Initiative is arguably the foremost Art body promoting poetry in Nigeria today.  In this maiden edition of Artist Handprint, we bring to you the list of titles that have his name etched on them as the writer, editor, and co-

  "We are Creatures of our own inventions.   Possibly, we are inventions of our past, and of our times possibly even of some mad dream in the mind of fate, But in the end, we are our own Inventions. That is our tragedy and our hardest fate."  - Julia Cleaver Smith from the novel MORNING GLORY " Not to Resign to Fate is Madness" - Ola Rotimi. "A glowing nimbus of light surrounded the area where I sat, against a huge tangerine ball of a setting sun. A booming, black and red thunder-head of sound cuts across the air from the Northern zone to the South, ruling the night with a majestic zest. Calls so long and loud resonated and rumbled through the earth and bounced on the moon, roaring back in rage to the earth. Then they softened and fall, mournful and low, grieving for the pain of the evil of the night. It was an awesome night in Jos, 1999. No clouds sailed the skies. A white cumulus built on the horizon seeking a late good rain to soak the land. The gras

    The early harmattan breeze blew through the hairs on my skin as the sun was rising, I caught a glimpse of the city through the words calligraphically displayed at the entrance gate to the city. It reads the name of an ancient city, " Welcome to Gombe ". A city where I found jewels in the Savannah. I found myself enjoying the serenity of the environment. The city was a full moon in the dark night, filled with radiant brightness of calmness. The culture and hospitality of the people are unique. The first day in a city you have never been to will make you eager to see around the city and catch what it looks like. I arrived at the city early, when light had already approached darkness. It was a new place as this was my first visit to the city despite the proximity of my state with it. Cars and motorcycle screamed along the beautifully tarred roads in the city. I got the address to my accommodation after alighting from the car that drove us from Bauchi and landed us in

  I was having a conversation with a friend recently about mentorship and I realized that some of us have the idea of a mentor screwed up such that even when we have one in our lives we are unable to recognize them. Let me buttress my point with a story.   I met Ishaya Bako sometime in 2011, at Nicon Luxury Hotel in Abuja and I knew that we were going to work together. I was already learning by that time to trust my intuition. So I followed him on Twitter and later added him up on Facebook. Once in a while I'd tweet at him and he'd respond. So I told him that I look forward to us doing stuff together. One evening, he called to ask if I was in Abuja and free to see him the following day. Of course, I was. We met and he told me about a project that he wanted to work with me on. It was a TV series about the Nigerian Police Force, produced by Oliver Tambo. It was my first TV gig. He called to say that the producer loved the first episode that I sent in, so I was going to write

BY AMINU S MUHAMMAD The second edition of the Niger state Photography contest for secondary schools held last weekend with three winners going home with cameras and total cash prizes of one hundred thousand naira. The contest, sponsored by Mal. Abdullberqy U. Ebbo and organized by the Hill-top Arts Foundation, seeks to introduce students to the art of photography and encourage them to build a career in it for economic and recreational gains.   Abdullberqy U. Ebbo, sponsor of the competition               BM Dzukogi, Founder, Hill-top Arts Foundation This year, eleven schools participated with each presenting three participants to compete for the prizes. All participants took candid, outdoor shots around the themes of Chaos, Climate change, and Infrastructural decay . The photos were exhibited to the audience before winners were announced by Mal. Aminu S Muhammad, the chair of the jury. Wada Muhammad, an SS2 student of Model Secondary School, FUT Minna, won the first place of prize and

  T R A V E L L E R S What if There were no canons?  Never were there; countries  What if there were never wars?  And one another, we genuinely adored    What if There were no plagues?  There were no flags  There were no regions  There was no hatred  Eating deep into our hearts?    What if Between us, there were no oceans There were no seas And the humanity within us  Is all that we see?    What if There were no colours Neither white nor black  And love was the only feeling  That took us all aback?    What if We are here for a while And only the smile on our lips And the joy in our chests Can take us far miles?    What if Just what if We are all travellers Sojourning to a place  We know not a thing about?    ************ Shehu Mubarak Sulaiman is a Kano-based poet. Currently a final year student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, his works have appeared on Konyashamsrumi, Sebuleni and Dailytrust. He is a winner