The Arts-Muse Fair

Ijegba Forest We are on our way into the forest Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka calls home. And we are 85 finalists for the WSICE essay competition (85 is Prof’s age this year), a few teachers, the WSICE organizers and reporters. We are all here for the competition and series of programs called Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE), held annually to mark the Laureate’s birthday. This is year, it is holding in three states: Lagos, Ogun and Ondo. We are leaving for Ondo today after the meeting with Soyinka. The result of the essay we wrote yesterday at the Cultural Centre would be announced in the presence of Prof. We are all aglow in brand new orange T-shirts. The Ogun sun has just risen but the July clouds makes her look sleepy as they wander in the sky, reaching for each other. We drive deeper and deeper into the labyrinthine Abeokuta rocks and green hills, and bushes until finally: TRESPASSING VEHICLES WILL BE SHOT AND EATEN  TRESPASSING COWS WILL

The team at Ayamba is excited to announce the official unveiling of her website,  www.ayambalitcast.com , on the 31st of December 2019. Spurred by the dire need to cater for the influx of emerging voices, and to celebrate their brilliant works, the platform provides for the promotion of African literature and the introduction of African writers to the world.  In the words of the founder and editor, Halima Aliyu, “Art is our identity. It is for us the banquet for our stories where we listen, drink and dance in their aura. Because they matter. Because we matter."   Halima Aliyu, Founder - Ayamba Litcast By creating and managing their profiles, writers can be accessed and read from anywhere in the world. The site has online literary agents on standby to answer questions and proffer advices on writing and publishing. It is also the home for podcasts, book reviews, interviews, and literary news. To be a part of this adventure, visit  www.ayambalitcast.com  a

Poets in Nigeria (PIN) todays opens activities of the fifth edition of Festival Poetry Calabar (FPC) themed “Poets in the Digital Age: Bytes and Heights”. The annual fiesta of poetry, culture and tourism holds in the city of Calabar from 18 th  to 20 th  December, 2019. The 3-day event will host poets, writers, artists, literary critics, social commentators and lovers of literature from different parts of the country, thereby elevating arts and literature above ethnic and geographical barriers. For the fifth year running, all activities of the festival including poetry reading, writing and performances, Calabar Welcomes, Sights & Sounds of Calabar, Teens Forum, storytelling, music, dance, poetry workshop, book chats, panel discussions and Live Photo Booth will take place at James Ene Henshaw Foundation and Transcorp Hotel, Calabar. Sights and Sounds (Poetourism) and a Walk for Poetry are slated for Day 1 – Wednesday 18 th  December. On the second day, Kolade Ola