The Arts-Muse Fair

BY PAUL LIAM This analysis is primarily concerned with the utilization of the epistolary element as an instrument of postcolonial discourse by Sarah Ladipo Manyika in In Depence, and is based on the special edition of the novel published by Cassava Republic Press in 2016. This writer asserts that the novel in itself is not an Epistolary, but it deploys the epistolary technique in x-raying postcolonial themes with a special reflection on the realities that confronts post independent nations, located within the era of military rule in Nigeria. Besides the epistolary technique, the novel uses the third person point of view narrative technique in telling a story that is both didactic yet refreshingly creative. There are twelve epistolary exchanges in the novel, most them being the exchanges between Tayo and Vanessa, the central characters around whom the plot revolves.   Manyika was raised in Nigeria, has lived in Kenya, France and England. She holds a Ph.D. from the Univer

Pic: Aminu S Muhammad THE END IS GONE If you hunger and thirst You are still alive! Those who kissed the lips of death are raptured! They are the smoke we saw leaving for oblivion. They are in a fortress! They are the ones With soft skins Wet lips And new lives If you feed and sleep If you love and want to be loved then, you are a soul wondering in purgatory! If your country have gods of nepotism and treachery then, you are a wall waiting to be broken! The end is gone! Every preacher in this face is a god! They have sweet lips And bitter tongue. and these gods are busy seeking for slaves and servants. Give me a coin you'll be two times richer than Dangote. Or give me two coins and you'll be ten times richer than king Solomon. This are the words Of a preacher. The end is gone! Those who gathered riches gathered enough! Like the generals in North and West Until they

Writers approach the writing process differently. What works for Writer A might not work for Writer B, therefore, it is important for the aspiring writer to understand that what defines a writer is style, what is often referred to as the writer’s voice. However, style in writing is influenced by certain factors such as genre or subgenre preferences and the kind of books a writer reads. Those who love crime fiction are certainly going to be better at writing crime fiction, those who read poetry are already setting themselves up to becoming poets and those who love to read essays about criticism are already defining their paths of becoming critics and book reviewers albeit subconsciously. What the beginning writer needs to do primarily is to know which of the genre he or she wants to be known for, this identification creates a sense of focus and direction in the writer who then sets about learning the rudiments of the selected genre. Of course, after attaining some level of profi

Pic: Aminu S Muhammad Your head was really heavy when you opened your eyes, everything was abnormal, upside down. You couldn't help but wonder if you were in the devil's land or in the human world. You decided to lay still for few moment," it will help me regain my sanity." You thought. It took a little while before your sanity was regained. "Oh no!" You shouted like you just saw yourself drowning but you just remembered that your grandmother fell off the cliff and drowned in the water beneath when you screamed out of the joy of seeing Asabe, your best friend whom you thought wouldn't make it to the hangout with your grandma. That scream startled your grandma who moved too fast forgetting that she was standing really close to the edge of the cliff. It happened so fast. "Where is Asabe?" You wondered. You were trying to stand when you heard footsteps from behind. You looked back and saw Asabe, your parents and some men, the men wen

Book Title : The Opposite Kingdoms Author : Kwaghsende Jimin Publisher : Kwaghsende Ventures, Minna Pages : 72 Year of publication : 2017 Price : Not stated Reviewer : Paul Liam Kwaghsende Jimin has published notable works including The Pensioner (2006), The Benchmarks (2004), You Can Be Happy (2008) and Life Line (2004). A seasoned administrator with the National Examinations Council (NECO), Jimin’s works are known for their penchant for re-engineering the moral psyche of the people towards the ideals of a utopian society. This ideological dimension to his works is evident in The Pensioner and in his latest offering, The Opposite Kingdoms . Clearly his first published work of prose, Jimin uses a Reconstructionist prism in reassessing the relationship between Africa and the West, and the attendant effects of post-colonialism, through the use of a simple parable. The question of why Africa continues to grapple with underdevelopment in spite of her huge p

Pic: Aminu S Muhammad BY MARYAM S. MOHAMMED  Suddenly, there was an inexplicable loud and ominous crash! It more than startled Iman who had until then been sleeping like most women do in their third trimester.   She had just concluded her nightly ritual of speaking to her husband over the phone and telling him how much she loved him and hated having the master bedroom to herself five nights a week, when she drifted to sleep.   The crash sounded so much like a gunshot, but who had a gun on the premises? Or was it the transformer that had exploded again? Anytime the transformer exploded like that, NEPA officials would give the same lame excuse to the individuals affected- “overload”. Iman had never heard the blowing of the transformer sound this close. She was so anxious, she found herself sitting upright in the middle of the bed. She didn’t have much time to wonder as within the next few seconds, there was another crash – louder this time around, as the door to her bedroom was h