Ehalakasa TalkParty Plus--Be There or Nowhere

This Sunday, July 4, 2010, would be TalkParty Plus. TalkParty is a the name for the meeting of members of the Eha-lakasa poetry movement. Confused? Yes... the spirit moved some individuals in Ghana to take the literary scene, that has for sometime become lethargic, by thrust and literally push it with all the spiritual force it required. Sir Black, Nii Lante, Martin Egblewogbe and many others were there to plant the seed that has today grown to become a force so powerful and defining that it has become the face of the arts in Accra. And judging by the youthfulness of the participants, it is clear that the survival of Ghana's literary front is assured. If those who see themselves as having arrived (and who had always been mentioned whenever people talk about literature in Ghana) would not nurture the youth, the youth would nurture themselves and this is the pot where all the condiments and spices and leaves required for such brew is found.

So back to the meeting. The Ehalakasa movement meets every other Sunday to perform and read out poems and discuss issues. (And there is a user-contributed bar. You would love this part, especially when drinks are laced with roasted groundnut, tatale (fried mashed over-ripe plantain), kelewele (fried ripe plantain doused in spice), and value-added akpeteshie (a locally brewed gin)). In addition to this fortnightly meeting, the group dedicates its platform once a month to performances (less of reading and more of performances) and this Sunday is one of such performance night. You just need to be there.

If you are in Accra, meet us at the Nubuke Foundation, located at the back of Mensvic Hotel (Annex), East Legon. Note that the meeting place was made available to us by Kofi Sertodji, a Ghanaian sculptor and painter. 

Come and witness the flow of passion, the desire to better Ghana through the Arts...come and be part of this exciting movement that is stretching the limits of our literary minds. The Writers' Project of Ghana is part of this as its co-founder, Martin Egblewogbe, is the host of the programme.

Nana Nyarko Boateng, Martin Egblewogbe, Nii Lante, Jawai, Mamacita, Obed Sarpong, Kimi, Nana Fredua-Agyeman, Sir Black, Bernard Akoi-Jackson, Nana Tsito, are some of the poets/performers you would meet.

The time is Six O'clock pm. 

After the Poetry Marathon by the Writers' Project of Ghana

The Writers' Project of Ghana, over the weekend, rolled out yet another of its series of workshops for writers in Ghana--this time dubbed 'A Day and Half Poetry Marathon'. Last weekend's edition is the third of its kind this year and focused on writing freely without any inhibitions as far as poetry is concerned. 

The workshop saw many participants producing materials instantly at the workshop on the first day. The second day focused, however, on peer critiquing of one work produced by each participants with Dr. Mawuli Adzei, a writer and lecturer at the University of Ghana English Department, steering affairs.

The project aims to improve the skills of writers, beginners, amateurs and 'already-made' writers.

Report by Obed Sarpong, A Participant Poet, Writer, Radio Host and a Member of the Ehalakasa Poetry TalkParty.

Wizzy Mangoma--Published Poet

Wizzy Mangoma

Born in Zimbabwe, Wizzy Mangoma is a Writer, Spoken Word Artist, Storry Teller, Dancer/Choreographer, and Theater Director. She has travelled thoughout Africa teaching and learning different African cultures. Read more about Wizzy here...

According to Wizzy, she is inspired by life and she's influenced by sharing and acting in the now because tomorrow may never come.

Wizzy has published a book of poetry titled 'Moment Treasures'. The collection promises to be interesting, judging from her rich experience with songs and tradition... Click here to make a purchase.

Today's Stories: Nana Awere Damoah and Nii Ayi Parkes

 Nana Awere Damoah

Nana Awere Damoah, the author of Excursions in My Mind, has published his latest book titled 'Through the Gates of Thought'. This book is a collection of stories, aphorisms, poetry and articles. Nana's literary exploit has taken him far and wide and his story 'Truth Floats' also appeared in the maiden edition of StoryTime's anthology African Roar. 

Nana receives his education in both Ghana and the UK. He is a chemical engineer at Unilever and still finds time to write. He is a family man whose closeness to his family led him to dedicate a whole blog just for his children. Through the Gates of Thought promises to be an interesting read. I would be interviewing the engineer, father, writer, author and man of virtues soon on this blog.

This new book is available on the world wide web through amazon.com click here to purchase...

Nii Ayikwei Parkes

Nii Ayikwei Parkes's poem ballast: a remix is one of the six shortlisted poems from over 150 entries gunning for The Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets. 

According to NAP he comes from Ghana and writes poetry, short stories, articles, songs and, sometimes, rap for all ages. 

In its second year the award celebrates the importance of the pamphlet form in introducing new poetry to readers in the internet age. Read about the award here.

13 Questions with Henry Ajumeze, a Nigerian Poet

Henry Ajumeze is a Nigerian poet and a proud citizen of Anioma. He was born in he Delta State of Nigeria and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Calabar. His poems have been published in art pages of most Nigerian newspapers and international literary journals and in anthologies such as 'For Ken, For Nigeria', an anthology that was edited by award-winning novelist E.C. Osondu.  Last month his collection of poetry titled Dimples on the Sand was published and has been reviewed on this blog.

#1:

Can you tell us something about yourself; your background both in literature and out of it...where you went to school and all that?

I was born in Ibusa, a town in Anioma region in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. I am enamoured of the history of my ancestors who fought the British and Royal Niger Company in the Ekumeku war for over 12 years. I am impelled to celebrate my ancestors, their chivalry in the Ekumeku Movement, my land--from the farm groove of Ngbotupke where I was born during the Biafran war to the cadence of Oboshi and the River Niger--in the face of our current marginalisation and injustice in the Nigerian State. This poetic bonding with my land has little to do with my study as a dramatist. It has everything to do with my Aniomaness--please let me use that word, the unique and deft manifestation of my people and our culture which I seek to celebrate. The Aniomas speak Igbo but with mellifluous dialect. It is Igbo language with rhythm. No wonder it has produced great griots and singers like Ugbogu Okonji, Nwalama, Agility and many others.

#2:

Are any of your parents in the literary circles or in an employment remotely related to what you are presently doing?

My late father was a flutist and oral performer. He was involved in all forms of 'griotry' with his akpele in oral performances like Okanga, Ogbu and other Anioma indigenous oratories. My father played Akpele with so much finesse, so much dexterity and passion that I regret my inability to receive that art. So I only console myself to say that my poetry is like adding written words to his repertoire.

#3:

Do you write any other genre in addition to poetry? Any publication (electronic or hardcopy) apart from your book 'Dimples on the Sand'?

I also write plays and have unpublished manuscripts which have been staged at some points. My poems first appeared in For ken For Nigeria, an anthology of contemporary Nigeria writing edited by E. C. Osondu, winner of the 2009 Caine Prize for African writing. I have also been published in Potomac, Journal of Poetry and Politics; Ibhuku, South Africa Literature News; Outsiders writers Collective and www.africanwriters.com

#4:

Your poems sound serious (if there is anything like sounding serious), are very political, yet there are a lot of humour in them. Do you set out do write this way?

I think the humour in me subconsciously creeps into my writing. It is nothing deliberate. Otherwise I think I take my writing seriously on the things I feel strongly about. The humour element may be no more than a satire fortuitously injected through my creative process.

  

#5:

What do you intend to achieve with your poetry or writings? Do you intend to cause a revolution, change society's psyche, inform society, admonish people (including presidents), or just state your opinion?
While some of my poems are driven by a desire and urge to pen down my emotions, I seek mostly to preserve our time-threatened folklores, proverbs, fables, chants and other ritual arts of my Anioma ethnicity. If this can bring about the much sought after revolution, I would be glad.

#6:

Literary writers have always had bad encounters with politicians. It happened to Soyinka and then to the late Ken Saro-Wiwa and Fela Kuti. What is the problem here and do you foresee a time when this tension or enmity would cease?

From the context of your question, and indeed generally speaking, our country has had a very unfair share of military government. We have also blazed the trail in transiting past military dictators into democracies. For the biggest nation in Africa, this is ugly, and can only incubate literature of agitation. And like Soyinka himself asserted, the man died in him who keeps silent in the face of oppression.

#7:

As I read your book I realised a whole part of the book is dedicated to Ken Saro-Wiwa (that's my observation, anyway), any ties? Why this?

I am greatly inspired by the works of Ken Saro-Wiwa, his poetry and his drama, more so the punching satire replete in his writing. After his execution by the government of General Sanni Abacha, I felt honoured to be part of the poets whose works were published in an anthology planned and edited by E C Osondu in his memory. That was when I wrote those poems.

#8:

'Dance softly, Baba' is one poem that cracked my spine, what inspired you to write? In general, what inspires you to write?

"Dance softly, Baba" came about during the third-term imbroglio of General Obansanjo’s administration in my country. It is a harmless advice to a power-possessed president.

#9:

I find you prominently in your poems. Is it because the poems are about you or is it because you identify yourself with the people you write about?

Indeed I have ‘stolen’ extensively from my life to feed my literature. And with regard to my Anioma works, there is a symbiotic relationship between my work and my land, in which I am equally a persona, not over-looking, as you have observed the bonding between me and my land. Yes, I am in most of my poems, and I also think it will be wrong to assume so at all times.

#10:

Which books did you read whilst growing up and even as an adult, and which are your favourite (if there is any) or have influenced your writings?

I have just mentioned Ken Saro-Wiwa, others are Wole Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo, Niyi Osundare, too many writers of that generation have shaped and defined my writing. While growing up I enjoyed reading the metaphysical poets, and today I celebrate fine writers of my generation that my country has produced like Nduka Otiono, Chiedu Ezeanah, Ogaga Ifowodo, Remi Raji, Esiaba Irobi, Olu Oguibe etc. These people inspire me a lot.

#11:

Nigeria has a lot of writers: Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo, Imomotime Okara, Niyi Osundare, Buchi Emecheta, Ben Okri, Chimamanda Adichie and many others...why do you think this is so and do you see the trend changing? In effect what is your view on the literary arts in Nigeria?

We are also a very large and great country and writers have fraternized in various literary clubs in the past like Mbari to enhance the development and growth of literature. Unfortunately, such inclinations are non-existent and we are witnessing these days a dearth of challenging literature. I believe arguably, in some quarters, people are still waiting for the next Achebe or Okigbo. There are no publishers willing to forage into a fast-declining reading culture perhaps, so writers are compelled to print their books. The so-called publishers are no more than printing contractors. It’s as bad as that…

#12:

Are you working on any new project that we should be aware of?

Presently I am promoting Dimples on the Sand.

#13:

Your last word to the literary world

Last word? This is just the beginning!

Thank you Mr. Ajumeze and I hope we would hear from you soon.

Thank you too, Nana

Please take a second to vote for your favourite book of the quarter.

17. Dimples on the Sand by Henry Ajumeze

Title: Dimples on the Sand

Author: Henry Ajumeze

Genre: Poetry

Publisher: Hybun Publications International

Pages: 81

ISBN: 978-978-900-836-0

Year: 2009

Country: Nigeria

Dimples on the Sand is a collection of 36 poems by Henry Ajumeze. The collection is divided into five parts. For convenience sake I have tried to put the parts of the book into different subject matter. However, this should not be seen as a straight jacket categorisation, for it is easy to find a subject in more than one part. Thus, the reader could also name the parts according to how best he decides to group them.

Part One celebrates the Poet's father and his people, the people of Anioma commonly referred to as the Delta Igbos. Poems such as 'In the beginning, was Anioma', and 'My Anioma' celebrate the land and the people of Anioma, whereas 'Okanga', and 'To my father, flutist of all time' celebrate his father. It is clear that some of the poems here could be performed on stage accompanied by the Okanga and Akpele instruments. Putting all these poems together in one part shows clearly that the poet sees no difference between the land or his people and his father, the flutist. This is so in African culture where the land and the people are one. This becomes even more significant if the inheritance system is patrilineal. In the latter poem, the poet seems to be seeking direction from his dead father, seems to be looking for the way to self-realisation; to be one with his people. This comes out clear with lines such as:

"The Rumba drums

are lost in our head full of jazz and reggae

But the winds from your nostril

rediscover the cadence of a dying echo..." (P. 16)

Most of the poems are in the first person with the poet playing a significant role. It shows how much the Poet is attached to the activities.

Part Two of the collection is dedicated to a loved one, yet the poems speak more than that. There are numerous nuances in this cadence. Some of the featured titles include 'Night opens my mind', 'I will remember you', 'I stood in the middle of the empty flat', 'Dead Drunk' and many others. In these remembrance poems, the poet sound lonely, as in:

"I stand livid

in the crossroad

of metaphors; I become one

with grief..." (Night opens my mind, P. 22)

And yet there are those where he converses with his beloved even whilst he takes his bath:

"...'Ah, I should have been a dancer, not a poet!'

'And you are neither!'..." (P. 33)

Part Three celebrates a great son of the Ogoni people of the Delta State of Nigeria, Ken Saro-Wiwa, a human right activist, a poet, a novelist and a defender of the people who was killed by firing squad during the Sani Abacha regime when he spoke against the treatment by Shell BP. In 'Battered Earth', Ajumeze writes

"I would follow you to Ogoni

across battered earth, oil-soaked landscape

I'd trudge along the corridors of pidgin

in the broken pages of verse

and un-cued lines of faithless proscenium..." (P. 43)

Other poems celebrating this great son of the Ogoni people are: "Behind the iron bars', 'Morning after the protest', 'The trial', and many others. In 'The trial', the poet describes the trial as:

"... a rehearsed farce

in the theatre of a darkling plain..."

 However, hope is kept alive in the 'Morning after the protest' where

"...the rioters linger, still

humming the bestial slogan of a defeated tribe..." (P. 46)

The Fourth part deals with the general political landscape of Nigeria. It has interesting poems such as 'Dance softly, Baba', 'Season of Peace', 'Oil and blood', 'Raped homeland' and many others. It is no wonder that this part has the largest number of poems. However, since you cannot takeout Ken's demise from the general politics of Nigeria which is immersed in oil and bloodshed, there are some poems that address KSW such as 'The fire blasts'

"Now Ken,

only your soul

will remember our lintel..." (P. 69)

No collection of poems that describes the politics of Nigeria, and for that matter of most African countries, would be complete if there is no poem that addresses the frequent seizure of power by the military. Ajumeze addresses this with poems such as 'Now that coup is no more treason'. In 'Storms gather' the poet shows that thought the use of military power can be used to quell any upheavals from the governed it is no solution for upheavals can arise from places beyond the reach and might of the military.

The last part (Five) deals with dedications to Niyi Osundare in 'Beyond midlife' and the Poet's daughter in 'Flanked by lullabies'.

The Poet's voice is unique and refreshing. His write cuts through emotions and whereas he is serious with his work he provides avenues for laughter. Thus, mixing laughter with seriousness is one of the hallmarks of Ajumeze's poetry. In one breath he would be dealing with a serious issue and in the next breath he is making you laugh whilst still tackling the subject at hand. In this way, the poem sticks into your mind. This is so in 'Dance softly, Baba', where he was admonishing a sitting president against the deeds of a past president. In this he writes

"...He must have bleated

Like a he-goat

Ran helter-skelter

In the crevices of Aso Rock...

...

He must have run naked

The pumpkin flag of our nation hoisted between his legs

Flapping savagely, cursed with libido

Death in pursuit..." (P. 60)

In 'This Plateau, brother', the poet shows that the human life is pathetic, hence it is unnecessary to allow religious intolerance to destroy us, for when it does governors, politicians, all become

"... refugees who must wait

neither for the Armageddon

nor the clarion call for curfew!" (P. 62)

According to Niyi Osundare, whom the poet writes about in 'Beyond midlife', there is no choice for the African poet but be political. This statement best describes Ajumeze's poems for even when he is talking about his beloved in 'Night open my mind' he infuses it with the moral decadence (and the corruption of public officials whose duty it is to enforce the law) that has suffused the Nigerian, and probably the African, life. For in this piece of remembrance he writes:

"...No, report

No report?

But if you drop some money, then..."

It is from this celebratory love poem that the title of the book was derived:

"Whence you walked, behind are cicatrix of warmth

that belie demise, every footprint like a dimple in the sand

that my wish for eternity of laughter

when I hurled you from that village infested with bitterness

would be fulfilled once our souls met in Isu..." (P. 29)

This is a collection of poems of humanity and life and aims to do exactly what Niyi Osundare said "to utter is to alter". Poetry is one aspect of the literary art that is gradually losing its focus and at the same time gradually losing its appeal. Yet, if readers could find themselves in the poem, could laugh with the poem, could quote from the poem, could associate with the poem on different levels, then that poem has succeed and the Poet has achieved his aim. With these Ajumeze has achieved his aim and more.

I would recommend this book to every lover of the Art. A copy could be obtained from the Nubuke Foundation located at No. 7 Adamafio Close, East Legon, or behind Mensvic Grand Hotel. Copies could also be obtained from Silverbird.

Since this is a collection of poems, its ratings should not be compared with other novels, yet even novels are sometimes incomparable as there are different sub-genres.