It’s a year already since we started Book N Gauge. Are YOU surprised? Oh yes, it is a year since the debut edition that featured Jude Dibia and Odili Ujubuonu. If the event were a baby, we would be crawling by now; yet we have crawled, walked, learnt and are still learning. The twelfth edition of Book N Gauge is scheduled to hold on the 26th of May, 2012 at 2pm; venue is Debonair Bookstores, Sabo, Yaba.
In the one year that the event started, Book N Gauge has featured over thirty writers, and over fifteen performers. Book N Gauge has had eleven book readings with writers and performers from different parts of the country. Does this call for celebration? We think so. And that’s why the twelfth edition, a book party, is dedicated to YOU.
The book party would feature more music performances than ever before, more giveaways and more participation from YOU. Why YOU? Because you have been with us throughout this whole year. And we need to show our appreciation to you by opening our floors to the readers in you. We have decided to open the floor to budding poets for the first time. So, if you would be interested in performing; send us your details: pulpfactioner@gmail.com so that we can include you in the plan.
HOW? YOU will read excerpts from your favourite books. YOU will tell us what makes the book your favourite and why you love it so much.
Our lineup of performers include: Musicians, Ese Peters, Isebiama and poets, Plumbline, Efe Paul Azino, Razaq Ivori and YOU!
Performers
Efe Paul Azino got a rousing ovation after he thrilled the crowd at the last edition of the Book N Gauge. Regarded as one of Nigeria’s leading Spoken Word Poets, Efe Paul has been a headline performer in many performance poetry venues, including Anthill 2.0 and Taruwa. Efe has delivered Spoken Word Poetry locally and internationally. Reflecting the suffering in African societies and the hope that keeps them going; Efe Paul’s poems cut across class, social and religious boundaries. Efe Paul is at once entertaining and thought-provoking; he leads a generation of poets in lifting poetry off the printed page, out of the shadows of academia and placing it right before the audience.
Plumbline studied as a Geo-scientist, rather than digging oil pipes; he “mines” words. Influenced by poets like the late Mamman Vatsa and the late Ken Saro Wiwa, the songwriter and spoken word artist wrote poetry from his secondary school days. He performs Spoken Word Poetry at most Lagos Events like Wordslam, Anthill, Taruwa and hosts Chill and Relax. His words dash straight through the heart of the audience and leaving them with thoughts, little mementos to take home.
Isebiama
ISEBIAMA is a sensational singer, songwriter, guitarist whose love and passion for music has taken him through phases most focused and accomplished musicians pass through. He is a product of the MUSON Diploma School Of Music;where he learnt a whole lot about music. From the basic music foundation, to sight reading & writing his own music, to understanding the connection that should exist between different instruments & performers in small ensembles, group performances & chamber groups. Isebiama is indeed a musician of purpose; his genre of music is deeply rooted with originality and cultural credibility in Soul and World Music. Though born and bred in Lagos, Isebiama hails from Okrika in Rivers State. His songs which are written & delivered in English, Yoruba, Okrika and Pidgin English, are an expression of his experiences and the stuff that go on in his heart. His dynamic play of the guitar with speed, passion, mental strength, balance and panache, and his remarkable vocal intonation through his mid to high notes registration are assets to be reckoned with. ISEBIAMA, the new sound of music.
Razaq Ivori: Spoken Word Artiste. He is a prolific writer whose career was launched by writing as “a ghost pen”, in the form of biographies, for the rich and famous. Razaq Ivori graduated from Ahmadu Bello University and the Institute of Journalism. He has two unpublished works in the offing: The Sperm, a Sci-Fi African drama piece and The Adventures of Illinick. He longs to bring back the art of the quintessential town crier poetic semantics which he dubs “narrative news”—a system where actual news content is infused in free flowing prose rendition like the Yoruba “ewi”, though delivered in English yet not without the characteristic melodic chant of the past. For six months, Ivori premiered this art at the Bogobiri House, ikoyi, where some said the uproar it generated prompted the proprietors to establish a full scale stage house next door for performance poetry
Ese Peters (Musician) : Ese Peters has a knack for making beautiful music. A self-taught guitar player, He started out as a solo performer of the Alternative Rock/Soul genre after graduating from the university in 2008. A young man who sings from his heart, Ese carefully crafts his songs which come from his experiences and a wealth of influences, citing John Mayer as a major reason he decided to pursue music as a career. Ese puts an interesting spin on guitar-driven pop music.
Auction Session: There will be an auction session. What do you get? Latest books that you can only find online. Hot CDs that are yet to be on the streets… There is also a surprise X auction item, come to find out. What are you waiting for? Let the bargaining begin.
Also:
- A platform for book lovers to meet, interact and network.
- Freebies, lots of it. Let’s start with this. Invite five friends, ensure they come for the event and win a free book.
- Live Musical performances by: Ese Peters and Isebiama.
- Poetry by Efe Paul Azino, Razaq Ivori and Plumbline
DATE: May 26, 2012
TIME: STRICTLY 2pm – 5pm
VENUE: Debonair Bookstore, 294, Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo, Yaba.
Remember: Bring five friends and win a free book! Gifts are available for early birds too.
There will also be a raffle draw with the star prize being a Kindle.
The burden of memory, and the surfacing of an old photograph taken in 2004, has imposed on me an unconscious returning to one of my memorable times on the University of Ibadan campus. I was a student in the final year of Linguistics, and the recently appointed secretary of an international conference of linguistics. It was called the West African Languages Congress (WALC 2004) Conference. As secretary (and volunteer webmaster), my responsibility included receiving and collating abstracts, communicating with conference participants via the internet, and updating the conference website as necessary. Needless to say, it was one of the most exhilarating, fascinating, moments of my student life in the university. For the first time, I realized that I wanted to work in linguistics.
