ktravula – a travelogue!

Browsing the archives for the Uncategorized category.

Amercia’s Language Problem

It made news sometime last week that Mitt Romney’s campaign app spelt the name of the country he is aspiring to lead as “Amercia”. A likely honest mistake, perhaps, but an unfortunate one for someone who “believes in America” and wants to “restore” it. Yesterday, they also misspelt “sneak-peek” as “sneak-peak”. One thing I’ve noticed for a long time in my internet interaction with fervently patriotic citizens of the country is how they have consistently been the most grammatically incapable. I have not been able to wrap my head around it.

On the one hand, a case can be made for the laziness of online forums, and the ease of textspeak in most cases, but when those who consistently want to “take the country back” from foreigners and immigrants are the ones most unlikely to speak the language correctly, it gets worrisome. I was old enough to remember the days of Bushisms and the profundity of ungrammaticality. Somehow, it is just seemed unbelievable that the leader of a country is not able to speak the language of its people. Yesterday, I found this, from the Mitt Romney website (emphasis, mine):

As president, Mitt will work to expand and enhance access and opportunities for Americans to hunt, shoot, and protect their families, homes and property, and he will fight the battle on all fronts to protect and promote the Second Amendment.

There was something similar said by George W. Bush sometime in the early 2000s:

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we. — Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

Politicians are the easiest to make fun of, not just because they are the most visible, but because they represent the collective culture of a people. I imagine that if the Queen of England made a statement of stylistic or grammatical importance on television, it will either spur a flurry of linguistic dialogue all around the academic circles of the world, or just get accepted into popular usage just on the basis of the reputation of its user . What goes on in online forums (and Tea Party rallies) however is more inexcusable. It is either that the standard of English usage in America has gone horribly low among “native speakers”, or that it has always been like that, and other world users of the language have just been fooled for centuries that a mere access to the language equals proficiency, and is also a symbol of prestige and access. After all, the same Tea Party folks (think Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, Rick Perry) are the same ones with the hardest policy positions against immigration and multicultural education.

To be clear, I have nothing against the tendency of language to move towards simplification. Heck, I even favour pidgins and creoles. It’s just a little interesting that in a world where being a native speaker of English today is still defined more by where you’re born than your level of proficiency, as many ESL teachers not from the US (who have tried unsuccessfully to get a job here and elsewhere) have sadly discovered, those people who have fought the most to keep the language/culture pure are the ones most publicly embarrassed by the repercussions. That is some poetic justice, I think, pun intended.

On WALC 2004

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.

The conference, chaired by Professor Ben Elugbe in collaboration with Alt-I and the Department of Linguistics and African Languages had the theme, “Globalization and the Future of African Languages.” The picture was taken most likely on our way to get palm wine somewhere on the outskirts of the university and the conference venues.

Photo by Olumide Abimbola.

Book N Gauge XII: Partying with Books and YOU

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.

Tumblr Me.

I have taken the tumblr bug (on the same day when Facebook acquired Instagram – if this means anything). I will now share more of my favourite photographs there, so follow if you have a tumblr account, or not. Prints of photographs (with frames, if requested) will be available on request at reasonable price. They make for good wallpaper art.

Ramblings: On A Few Personal Things

Hi Blog,

It has been a while, or has it? In-between worrying about the direction of this darned thesis (which is as interesting/exciting as it is burdening), and looking all around the internet for good English teaching opportunities in East Africa after this long American adventure winds up in a few months, and managing a language lab that caters to all students of foreign languages in this university, you have been a consistent friend. Even while worrying all through the last couple of weeks deciding which photographs to enter into that Juried Show, and eventually, the little details of its presentation, you have been here. Here’s my hug to you. Hold it tight. You deserve it.

Do you also remember that new position that was tossed on my lap from those brainy folks at Nigerianstalk? Adding a literary component to the already popular site of Nigerian news/thought aggregation, a LitMag was debut with a purpose of harnessing the strength of new literature on the continent and I was made the editor. Tell me, how easy was the task of transitioning from a distant critic of Nigeria/Africa’s new writing into an influential hand in its new directions? The first published pieces came from people we already had close by. I have now discovered Facebook – and twitter – as a treasure trove of other new writings while still unrelenting in trawling the web for as many more as one could find. Young/Old Nigerians and non-Nigerians are writing new, brilliant things. If we can use the LitMag to bring them to the attention of the world, and produce one or two best-selling authors (and maybe a Caine/Booker prize-winning author), that would have been a success, wouldn’t it? For now, I invite you over to read short stories by Anja Choon and Olumide Abimbola, poetry by Benson Eluma and Kolade Ajayi, reviews by Adebiyi Olusolape, and a delightful non-fiction by Temie Giwa. All delightful, really.

Yesterday, I played around with tumblr. I have been told consistently that it is a better portal for photo exhibition than Facebook or twitter. I didn’t pay attention to it much because – frankly – I wasn’t really ready to deal with the work of pruning a whole photo database of thousands of pictures for weed and tare. Now that some of the work in that department has got some attention, it might be necessary to take these advice seriously. People who access the tumblr page would be able to see my works-in-progress, and photos that I would rather not have to delete. After all, Facebook has now been fully privatized. Giving hard, creative work to Mr. Zuckerberg for free will bring neither pleasure nor profit. One could suggest that artists/writers who use that platform for exhibition of their work should get something back from the pool of advertising revenue that Facebook rakes in everyday… but one would be but one voice in the wilderness.

Valentine’s Day always reminded me more of that old picture I took on the way to campus in the winter of 2009/10: a student couple staring idly at the restful lake. There were just three shots, and only one of them became the super great piece that it eventually became. Sometimes I think of them. Would they recognize themselves in the photo today if presented with it? All the viewer sees is their backs turned to the photographer. Ahead of them is a serene lake disturbed only by the restless geese. Another thought: if that picture were to make it to a great exhibition somewhere in New York City sometime in the future, how much would it fetch? And, how does one quantify the value of being at the right place at the right time with the right kind of camera, and stealth?

The day, of course, always reminded of that one last year that ended with a speeding ticket on my driver’s license in St. Louis. Somehow, in spite of my enduring affection for that riverfront town, we always managed to run headfirst into each other’s restless ego. Last year was also memorable for a very remarkable congress of us five student friends watching the Grammy with wine, chips, food, and class homework. A year later, we are all mildly dispersed in all directions of the state. Next year will surely find us in even more disparate circumstances. As the Yorubas say, “twenty children will never typically play for twenty straight years.” (Good luck explaining that to a monastery).

The curator of the art show slated for Friday told me that the opening day is the only day that I am obliged to show up – in order to meet with other artists, and to talk to the guests. For the other days of the one-month event, visitors and guests will just wander around observing, reading artist statements, and pointing to particular artworks that catch their attention enough to bring out their credit cards. The long nights between now and Friday will hopefully be filled with more productive endeavour. (I really hate bringing up thoughts about this thesis, as much as I have enjoyed working on it. I’m guessing that this is what a pregnancy feels like). As usual, there are a few new, and a few incomplete, novels all around my bed. None of them will be read to the end at the moment. Maybe this is a good time to return to editing that copy of Headfirst into the Meddle which my e-publisher has requested for a re-issuing. This year might be a good year for creativity after all – in spite of that damned blessed thesis.

Thank you blog for being there. I love you too. If you remain good, I promise to spend a lot more time with you when the thesis is over. Deal? I also have a story I want to tell you. Many stories, in fact, but there is this one about a personal brush with Intellectual Property violation on the internet. Will you still be here?

Sincerely Yours,

PS: Supervisor just sent me a mail that began with the following: “Something else I forgot to mention… You will probably need to develop some facility at multi-tasking…”

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