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The Nigeria Prize Writers Read Excerpts from their Work

The announcement of the winner of the 2017 Nigeria Prize for Literature is very near now. In three short days, the wait will be over and a new winner will be crowned for this year’s Poetry Prize. Last year’s Prize was for Prose Fiction and was won by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim. The prize is worth $100,000.

Winners for the 2017 Prize for Literary Criticism will also be announced on Monday, October 9, 2017.

The writers on this year’s shortlist for the Poetry Prize are Tanure Ojaide (Songs of Myself), Ogaga Ifowodo (A Good Mourning) and Ikeogu Oke (The Heresiad). Since the beginning of this week, I have spoken with each of the writers and posted the interviews here.

Today I want to share videos of the writers reading from their work. For anyone interested in any of the books, you can get them on OkadaBooks.com, Nigeria’s online and mobile bookstore.

Here is Tanure Ojaide reading from his book Songs of Myself.

Here is Ogaga Ifowodo reading from his book A Good Mourning.

Here is Ikeogu Oke reading from his work The Heresiad.

May the best writer win!

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On Sunday, October 8, 2017, do come back to watch the last interview, with Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke who is the General Manager External Relations of the NLNG, on the future of the Nigeria Prize.

“No Serious Writer I Know Writes for a Prize” | Interview with Ogaga Ifowodo (video)

In this conversation with poet and James Baldwin lookalike Ogaga Ifowodo, I try to get at his purpose for writing a book about the June 12 crises, and what exactly he means by “the intimacy of evil”. His collection, A Good Mourning (Paressia, 2016) is an engaging work of competence and style (review here).

I also wanted to know why now since the June 12 crises has faded to the background of Nigeria’s socio-political memory. What did he think of the role of a writer in society, and what is the limit of writing in effecting change.

Watch the conversation below.

Read the previous reviews, and watch previous interviews, here.

NLNG 2017 Literature Prize Interviews and Reviews

As promised, over the last week, this blog has featured reviews of the shortlisted work on the 2017 NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature (Poetry), as well as interviews with the shortlisted writers, and the prize coordinators. You can now read and watch them here, below:

Monday, September 25, 2017: A Review of A Good Mourning” by Ogaga Ifowodo

Thursday, September 28, 2017: A Review of Songs of Myself by Tanure Ojaide

Sunday, October 1, 2017: A Review of The Heresiad by Ikeogu Oke

Monday, October 2, 2017: Conversation with Professor Ben Elugbe, member of the advisory board of the Nigeria Prize (video)

Tuesday, October 3, 2017: Conversation with Ogaga Ifowodo, author of A Good Mourning (video)

Wednesday, October 4, 2017: Conversation with Tanure Ojaide, author of Songs of Myself (video)

Thursday, October 5, 2017: Conversation with Ikeogu Oke, author of The Heresiad (video)

Friday, October 6, 2017: Excerpts from each of the collections (video)

Sunday, October 8, 2017: Conversation with Kudo Eresia-Eke, General Manager, External Relations for NLNG (video)

Monday, October 9, 2017: Prize Announcement/World Press Conference.

Update: October 9, 2017: Ikeogu Oke’s The Heresiad is the winner of the 2017 Nigeria Prize for Literature.

The intention behind this effort was to help engage the community of writers and give visibility to each year’s shortlist as a way to better improve the prize through conversations and constructive criticism. The end game, of course, is the hope to stimulate an improved culture of reading and appreciation of literature around the country.

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On “A Good Mourning” by Ogaga Ifowodo

As promised, here is my take on the first book on the shortlist of the NLNG-sponsored Nigerian Prize for literature 2017. The book is A Good Mourning (Paressia, 2016) by Ogaga Ifowodo. Ifowodo is a poet and writer, who taught poetry and literature in English at Texas State University, San Marcos, USA. He holds the Master of Fine Art (MFA) in poetry and Ph.D from Cornell University, New York. He studied law at the University of Benin and worked for eight years as a rights activist with Nigeria’s premier non-governmental rights group, the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO). Between 1997 and 1998, he was held in preventive detention for six months under the military dictatorship of General Sani Abacha.

I’m ashamed to admit that, until now, I hadn’t read anything by that poet with a striking physical resemblance to James Baldwin. But no matter where I have turned, his name had shown up there, from conversations on social media to arguments in closed listservs. Until recently, I also didn’t know that he had served in government in some capacity and that he once contested for (and failed to win) a House seat from his home constituency.

So, I approached his work with an open mind. The title of the book A Good Mourning carried a curious double-edged sword of meaning that intrigued anyone from afar. The cover conveyed darkness as does the paradox of the title itself. If it is “mourning”, how is it also “good”? And how does it contrast with what we have grown to expect when we hear the phrase, devoid of the physical surprise of the spelling difference?

The work does not disappoint. The copy I got was loaned to me by Doctor-Poet Dami Àjàyí to whom the writer had autographed it in 2016: “Good morning & poetry”. I hadn’t found a copy anywhere else that I had looked, inviting conversations to the recurring topic of accessibility of books to the general public before they are selected for the Nigerian Prize. (It is a ridiculous argument, to be clear. The prize is set up to reward excellence, not distribution savvy. But it does raise valid questions about why publishers in 2017 haven’t yet heard of the Kindle, eBooks, and an authentically Nigerian electronic book distribution system called OkadaBooks which can put the books at the literal fingertips of millions of people via their mobile phones).

A Good Mourning is an impressive book that is marked by competence, style, grace, and a distinct authentic voice. It is that competence that I intend to dwell on a bit more because some of the snide remarks about the shortlist had focused on what they regarded as substandard work on the shortlist. Thankfully none had mentioned Ogaga’s name in the diatribes. He is a competent voice whose work leaves no one in doubt of his facility with words, dexterity with decades of African and modern poetic traditions, and sincerity in the pursuit of his numerous truths and points of view.

The poems delight, inspire, provoke, entertain, and intrigue. They cover a range of themes that, contrary to the expectation that the poems in the collection will all be morose and depressing, excite and titillate. In one poem Ten Hours (page 8), the poet describes an appendectomy in a German hospital with such mischief and lexical dexterity that what one feels isn’t just breathless anxiety of a man hanging between life and death but a playful appreciation of the affectation of the doctors’ efficiency and their terrible grasp of English (one confuses “rupture” for “rapture”). He asks for the piece of his gut back, on regaining consciousness, and was told that it had been cut up, and it will no longer, as he had hoped, become

pickled in a beaker,

displayed in bookcase at eye-level

for breaking barren moments,

getting guests to know me inside out.

These kinds of unexpected levity litter the book in random places, turning what was billed as a melancholic take on national life into a delightful, thorough, and serious look at different issues in one citizen’s life.

In the following poem, a serious religious ceremony is gently mocked.

Once an alter boy, he pined for wine

and wafer, not communion with the Lord

Too young for the mysteries of eating God’s

flesh and drinking his blood, he prayed only:

Lord, let this cup pass to me!

The priest sent him out of the holy sanctuary.

You get the idea.

Actually, you don’t.

Ifowodo does this effortlessly throughout the work, especially in places where seriousness is expected. It almost seems like the whole book is an attempt at shattering gloomy expectations. Or else a practical interrogation of life as comprising of both gloom and levity, mixed in the right dosage, waiting to be teased out by the right inquisitor.

The title poem was dedicated to Chief Moshood Káṣìmawò Abíọ́lá. It reads like a recap of history, with snide barbs reserved for players and villains, living or dead.

The false-star general

was first to flee his stolen throne

seeking refuge in a hilltop mansion

built with stolen money.

Since the book was published in 2016, there will be questions about why the author chose now as a good time to write about the June 12 crises, and why the title poem takes about ten pages (37-46) to tell us what we already know about an event whose significance has now almost paled against the background of even more pressing matters. (I asked him about this in our interview. More on this later)

What won’t be asked is whether the work was well written – because it was. In four different sections, Ifowodo explores what it means to be human, with a diverse range of fascinating experiences over many decades and many geographical spaces. The poems are as experimental as they are traditional (though he notably avoids any attempt at rhyming). The book is described as the author’s “reflections on the intimacy of evil anchored in the brazen military annulment in 1993 of the will of the Nigerian people to self-representation…”. I will not argue here with his choice of description of his own work and aspiration, but the work appeared to me more like a nuanced mosaic of a yet unfolding, if rich and fascinating, life of the author himself.

The outward-facing and ambiguous appearance of the title and its however belated tribute to the memory of June 12 will be important in inviting in a curious reader, but won’t be what keeps them. That will be the delightful competence, playfulness, and dexterity of the writer’s voice. I will mark A Good Mourning down as a very strong contender for this year’s prize, but that’s not saying anything since it is already on the shortlist of three. A more specific compliment will be that it is certainly one of the stronger two on the list.

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The video of my interview with the author can be found here. The prize announcement will be made on October 9, 2017.

Reviewing the 2017 Nigerian Literature Prize Trio

I have just finished reading the third of the books on the 2017 Nigerian Prize for Literature shortlist, and I’m overwhelmed by the range, depth, and quality of their offerings. It is such an impressive collection.

When I started, last week, with one of the books, I was sure that I had found the winning work. But after having read the three, I’m no longer that certain. Each book brings to the table an array of class, style, content, beauty, and a lot of pedigree. Contrary to social media jabber, I can say that this is an impressive shortlist, each writer deserving of their place on it.

In the next couple of days, perhaps one per day, I hope to post my thoughts on each these books as I see them.

Needless to say, reviews and criticism of works selected for public fêting are essential to the growth of a literary industry. From Facebook to Twitter, we have seen no shortage of individual opinions on the Nigerian Prize, its shortcomings, and other matters. What we haven’t found are sustained conversations about each of the works shortlisted. Aside from book readings organized by Cora and sometimes by NLNG itself, there haven’t been many avenues to engage with the work and the writers themselves. Not even in our newspapers, except for scattered profiles and op-eds on the nature of prizes. And that is a shame.

One of the reasons the Caine Prize (and other prizes smaller than it) have earned such a reputation as important relevant prize institutions is the level of engagement that each of their annual prize seasons brings to literature and to the writers themselves. We can complain all we want about what NLNG is or isn’t doing, but as an industry of writers, much of the fault lay with us and our inability to engage in a constructive, intellectually satisfying way when it comes to book shortlists. It is not the size of the prize pot that brings prestige to a prize. It is the type of value that the conversations around the prize add to the standard of subsequent entrants which then hopefully spirals forward into an improved culture and tradition of writing across the country. Without critical attention on a sustained basis, we are equally as complicit in whatever downward spiral attends our inactivity.

Tomorrow on Lagos Island, I will be engaging the three writers in a televised interview. I intend to post the full videos here when they are ready. I also intend to talk with the prize administrators, as well as a member of the prize advisory on a number of issues that have been raised over the years about the prize and its role in shaping the writing culture around Nigeria.

But before then, watch out for my review of each of the three books on the 2017 shortlist.

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UPDATE (September 25, 2017)

The first review is of Ogaga Ifowodo’s A Good Mourning. Read it here.

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Informasi Teknis dalam Permainan

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Return to Player atau RTP

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Volatilitas Permainan

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Memahami Konsep Jackpot dan Mode Demo

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Keamanan Akun dan Legitimasi Platform

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Peran Teknologi dalam Gaming Modern

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Pentingnya Batas Pribadi dan Penggunaan Bertanggung Jawab

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Aturan usia dan regulasi lokal juga tidak boleh dianggap sepele. Ketentuan mengenai perjudian online berbeda-beda secara signifikan di setiap negara, negara bagian, provinsi, maupun wilayah hukum lainnya. Sebuah layanan mungkin diperbolehkan di satu wilayah tetapi belum tentu memiliki izin yang sama di wilayah lain. Karena itu, pengguna perlu memeriksa peraturan yang berlaku di lokasi masing-masing dan tidak menganggap sebuah platform otomatis legal hanya karena situs tersebut dapat dibuka melalui internet.

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Bahasa yang digunakan dalam industri slot online pun terus berubah mengikuti perkembangan teknologi. Istilah seperti mobile-first, instant access, live interface, responsive design, demo mode, bonus feature, volatility, RTP, dan digital wallet semakin sering digunakan ketika orang membahas pengalaman gaming modern. Di waktu yang sama, berbagai slang dari media sosial dan komunitas online ikut berkembang sehingga tercipta perpaduan antara istilah teknis dengan bahasa sehari-hari yang lebih santai.

Memahami Permainan Berbasis Peluang

Pada akhirnya, platform slot online modern dapat dipahami sebagai sistem hiburan https://www.ktravula.com/2017/09/random-memory-of-pranking/ yang menggunakan mekanisme permainan berbasis peluang. Tampilan visualnya mungkin semakin keren, interface-nya bisa sangat praktis, dan kampanye promosinya dapat dibuat sangat engaging. Namun, unsur ketidakpastian tetap menjadi bagian fundamental dari permainan berbasis peluang. Tidak ada interface, strategi, prediksi, ataupun hasil sebelumnya yang dapat menjamin hasil tertentu pada permainan yang bersifat acak.

Bagi siapa pun yang sedang mempelajari industri ini, pendekatan yang lebih masuk akal adalah melihat melampaui headline dan promosi yang terdengar bombastis. Memahami mekanisme permainan, statistik teoritis, keamanan platform, regulasi yang berlaku, serta prinsip penggunaan secara bertanggung jawab akan memberikan gambaran yang lebih realistis mengenai layanan tersebut. Dunia hiburan digital memang berkembang dengan cepat, tetapi pengguna yang cermat tetap perlu memahami perbedaan antara presentasi yang menarik dengan hasil yang benar-benar dapat dijamin.

Perkembangan Online Gaming di Tahun 2026

Memasuki perkembangan ekosistem online gaming sepanjang 2026, platform digital kemungkinan akan terus berfokus pada akses mobile, interface yang semakin cepat, visual yang lebih immersive, pilihan permainan yang lebih luas, serta pengalaman pengguna yang semakin polished. Teknologinya boleh terus berubah, tetapi prinsip dasarnya tetap relevan: baca informasi dengan teliti, pahami mekanisme permainan, periksa aturan yang berlaku di wilayah masing-masing, lindungi data pribadi, dan selalu ingat bahwa permainan berbasis peluang tidak menyediakan jaminan keuntungan finansial.