ktravula – a travelogue!

WanaWana Celebrates Love, Sensuality and Feminine Agency

I was present at Rele Gallery Onikan on August 27, 2017 at the listening party organized for Wana Udobang’s sophomore poetry collection called In Memory of Forgetting. I have also spoken with the poet, in an interview published on Brittle Paper, about her work, craft, and opinion on the Nigerian literary scene. So I was glad to see that she has created visuals for a few of the poems in the collection.

This one is called “20”. It was released on September 20. According to the press release, ‘the video was filmed in Lagos at Freedom Park. The concept of “20” was developed by WanaWana, directed by XYZ, and features MTV VJ Folu Storms. The video artistically celebrates love, sensuality and feminine agency in a poem that has been described by one critic as “steamy and intense”.’

Enjoy.

You can get the album here: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/wanawana, or at Salamander Café (Abuja), and at Terra Kulture and Rele Gallery (in Lagos).

WanaWana Celebrates Love, Sensuality and Feminine Agency was published on September 25th, 2017, with the tags , , , , , , under the Literature, Movie, News, Poetry category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Ideas of Identity

IMG_4054A BBC Radio 4 feature on Nigerian writing today, with a focus on the diverse ways in which Nigerian writers are interrogating identity, aired today at 12.30pm Lagos Time. The theme was Ideas of Identity.

Along with other contemporary Nigerian writers, I was interviewed on my work in Yorùbá and on the dearth of literature in the local language in the country today.

You can listen to it here. The programme was produced by Jeremy Grange (who himself is passionate about the resurgence of local languages – Welsh in particular – in his native country), recorded in September 2015, and narrated by Wana Udobang.

Ideas of Identity was published on December 3rd, 2015, with the tags , , , , under the Journalism, News category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

EVENT: Writing a New Nigeria

Representations of Nigeria in contemporary fiction and poetry

  • Time: Saturday 14 November 2015, 4pm – 5.30pm
  • Venue: Freedom Park, Museum Building
  • Admission: Free

Panelists

  • Elnathan John, author of Born on a Tuesday
  • Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, author of Season of Crimson Blossoms and The Whispering Trees
  • Jumoke Verissimo, poet and author of I Am Memory and The Birth of Illusion
  • Dami Ajayi, poet and author of Clinical Blues
  • Toni Kan, author of Nights of the Creaking Bed and the forthcoming Carnivorous City
  • Kólá Túbòsún, linguist and writer, author of Attempted Speech & Other Fatherhood Poems 

Moderator

  • Wana Udobang, journalist, writer and poet

wanaA selection of celebrated contemporary writers and poets discuss representations of Nigeria in fiction and poetry. The panelists will consider how writers are reflecting the issues and concerns of Nigeria today and their role in holding politicians and society to account. They will debate how Nigerians navigate by language, slipping in and out of character, dialect and language according to the circumstances, and the importance of writing and publishing in languages other than English.

The significance of identity and place will be discussed, with two authors bringing a perspective from Northern Nigeria and another who says he couldn’t live – or write –anywhere but Lagos. There will be an opportunity to hear authors read from their works – and for audience discussion.

‘Writing a New Nigeria’ is a 2-part BBC Radio 4 documentary giving a portrait of Nigeria, seen through the eyes of a new generation of writers and poets, presented by Wana Udobang and including contributions from our panelists. Produced in partnership with the British Council as part of UK/Nigeria 2015–16, it will be available on www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 from 28th November 2015.

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Photo from Lovenwords.com

EVENT: Writing a New Nigeria was published on November 5th, 2015, with the tags , , , , , , , , , , , , under the Literature, News category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.