A NIGHT OF POETS at FREEDOM PARK, LAGOS; TUESDAY APRIL 3, 2012; 7pm

The 3rd Lagos Black Heritage Festival, LBHF, presents A NIGHT OF POETS, featuring 16 Nigerian and 16 Italian Poets in a public reading and performances under the thematic framework: BLACK MEDITERRANEAN: THE NIGERIAN-ITALIA CONNECTIONS

Date: TUESDAY April 3, 2012

Time: 7pm

Venue: Food’s Court, Freedom Park,

              Broad Street, Lagos

The poetic dialogue will be captured in a collaborative anthology — already underway — on the theme of MIGRATIONS: poems by 15 Italian/Italo-African poets North of the Mediterranean, and 15 Africans south. This Coffee-table collection will be published in time for the Festival in an illustrated bi-lingual edition.

The public reading on TUESDAY night will provide a poetic fiesta as Italian and Nigerian contributors perform their own lines, punctuated by vintage Italian and Nigerian music snatches.

The cross-generational Nigerian poets featuring in the project are: 

Richard Ali, editor Sentinel Nigeria Magazine, Divan of the Four Winds;

 Gimba Kakanda whose works  have been published in various local and international media, including the Indian Journal Prosopisia: An Anthology of Poetry and Creative Writing; 

 Razinat T. Mohammed, whose collection of short stories titled, A Love Like a Woman’s and Other Stories won the maiden prize for the Association of Nigerian Authors/ Lantern Book Prize 2005;  

Uche Peter Umez, an alumnus of the International Writing Program (IWP), USA, and  UNESCO-Aschberg Laureate; 

Tolu Ogunlesi's poetry, essays and fiction have appeared in World Literature Today,  Transition,  Wasafiri, The Caine Prize Anthology and translated into Chinese, Italian, Norwegian and Turkish;

Jumoke Verissimo, author of the poetry collection I Am Memory, and  winner of the 2009 Carlos Idzia Ahmad Prize for a first book of poetry, second prize 2009 ; among other prizes;

Ify Omalicha (late), author  Amidst the Blowing Tempest, They Run Still & Now that Dreams are Born;

NB: If passed on in  a tragic auto accident recently while this programme was being prepared.

 Tade Ipadeola, is author of A Time of Signs (2000) and The Rain Fardel; his third volume The Sahara Testaments is about to be published.

  Ben Omowafola Tomoloju, dramatist, poet, singer and author of Jankariwo, Askari among other works, and producer, director of the yearly poetry programme,  P.L.A.Y.;

Olufunmi Aluko, winner 1st Prize for Poetry in the Poetry/Painting Competition of the Communion and Liberation Movement;

Deji Toye’s  collection of poems Millennial Liege is awaiting publication;

Chiedu Ezeanah’s  first book of poetry, , Solar Energies (Book 1 of The Tristia Trilogy), is soon to be published;

Chris Abani is author of the collections Sanctificum (2010), There Are No Names for Red (2010), Feed Me The Sun - Collected Long Poems (2010)  and Kalakuta Republic(2001) among others;

Ogaga Ifowodo, poet and writer, teacher of  poetry and literature in English at Texas State University, USA is author of three collections of poetry:Homeland and Other Poems, Madiba, and The Oil Lamp; and

Odia Ofeimun whose numerous collection of poems include  The Poet Lied (1980), A Handle For The Flutist (1986), Dreams At Work and London Letter And Other Poems (2000).

Wole Soyinka, Playwright, Poet, Essayist and Human Rights activist, and Nobel laureate (1986);

John Pepper Clark Bekederemo, poet and dramatist, and recipient of  the Nigerian National Merit Award for literary excellence (1991).