Saturday Special: Funny, Strange and Factual.

Really?
That indirectly means they think about nothing? 

Lmao!

SPOKEN WORDS POETRY SPECIAL: "I Listen to You" by Amore David.

I listen to the sprout of these words coming out

Betwixt the puncture of your ivory carves...

I listen again and again and again in times..

To this substantial tendency of exuberant awe

That got me enraptured sensationally about..

If you're actually a demon or human..

Living in the college of mysteries..

Galvanising in the heart of mystic things...

Trading pavilion with an arms of vanity

In this silky voyage called life..

.

I listened to the desire of this burning fire..

Coming out from the spew of the maiden's mouth.

I listened to passion rolling in limbo like jubilant

From the oesophagus to honeyed mouth of sestina

I listened to you, that breaks the rule of beholder..

Melting their lids in anxiety of loving you with vibes..

Oh! I listened to these words like pilgrims of mountain's ice

And my feet trembles in absurdity to find their stands..

Nikon Photography Contest: THE BEAUTY OF LAGOS

Nikon is Calling all photographers in Nigeria! Show us the beauty of Lagos and its people through your photo and get a chance to win up to $750 worth of Nikon voucher. Join The Beauty of Lagos Photo Competition!

PRIZES
1st Place – $750 Nikon Voucher
2nd Place - $500 Nikon Voucher
3rd Place - $250 Nikon Voucher

CONTEST TIMELINE

Poetry: "OMO ALAJE" by Tejuoso Olamide.

Omo Alaje,

Okuta trembles at your enthralling voice,

so does it fall apart before you like dagon fell before the ark.

Your smile infects instantly at contact like ebola,

initiating impulse buys by your enticed customers.

Omo Alaje,

the market envies your opulence,

some tag you a whizz, some a witch.

The market leader's miscarriages is your doing; they blurt.

Omo Alaje,

tell them how Eledua backed you up to whop

ori buruku  in a bout,

Tell them how you singly floored atowo denu,

the dreaded profit eater and incurred the plethora of Aje

NSPP 2016 Update : 10 Poems Shortlisted for the Ultimate Prizes.

Following the announcement of the longlist for the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize 2016 made on 6th June, 2016, the longlisted entries were further examined by the Judging Panel in order to arrive at the shortlist.

Consequently, Poets in Nigeria (PIN) is pleased to announce the shortlist for NSPP 2016.

The shortlisted entries in no particular order are:

Special Feature: Technicalities of Flash Fiction with "I Saved My Marriage" as Case Study by Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto

Here is our case study in full:

I SAVE MY MARRIAGE
                                                                           
That was my wife, Chiamaka, approaching. People thought her puerile and naïve but I deemed her exquisite. She was blithe and permissive, carefree and lax.
          We had been married for five months through the declarations of our parents and other adults. I was seven years old and she, just six. Her mother declared her my wife because she had been my favourite playmate. I never knew her father’s opinion.
          We cherished our union and understood the unspoken words, we always chose a spot away from other playmates on those days parents allowed their children play outside. I didn’t want other children playing with my wife; she didn’t want them eating her soup.
          During one of those wonderful days, I couldn’t find her.

Selected Participants: 2016 Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop June 10, 2016

The following applicants have been selected to participate in
the 2016 Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop:

Saturday Special: FUNNY, STRANGE & FACTUAL

Sensational! 

Wish to see that someday.

Farafina Trust Workshop 2016 Update!

Did you put in for Farafina Trust Workshop 2016?

Poetry: "Clotting of a Bleeding Heart" by Ibrahim Abdul Hameed

Feelings are supposedly blind,

But even then, boundaries exists, never to be trespassed,

Greatest of all, is love, bane and cross, of the cursed,

For you'll turn a blind eye to all, and have your actions back bite you,

Special Feature: "Divine Passion" and other poems by Nadine Jessel

  

DIVINE PASSION

Dear melodic breeze
encircling passion’s meadow

Dance in the paradise
of my domain
for the bouquet of affection
which stems from my desire
to love

In the exquisite radiance
of the Divine
the richness of splendor is unveiled
flourishing as the blossoms
within the pinnacle
of the Universe ~NJ~

Nadine Jessel – Copyright © - 2015 – All Rights Reserved
From My Heart ~ To Your Soul (R)

A POET’S PEN

A poetic pen
possesses infinite possibilities
of exquisite narratives
resonating upon the beckoning fingers
of every page

Nigerian Students Poetry Prize: 30 Poems Longlisted

Poets in Nigeria (PIN) is delighted to announce the longlist for the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize 2016 which was declared open to submissions on 15th January, 2016 amidst positive reactions. Upon closure, entries numbering 400 were received from students drawn from 64 tertiary institutions, viz, Federal Universities & Polytechnics, State Universities & Polytechnics, Private Universities, Colleges of Education and Seminary Schools.

Having subjected the poems received to critical examination, the Judging Panel has made available a list of top 30 poems in no particular order.

The longlisted entries are:

Book Reviews: Critical review by Akwu Sunday Victor of "EFEEGA War of Ants by Amali Idris" and "Punctured Silence by Kolade Olanrewaju Freedom"

  Angst-filled Sputum in EFEEGA War of Ants – A Review by Akwu Sunday Victor

Poetry serves diverse functions to man. In societies that decorum is enforced by the rule of law, poetry loses its revolutionary potency and is seen as art, existing for its own sake. However, in Nigeria, a country where abnormalities have been normalized, illegalities legalized, poetry loses its elitist place of domicile and becomes a tool in the arsenal of the subaltern class in class. Thus, the place of angst-filled poetry is still relevant even in the Twenty First century. Idris Amali, a professor of Oral Literature is a contemporary of Niyi Osundare, Okimba Launko, Tanure Ojaide, Ezenwa Ohaeto and other second generation Nigerian poets.  The poetry collection, EFEEGA War of Ants, is divided into seven subsections and each has a title: “Desert of Needs”, “Pride in Filth”, “Restless Abodes”, “Struggle”, “Exchanges”, “Dine with the Past” and “War of Ants.” The collection, more so, has sixty five poems.

        The cover page of the collection speaks volume of its thematic thrust. A dead elephant lies under a bloody and chaotic moon and ants meander over the gigantic dead beast, lacerating its armored skin with angry mandibles. Professor Bello Bada in his endorsement of the poetry collection says, that, “in this new volume, EFEEGA: War of Ants, the poet exposes the elephant – a behemoth that must be dethroned for the restoration of decency and sanity.” Indubitably, in the mood of jeremiad, the poet laments the devastation of the nation’s treasury and natural resources by the gluttonous and greedy ruling elite. Most of the poems are laced with images of squalor, misery and impoverishment which are orchestrated by the absence of good leadership. In the poem, “From the Pond,” an image of a young herdsman is painted. The fellow “squats” beside a filthy pond where his cows are splashing filthy water in the air and begins drinking. This specimen of nature who is immune from material advancement of humanity will later assume the throne and become leader tomorrow. The poets wails thus, ‘He lives today in a pool with his cows/ And from the cow pond to govern our thoughts/And administer our welfare” (19).

Saturday Special: FUNNY, STRANGE & FACTUAL

                               Welcome to the another edition of FUNNY, STRANGE & FACTUAL

Just for laugh gags though. lol

Never give up. 

Special Feature: '' The Birth of Death" by Binogun Winifred

                                             

Tonight, I had a baby girl, another baby girl, a seventh baby girl. The midwives hired by my husband had left me immediately the baby came out. They knew Oke would not pay for their services as usual since it was not the heir he so much wanted.

Blinking mechanically, more consciously than unconsciously, I tried to fight the barrage of emotions inside of me. I could feel myself floating upon water, wondering if this was the end of it all, if I was dying. In that single moment of perceived transition, I enjoyed pure bliss for the first time. To die would be better than facing mockery again. I still had debts in the market incurred from buying food for my daughters whom Oke had sworn not to feed. If death should possess me, then I would be eternally free from looming travails.

Chicken Soup Special: Get paid $200 for a Poem or Story.

According to their website:

“If we publish your story or poem, you will be paid $200 ($100 for devotionals) one month after publication of the book and you will receive ten free copies of the book your story or poem appears in. You will also become part of the Chicken Soup for the Soul family, you will receive our exclusive contributors’ communiqué and you will be entitled to buy cases of books from us at a discount.”


The following categories have deadlines that are approaching:

Short Story Series: Concluding part of ''Ofada Kitchen'' by Oyelude Yetunde

                                                                 Ofada Kitchen    

      

 "Daddy, so you've been in love with mommy since your university days? And mommy keeps  telling Aunty Tofunmi not to have a boyfriend whereas she is already in the university." Kehinde said roguishly. He was just a boy of ten but his brain always seemed too smart for his age. Tofunmi was his older cousin who had just gained admission into the University of Lagos.

          

His twin sister, Taiwo, was completely fed up with her brother's constant interruption. She wished something could silence him till their dad concluded the love story. To her, Kehinde was  a momental pest!

          

 Demilade laughed. "Don't mind your mother. She knows perfectly well that love can attack you anytime. She is just being protective of Tofunmi because the university is a place where one can either get lost or move forward. That is why she told your cousin to beware of boys. Not every man is gentle like your father." He gave a naughty wink at his twins.

             

 Taiwo rolled her eyes lazily and sighed. Her father was boring her with all these talk. She needed him to get back to the main story. "Yes, we know all that Daddy, you are the gentlest man in the whole world." Taiwo said rather sarcastically. "Now, can we please get back to the story. How did you win mummy over?"

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