Princewill Udom: My GCLF Experience

Hotel Presidential, the venue of the fifth Garden City Literary Festival, wore an unusual radiance at the behest of the natural sunlight and the impressive events of the festival. The event had a stellar cast including Nigeria’s finest Wole Soyinka, Gabriel Okara and Elechi Amadi, to mention a few. The festival drew high profile academics, public officials and emerging literary talents. In line with this year's theme, "Women in Literature" the guest authors were all female writers; Veronique Tadjo, Doreen Baingana and Chibundu Onuzo.  

This convergence of the crème de la crème in the world of African literature was complemented by the captivating array of scheduled programmes. At the book fair, elusive books as well as new books were available. For the workshops, most participants were pre-registered, so signing up was easy. The ushers and gatekeepers, who were mainly young people, welcomed everyone with smiles. They brimmed with enthusiasm and a genuine desire to help. They wore their distinctive branded black T-shirts on Jean trousers. The seminar rooms were well-lit and air-conditioned; they had comfortable chairs, giving the rooms both functionality and aesthetics. 

The events for children had various small groups of excited uniformed schoolchildren in attendance. The fiction seminar played host to an inspired set of aspiring novelists exclusively while bona fide poetry lovers had their seminars simultaneously in a separate room. However, other events had unrestricted access. But all events stood out by their interactive approach, among which was the discussion by the three female authors on the theme of the festival.  There was also a   dance drama on VVF by an all-female troupe from the Arts Village, University of Port Harcourt; this triggered a reflection on the broader themes of illiteracy, tradition and injustice. 

All the events were free. Indeed, I consider that outstanding considering the rewards participants garnered such as the opportunity to hobnob with established writers and receive invaluable insights from them, 

It was particularly pleasing to find a sizeable proportion of young participants at the festival whose presence infused the older generation of writers with the firm optimism that the writing profession has a living legacy.

In sum, the festival as a whole was a valuable lesson in impeccable organization.

This article was sent in by Princewill Udom; he was part of the GCLF writing workshop, 2012. 

Poetry: Stand Ye Up!

This poem was performed during the open mic session of the Garden City Literary Festival, 2012. The writer, Uche Anichebe, is a 500 level student of the Faculty of Law, Nnamdi Azikwe University. Though she was part of the Fiction workshop class, her performance of her poem "Stand Ye Up!" got everyone clapping during the open mic session during the GCLF 2012.

At the GCLF, we support writers with promise, one way or the other. We recognise talent when we see one. We enjoyed Anichebe's poem because it fits into the theme of this year's festival, Women in Literature. The performance was also profound, as her voice charged the women in the audience to take their place in the world. Read it and tell us what you think. 

STAND YE UP! (Dedicated to all women who are proud of their gender)

The breasts that suckled the nation's best
The hand that fed and lifted men
The womb that bore all men that live
and in agony, gave breath to them.

Stand ye up with the greatest pride
Stand ye up from the lowly state
And view the wonders that lie in thee
The splendour of the rising sun

Created when all things were still
In man's repose and nature's charm
When all was made so he needn't rush
He created you from tested stuff

Stand ye up with your royal gait
Stand you up with majesty
For ye have borne great loss and loads
Ye who hold the future's gift.

Ye are a priceless gift to man
The Ken that saved the Jewish land
The womb that bore the saving Lord
The loving heart from Calcutta

Stand ye up and know thy worth
Stand ye up with dignity
Stand ye up and know thy rights
and guard them from the treading toes.

---Written by Uche Anichebe

Win £1,000--and Have Your Work Published

The Financial Times and The Bodley Head, an imprint of Random House UK, are running their first annual essay prize for the best young talent in long-form essay writing.

The Bodley Head, an imprint of Random House UK, and the Financial Times, are proud to announce their first annual essay prize, which aims to reward the best young talent in long-form essay writing. 

"We are looking for a dynamic, authoritative and lively essay of no more than 3,500 words on a topic of your choice. It can be journalistic, it can be a case study; it can be wide-ranging or minutely focused. It can address any topic – from finance to history, from current affairs to a scientific discovery. We aren’t looking for a particular subject – we are simply looking for quality," reads the release on the FT website.

The prize for the winner will be £1,000, an e-publication with Bodley Head and a mentoring session with the Financial Times/Bodley Head.

More information here. Download an entry form here. Deadline is November 18, 2012. 

All the best!

Event: Chill&Relax

It will be an evening of poetry and music. The venue is  Abeni close, Asa Estate, off Ayodele Okeowo Street, after Deeper Life Church, Soluyi Gbagada, Lagos. Time is 3pm. Date is November 11, 2012. More information in poster below.

Lessons from the Poetry Workshop

The poetry class was alive, alive with lessons, during the Garden City Literary Festival, 2012. Here are more lessons from the class.

• Writing begins with language. A poet without a good use of language will not succeed, hence one is expected to cultivate a good mastery of the craft.
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• As a poet, a proper understanding of the culture and traditions across the world helps his or her ability to write a believable work. Many poets stand in the way of their poetry because they find certain ideas intrusive, hence discard what could have made their work a masterpiece. Cultivate the good use of "freshness" and never take your poetic license for granted.
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• There must be an internal logic, a case where what you write has a bearing with life.
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• A good poem thrives on aesthetics, beauty.
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• Everybody borrows, that makes us human but as a young writer, you should be careful with what you borrow. Borrow, don't steal!

16 Things every poet should know:

• Know the theory; practise it and allow for self-discovery.
• Every writer is a reader, also be a voracious researcher.
• Be your own first critic. Learn to criticise yourself. You may even know good poets through their titles; they carefully choose what to write, and that is where creativity begins. Your first line is also important. Since most people do not read poetry,  the first line must be gripping.
• Always go around with your material.
• Every writer has his or her best moment. This may be at night or very early in the morning; find yours.
• Ideology/Social Vision: This is very good for a poet. One should understand that one's inspiration takes just ten percent while the remaining 90 percent goes to perspiration.
• Keep in touch with the community: That explains how vast you are while writing. This requires staying in touch with books, writing news, even life. So learn to make connection between life's experiences.
• Keep your senses alive. Open your eyes to see; your ears to listen; let your skin feel; creativity flows through receptive senses.
• Know what turns you on; it could be the environment, time, situation, atmosphere and company (of friends)
• There are two demons to avoid: haste and procrastination. To avoid the two, add one block to the building every day, one line, one image to the poem every day.
• Have the passion and willpower to do your work; this keeps you going.
• Poetry is everywhere; you can never exhaust the list; what makes poetry is the craft, not the title.
• Originality: distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack. It makes you stand out. Create your own "trademark"
• Own your own style: Make sure your work appeals to the five senses, then it will be embraced. Write the kind of poem society can easily connect with.
• Circulate your work among peers, those you trust; attend peer review sessions. Remember your first draft cannot be your best draft. Make use of social media.
• Don't write for money, it kills faster than the deadliest pills. 

Dr Obari Gomba facilitated the poetry class. 

Koko Kalango: A Reading Society is a Thinking Society

I am honoured to stand before you today to welcome you to this wonderful city of Port Harcourt and to the Garden City Literary Festival 2012. This year’s festival is special for several reasons: this is our 5th outing and we are looking at a very topical subject: Women in Literature, with a focus on Africa. This broad theme is interesting because it allows us to examine the work of women who are operating in the literary space - writers, publishers, booksellers, literary critics. We will also be looking at what women write about and how relevant female writing is to our modern world, plus we will be looking at the way women are portrayed in literature.

To tackle this exciting topic, we are joined by authors, critics, scholars and the reading public. We welcome our main guest writers – Veronique Tadjo, the Ivorian poet, songwriter, playwright and scholar, Doreen Biangana, author of Tales from Entebbe, from Uganda, Chibundu Onuzo the talented young author of The Spider King’s Daughter and Noo Saro Wiwa writer of Looking for Transwonderland; Travels in Nigeria. In addition, we have a brilliant line up of workshop facilitators, discussants in the symposium and seminars, exhibitors at our book fair and of course our visitors, who are the backbone of this festival.

We are also pleased to be presenting our book; Nigerian Literature, a Coat of Many Colours, which is a coffee table book highlighting the works of 50 prominent Nigerian authors.  We are grateful that the foreword to this book is written by no less than President Jonathan while the introduction is written by Rivers State’s leading literature connoisseur - Governor Rotimi Amaechi. We hope this work will be a valuable contribution to Nigeria’s literary heritage.

There is another reason why Garden City Literary Festival 2012 is important; -  this year, our beloved city of Port Harcourt has been chosen to be UNESCO World Book Capital 2014! This is both an honour and a challenge to our city and we stand on the platform of our 5th festival to announce our nomination to the world. Port Harcourt has some exciting times ahead.

Over the years we have featured writers of this great city such as; Elechi Amadi, Gabriel Okara, Igoni Barrett, Kaine Agary and Chimeka Garricks. On this historic occasion those of them present will join us in the symbolic unveiling of our beloved city of Port Harcourt as UNESCO World Book Capital 2014. 

This city has previously welcomed literary legends such as the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Koffi Awoonor, Ama Atta Aidoo, J P Clark and their younger counterparts like Chimamanda Adichie, Sefi Atta, Helon Habila, Adaobi Nwaubani and Zainab Jallo to the city for various literature programmes. Last year, we even had the privilege of hosting two important world figures as guests of honour – Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and the Rev. Jesse Jackson the American civil rights activist.

But for every big name, there are several others, not so well known, but very important men and women, boys and girls, being groomed on this platform. It is our desire that the festival will continue to be a platform for expression and exposure of writers as well as a place where all players in the book chain industry – from readers to writers to publishers - will be able to meet, network, exchange ideas and do business.

The vision that I hope we all share for Port Harcourt is of a city where literary talent is nurtured and where reading and writing is the norm. A city where aspiring writers are encouraged to soar to new heights. A city where the writer is free.

We have said before that our work is a double edged sword – reading and writing. If you take a look at our logo, you’ll see that it has a map of Africa in it, with light emanating from Port Harcourt to the rest of Africa. This portrays the vision of the Rainbow Book Club to use literacy as a tool for development in Africa, beginning right here in the city of Port Harcourt. The light in the logo signifies enlightenment and that is what literacy does for a society.

A reading people is a thinking people. In a reading society, a thinking society, when we see a broken down fuel tanker, we do not take our buckets and go there to fetch petrol to sell for a little money. A thinking person knows that this a dangerous thing to do as a single match can start a blaze that can kill dozens of people in minutes.

A reading society is a thinking society. In a reading society, when ravaging floods turn our country into one vast swimming pool and our possessions are floating away before our eyes and we realise our livelihood is threatened, society as a whole would come together to find a solution to find a way to survive. 

If four boys between the ages of 18 and 24 in your community are accused of anti social behaviour like stealing a laptop and a blackberry phone or even more serious allegations – like cult activity - what would a thinking society’s response be? Faced with such a situation, the thinking society would realise that suspects are entitled to a fair hearing in a court of law and if found guilty, then those suspects will pay the penalty according to the law. A reading society would not drag those suspects through its streets, beat them up, strip them naked, pour petrol on them and burn them like logs of wood. The reading society does not take the law into their hands, and kill people without mercy.  No, that is not the response of a reading society, that is not the response of a thinking society.

Some people say this is the result of poverty and they ask, ‘does reading put food on the table?’  The link between reading and prosperity lies in the fact that we live in a knowledge economy. To cope with the demands of our present world, developing our human capital is essential. Reading is a sure way to access information. Information is power. Information exposes you to the stories and examples of others from which one may learn how to improve on their own life. More importantly, information opens doors that lead even the poorest people to new horizons.

Reading brings light. That is why our logo has a light from Port Harcourt to the rest of Africa. When light comes, darkness is dispelled and the society can develop. That is the task at hand. With Port Harcourt being nominated UNESCO World Book Capital 2014, the world now has its eyes on this city and we must stand up to the call to be a beacon to the world.

This is a call to humanity, a call to you and me. Don’t look behind you, there is no one there to take on the challenge. The challenge is thrown to you and me. We must work together to show the world that we are indeed a reading and thinking people.

In 2005, I quoted the saying that if you want to hide something from a ‘black’ man, hide it in a book. I don’t agree with the designation ‘black’ but this is not the occasion to postulate my personal ideology. I will repeat what I said in 2005, in this hotel, and that is that by the time the Rainbow Book Club is through with its work, the world will have to find somewhere else to hide information from the ‘black’ man.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Port Harcourt, UNESCO World Book Capital 2014.

Welcome to the 5th Garden City Literary Festival.

Welcome to the road towards a thinking society.

God bless the Garden City of Nigeria, God bless Nigeria!

Welcome!   

Favourite Five: Noo Saro Wiwa

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Set in Mumbai in the 1970s and ’80s, this novel follows four characters from across the caste system, each with different backstories, brought together under one roof. The novel shows how their life paths are affected by the turbulent economic and political changes in India. Tragedy is mixed with humour, and Mistry weaves Hindi vernacular into the dialogue so expertly it feels unlaboured. By the end of the book you feel as if you’ve lived in Mumbai yourself.

King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild

A magnificent piece of non-fiction that details the brutal history of colonial rule in the Belgian Congo. Hothschild’s research goes into incredible economic and historical depth, listing the main players in almost novelistic detail. An eye-opener to the horrors of this episode in history.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This novel explores the iron fist of snobbery in American high society. Written in unbeatable prose, I love the way Fitzgerald lays bare the immorality and ugliness behind the ‘beautiful people’ of the Roaring Twenties society.

Cider House Rules by John Irving

Set in rural Maine, US, this book partly tackles the ambiguities of abortion as it follows the life of an orphan who becomes a doctor. A multi-stranded saga that spans decades, Irving’s humorous and non-didactic approach gently transports you until the pathos suddenly hits, towards the end.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

I will never get tired of this book, and it will never stop being relevant. It brilliantly anatomises how Christianity and colonialism rocked traditional African society. In an age when Africa is still misunderstood by the wider world, this book will always be the gold standard in explaining how and why things become the way they are.

Noo Saro-Wiwa was born in Nigeria in 1976 and raised in England. She attended King's College London and Columbia University in New York and has written travel guides for Rough Guide and Lonely Planet. She currently lives in London. Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria is her first book.