POEM: ASK ABOUT FREE WILL

by feyisayo adeyemi 

When belly goes Choir everyday

how does a man think free?

To chomp -

 begs on another’s mercy

How will he wheel his will?

Auction

the soul goes out

run son!

                 ran some,

                                ransom!

tongue-tied

the master driller

bores a hole

 deep

damn soul

soiled

he howls

hunger unto his neck

scampers at your call, beck

for the crumbles he’d peck

idealism runs low

in the gutter

flood washed it off its street

Reality opened

a book called Check

heart ripped ,hopes parched

freedom ferries -

a long walk

down

nameless street 

SHAKARA: FELABRATION AT THE LIFE HOUSE 2011

Felabration and Cultural Week at The Life House starts tomorrow Tuesday October 11th 2011 till Sunday October 16th 2011.

The Felabration week will feature a vast array of art and cultural elements and activities including a weeklong art exhibition, theatre performances, numerous live musical performances, poetry recitals, book readings, open-mic sessions, a fashion, food and lifestyle fair, film screenings and discussions and loads more.

Yinka Davies, BEZ, Ayetoro, Sense Lounge, J'odie, Chica Chukwu, Ade Bantu, Sha, Lala Akindoju, Inna Erizia, Biodun and Batik, Salvador Sango, Tope Sadiq, Wana Udobang, Wura Samba and loads more are scheduled to perform at The Life House.

SHAKARA: FELABRATION AT THE LIFE HOUSE 2011 takes place at The Life House, 33 Sinari Daranijo Street, Off Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island, Lagos from 11th – 16th October 2011.

For more information and participation call - 0703 403 0683

Lore with Yomi Edward

Hi,

How is life treating you over there?
 

I got this tale for you; let's share...

Aaalooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

The story is told of an old man who was being chased around the village by little children for allegedly stealing a chicken and hiding it inside his goat-skin bag.

Fortunately, for the old man, another old man appeared on the scene to enquire why his friend was being harassed. The suspect narrated his ordeal and pleaded with his friend to take "an old man's eyes" and look into his bag to see if there was any chicken hidden inside the bag. His friend looked into the bag, saw the live chicken, but declared to the angry kids that there was no chicken in the bag...

That was comradeship of the old men...

Though, this story belong to the folklore, I just cannot separate it from Nigerian politics...

or what do you think?

Meet Extraordinaire ArtStar - Kehinde Wiley

In one of my merry-go-rounding around the internet, I came across Kehinde Wiley, one of the world's most sought-after urban artists.

Looking at his beautiful collections and achievements, I wonder why I haven't heard of him earlier.

Kehinde Wiley

Kehinde Wiley is a Nigerian-American visual artist based in New York. He is a master in the art of portraiture. PUMA partnered with him for the Spring Summer 2010 PUMA Africa lifestyle collection of apparel, footwear and accessories.

Etoo painting for PUMA Africa Campaign

Check out Kehinde Wiley's amazing paintings and those for PUMA Africa Campaign

 

THE ROSE OF THE WORLD

by Yomi Edward

Those who made the world smile
would never die unsung
their hand-prints shall eternally gladden the sky...

Those who made the world smooth
would never depart
in silence
their legends shall
eternally rock
generations unborn...

Those who made the world beautiful
would never parade the street unscented
their deeds shall
eternally be lubricated by the little man's eulogies...

Those who made the world smile
would never die unsung
the songbirds shall hum their names
the wind shall provide the rhythm
the trees shall dance
along with us
when we unveil
their names

Those who made the world smile
would never die unsung
their handprints shall eternally gladden the sky...

Those who made the world smooth
would never depart
in silence
their legends shall
eternally rock
generations unborn...

Those who made the world beautiful
would never parade the street unscented
their deeds shall
eternally be lubricated by the little man's eulogies...

Those who made the world smile
would never die unsung
the songbirds shall hum their names
the wind shall provide the rhythm
the trees shall dance
along with us
when we unveil
their names
like rainbow
in the sky...

would be
like rainbow
in the sky...

would you dare be
a rose to this world?

WE ARE WALKING WITHOUT LEGS

by Olaniyi Adekanye

Even when the moving eyes

Effect their coyness of denial

The watching moon was my witness

The scorching sun also autographed

The sweeping rain left uncertain scars

The scattering wing garnered nothing

From the four-corners

"Don’t we have people up there?"

I asked the ageing father

The ageing breath chorused misery

"We are walking without legs, my child."

Was after a l-o-n-g l-o-n-g silence

My heart became busy...

"And we climb the ladder without the rungs."

And my being was still-life

"God wards off the tormenting flies

For the tail-less cow."

That tilted my passive aggression

That He steers the man

And not the people up there.

Letters from Aboki Students

Written by SS2 Student

Written by JSS3 Student

Earlier Attempts by the same JSS3 Student

I had been saving these letters for a while now. Some of the keeps from my NYSC sojourn in Zamfara. Education down there is something else! Hard to blame some of the students though; there was one that didn't go through primary school. He started Western education straight from JSS1. Who does that?