Nigeria is fiction. The country’s Constitution has been transferred to a new shelf in the library: the shelf containing fictional works. The latter-day patriots of Nigeria can cry all they want against me, but in this instance I only choose…
White Scholar interviews The Poet — Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
First question: Could you tell me a little about where you grew up and how you came to poetry? I grew up at Onitsha, the famous town of Onitsha Market Literature that sits on the bank of the River Niger. I…
Open letter to Dr Onyishi of Maduka University — Isidore Emeka Uzoatu
In Don’t Let Him Die: An Anthology of Memorial Poems for Christopher Okigbo, edited by Chinua Achebe and Dubem Okafor the piece “Death of a Weaverbird” sticks out like a road mark. None the less so because it was contributed…
Austin Avuru grapples with the heart of the Nigerian matter in collection of essays — Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
Politics, Economics & the Nigerian Petroleum Industry (3rd Edition) Essays by Austin Avuru; RADI8 Ltd, Lagos; 2022; 474pp Let’s start with a confession. This book, Politics, Economics & the Nigerian Petroleum Industry (3rd Edition), Essays by Austin Avuru, has been…
Poets return to Idoto in honour of Christopher Okigbo
African poets will make a return pilgrimage to the quiet and rustic Ojoto village in Anambra State between 19th and 21st August, 2021 for the triennial poetry festival in honour of one of Africa’s greatest poets, Christopher Okigbo. The statement…
Okigbo and Udeozo: Two Christophers on the world literary stage – Uche Mbah
The Okigbo mystique Sometime in 2015, some young poets undertook a pilgrimage to River Idoto, a muddy-colored river in Ojoto in Anambra State, Southeastern Nigeria. Among them were Chuma Nwokolo, Uche Peter Umez, Iquo DianaAbasi, James Eze, Henry Akubiro, and…
How JP Clark led Achebe & Soyinka to IBB – Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
Writing is fighting. That is the dictum of the fiery African-American writer Ishmael Reed who wrote a book entitled Writing is Fighting. Whether taken literally or otherwise writers fire bullets with words, and in some instances actually take up guns…
Prodigious fruits of Sally Mbanefo’s Anambra Homecoming initiative -Uzor Maxim Uzoatu
Christmas season will never be the same again in Anambra State. Sally Mbanefo, Anambra State’s very resourceful Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, Indigenous Artworks, Culture and Tourism has in the works an unprecedented Anambra Homecoming Festival that will put at full…