Literature & Arts
...Talking drums, music, spoken word, and dance converge at Bushmead Community Hub A cultural performance centred on the talking drum, poetry, music, folktales and spoken word brought together a diverse group of African and contemporary artists in Luton, as percussionist and cultural performer Olubunmi Samuel Adebisi, popularly known as IamKornerstone, convened the first edition of ...
Literature & Arts
Poets, musicians, visual artists and cultural enthusiasts gathered in Lagos on September 19 for the September edition of the Monthly Poetic Rendezvous, which marked the International Day of Peace with performances and conversations on peaceful coexistence. The gathering, tagged “International Peace Day”, was held under the theme, “Invest in Peace for Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day”, ...
Literature & Arts
By Ayokunle Samuel Betiku More than a century ago, William Henry Davies asked a question that has only grown more urgent with time: What is this life if, full of care, / We have no time to stand and stare. Davies' poem Leisure protests against the kind of world which values motion over noticing. It ...
Literature & Arts
Music became one of the defining attractions at the Watford Community Family Fun Day, held on Saturday, 15 August 2026, at George V Playing Fields, Watford. Organised as a celebration of community, the event brought together families and residents for live entertainment, games, food, community information and cultural exchange. The event specifically billed Temi Commic ...
Literature & Arts
At Afro Fusion UK in London on 29 August 2026, Samuel Adebisi, professionally known as Kornerstone, brought quality to the stage. A UK-based African talking drummer, percussionist and cultural performer, Kornerstone's performance demonstrated that the talking drum is not an artefact of a distant cultural past. In the hands of a confident contemporary performer, it ...
Literature & Arts
...as BAFA celebrates African, diasporic storytelling By Flourish Joshua The excitement of the Bradford African Festival of Arts (BAFA) 2026 continued into its third day, as audiences gathered at Bradford Arts Centre for an eclectic evening of theatre, dance and storytelling as part of the festival's Multidisciplinary Theatre and Drama Night. The programme offered a ...
Literature & Arts
...Giving voice to the people By Flourish Joshua Bradford's cultural landscape came alive with theatre, music and storytelling during the Bradford African Festival of Arts (BAFA) 2026, with artists using performance to explore questions of culture, identity and community. Among the festival's theatrical offerings was The Crown, an immersive production written and directed by Daniel ...
Literature & Arts
Former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd), has commended the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) for providing mentorship and development opportunities for young writers. He gave the commendation in an interview on the sideline of the June edition of the monthly Reading and Writers Dialogue on Saturday in Abuja. According to him, such ...
Literature & Arts
By Ken Etete At its core, Making It Big is Femi Otedola’s attempt to explain how ambition, instinct, discipline, timing, market insight, resilience, and reinvention combined to shape his rise in business, and how poor structure, overreach, bad hiring, debt pressure, political friction, and personal imbalance nearly undid that rise. The book presents itself as ...
Literature & Arts
Stakeholders in the literary sector have renewed calls for the establishment of functional public libraries in all local government areas to strengthen literacy and reading culture nationwide. They made the call on Tuesday at the launch of ‘Ibadan as the 2026 Book City’ and ambassadorial investiture organised by the Network of Book Clubs and Reading ...
Education
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Wednesday at its Conference Centre (Rose 1101) hosted the first quarter 2026 edition of its Book Reading Series, with a one-time Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Administration (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, as Guest Author. The event, which focused on the 2025, 204-page publication of ...
Infrastructure
The Ogun State Government, in partnership with Artnovation, is set to project African culture onto the global stage at the scheduled Milan Design Week in Italy holding from April 22 to 26, 2026. The cultural and fashion showcase, themed “The Rock That Remembers,” will highlight Ogun State’s rich heritage, tourism potential, and investment opportunities, with ...
Inside Lagos
As part of activities marking International Women’s Day 2026, the MMELI Arts Foundation, in collaboration with Alliance Française de Lagos, has convened a storytelling intensive workshop aimed at empowering women writers and creatives to develop their craft, voice, and access to publishing opportunities. The programme, titled Women, Words and Wealth, held in Ikoyi, Lagos, brought ...
Literature & Arts
The first shot cracks open the red mouth of a wound, and the ballroom begins to hemorrhage music. Glass nerves shatter with the chandeliers. Bone dust rises. The woman beside the fire splits the night open like overripe pawpaw and presses into my hands a bowl of venom warm as rainwater. Drink. Her voice— a ...
Literature & Arts
Book: The Years of Blood (96 pages)Author: Adedayo AgarauPublisher: Fordham University Press, New YorkYear: September 2025ISBN: 9781531511616 “Instead of music, my father’s old radio reports missing people” Wind carries sound. The introductory poem, aptly titled, opens portals of grief and lets out the ghost of a country’s conscience—the cry of blood, pounding of pestles, and ...
Literature & Arts
...Recasts Delilah as a figure of strategy, emotional insight Things I Learned From Delilah by Felicity Ekeke calls on readers to rethink one of history’s most debated women. In this bold work of nonfiction, Ekeke revisits the biblical account of Delilah and presents her not as the infamous betrayer etched into popular imagination, but as ...
Literature & Arts
Hope and resilience were not merely discussed at the final Naija Poetry Fest gathering of 2025 they were felt, embodied, and spoken into existence. Hosted at Alliance Française Lagos in collaboration with Naija Poetry Fest, the evening marked a reflective and fitting close to a year defined by literary depth, communal strength, and creative courage. ...
Literature & Arts
The Nigerian literary and film communities converged in grand style at the Alliance Française de Lagos, Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, for the official unveiling of A Trip in Motion, the latest book by acclaimed poet and educator Godson Osarenren. The event, which celebrated the life and artistic journey of legendary filmmaker Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, drew ...
Literature & Arts
By Kede Aihie and Lanre Sonde When you talk about Nigerian poetry that burns with fire yet soothes with softness, one name effortlessly rises to the lips Godson Osarenren. The award-winning poet, novelist, and Convener of Naija Poetry Fest has once again lifted the flag of Nigerian literature high with his latest international exhibition, “I ...
Literature & Arts
I.S. Jones, one of the judges for the just concluded Nigerian NewsDirect Poetry Chapbook Award and a great patron of PoetryColumn-NND project has her debut poetry collection published and available for purchase here. Chosen by the guest Judge, Nicole Sealey, Bloodmercy won the 2025 APR/Honickman First Book Prize by The American Poetry Review and is distributed by Copper ...
Literature & Arts
Inkspires Kreation has announced another edition of its popular literary series, Poetversation, set to hold on October 5, 2025, with Nigerian poet Samuel A. Betiku as the featured guest. The virtual gathering, scheduled for 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. WAT on Google Meet, promises an immersive evening of poetry, conversation, and community. Attendees will enjoy selected readings from Betiku’s published works, gain ...
Literature & Arts
Emerging Nigerian writer Mustapha Enesi has officially released his debut short story collection, I Cry at the Feet of My Other Body. The highly anticipated book is now available for order in Nigeria and internationally, marking a major milestone in Enesi’s literary career. Readers in Nigeria can purchase the book through Witsprouts, while international readers can find it on Amazon and Barnes ...
Literature & Arts
By Tuoyo Palmer The earth does not end with a thunderclap—it crumbles in silence,like a cathedral whose prayershave been forgotten by its stones. Cities lie open to the wind,iron skeletons bleeding rustinto rivers that once carriedthe laughter of children. In the fields, no harvest waits—only the brittle bones of wheat,the empty mouths of soillong abandoned ...
Literature & Arts
By Alaga Unwomanumu |after Em Power to all the inconveniences i must bear, like salt on my tongue. to the vacuous interstices of memory, the pearl of remembrance. to the wastelands inside my head and the stinking gullies etched on my chest. to the twitching organism between my legs, the rust-stains that won’t leave my ...
Literature & Arts
Poet and artist, Ojo Victoria Ilemobayo has been selected for The Rongo Artist Residency, a prestigious program in film-making hosted by Ant-Men Studio of Art in collaboration with Peter Fleming and Benin Arts Books. As part of the residency, Ojo Victoria Ilemobayo will join fellow residents Osayomwanbor Peace and Joseph Kenneth Itchara for an immersive ...
Literature & Arts
Nigerian poet Gbenga Adesina has announced a highly anticipated U.S. tour for his latest poetry collection, Death Does Not End at the Sea. The tour, spanning September to November 2025, will see the Lagos-born writer engaging in conversations with some of the most respected voices in contemporary literature. The tour begins on September 1 at ...
Literature & Arts
…Featuring Pamilerin Jacob, Michael Imossan, Adesiyan Pelumi The Poetry Club of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, is preparing to host an exciting three-day poetry festival from Friday, 12 September to Sunday, 14 September 2025, bringing together poets, students, and literary enthusiasts for a celebration of verse and creativity. This year’s event promises a lively mix of ...
Literature & Arts
By Don Kester OshioreamePort Harcourt, Nigeria Published in 2013 by Mindex Publishing in Benin, The Broken Cross is a 122-page novel by Godson Osarenren, a rising literary voice. The book’s cover; a glossy red background pierced by a silver-plated, fractured cross, immediately invites reflection. The image is not merely aesthetic; it is symbolic. In his prologue, Osarenren ...
Literature & Arts
By Michael Olatunbosun The book, If My Country Had a Jury is a legal thriller. It is a futuristic work about the Nigeria of 2050. It is a 13-chapter, 381-page fiction written by Olabisi Ajakaiye and published in 2024 by Winepress. Olabisi Ajakaiye obtained his first, second and third degrees in Urban and Regional Planning. ...
Literature & Arts
Adesiyan Pelumi has emerged winner of the 2025 Gbemisola Adeoti Poetry Prize, with Abdulrazaq Folarin and Flourish Joshua clinching second and third positions respectively. The prestigious award was presented during the ANA-OAU Book and Art Festival, held on June 14 at BOO-C Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) campus, Ile-Ife. Now in its third edition, the ...