#PoetryMasterclass – Chinua Achebe: For the love of Poetry

#LostInAchebe ‪#‎NPM16‬ ‪#‎CelebratingPoetry‬ He is known as one of Africa’s most celebrated prose writers and yet POETRY was Chinua Achebe’s first love.

I stumbled upon this website (www.brainpickings.org) and had a feast on Achebe’s poetry. In particular, his poem “Remembrance Day” struck a deep chord.

Come June 4th, I’ll be part of a team organizing the Annual Biafran Memorial Day Event in Toronto. Achebe’s reminder of what an honourable remembrance day celebration should be to all Igbos is both timely and necessary.

 

“We called him:

visionary,

missionary,

revolutionary

and, you know, all the other naries

that plague the peace…”

~ Chinua Achebe [From his poem: “We Laughed at Him”]

 

[The audio source: Soundcloud account of http://www.brainpickings.org]

#55. Floetry by JulietKego: The Saddest Note We Ever Heard.

 

The Saddest Note We Ever Heard

 

The choir hummed a halting hymn
The organist played a pretty note
And we all waited for her to sing
And yet the only lyrics
That escaped her dry, parched tongue

#Letters2ISA #POETRY #18. A Song For Lovers: I Choose You!

Day 2. NaPoWriMo- Celebrate Poetry, All Month Long!

Poem: A Song For Lovers: I Choose You!

Dear Isa,

There was no music
and yet we danced to our own beats
We swayed sensually to the rhythm
of our fired pulses ‘n’ heartbeats
I shall remember these moments,
I’ll freeze them in timeless space
Especially the sacred hour
I looked into your soul and saw my own face

#POETRY4ChangeAfrica: “Father’s Funeral” by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Ogun Da Silva)

VISION | VOICE |

VISIBILITY | VALUE-EXHANGE|

Father’s Funeral by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Ogun Da Silva)

the body was laid to rest
along with his years
his memories
and nothing,

#POETRY4ChangeAfrica: “Last Words Mama Couldn’t Say” by Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun

VISION | VOICE |

VISIBILITY | VALUE-EXHANGE|

Last Words Mama Couldn’t Say
by  Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun (Ogun Da Silva)

1. The end won’t hurt like the beginning.
2. Beautiful houses do not always make good homes.
3. The first time I held you God turned his face.
4. I could give you lessons about loneliness but I can’t tell you how it feels.
5. Learn to wait for love.
6. Your father bled me in places that killed me.
7. A woman is a body.
8. Learn about suffering.
9. Learn about nights and tears.
10. Never hit a woman.

Writers’ Platform: www.africanwriter.com – A Home for African Writers…

I stumbled upon a website (http://www.africanwriter.com), and I found it to be a wonderful resource for writers, poets, damatists…it is a community dedicated to promoting African writers (at home and in the diaspora), and their distinct, original voices/talents to the world.

African Poetry Prizes and Contests

“Rejected pieces aren’t failures; unwritten pieces are.” ~Greg Daugherty

The African Poetry Book Fund promotes and advances the development and publication of the poetic arts through its book series, contests, workshops, and seminars and through its collaborations with publishers, festivals, booking agents, colleges, universities, conferences and all other entities that share an interest in the poetic arts of Africa.