wordsbody

Farafina's Arts & Lit Eve

2008-12-04T17:16:00.002Z

Farafina's afternoon of Photography (Adolphus Opara's exhibition), Film (MW's interview with Ben Okri) and Readings (Nnedi Okorafor; winner of the 2008 WS Prize; and Eghosa Imasuen - author of the debut novel, 'To Saint Patrick')..@Bambuddha Restaurant1310 Karimu Kotun, Victoria Island, Lagos.On Saturday 13 Dececember 2008@2pm

Nights of the Creaking Bed...

2008-12-04T17:09:00.002Z

Toni Kan reads from his new book of short storiesNights of the Creaking Bed@ Salamander Cafe, Wuse II, Abujaon Tuesday 9 December 2008@ 5.30pm.

La Bouche Du Roi

2008-12-03T01:21:00.000Z

Romuald Hazoume @ The Horniman Museum.The Beninoise artist, Romuald Hazoume, exhibits his work, La Bouche Du Roi (1997-2005) - Oil Drums at the Horniman Museum (100 London Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ)..Dates: 5 December 2008 to 1 March 2009Romuald Hazoume in discussion at the museum on Thursday 4 December; 7 to 8pm.

Filmfest

2008-12-02T01:37:00.001Z

Seen Abouna? Simply one of the most touching films you'll ever see. Following the journey of 2 brothers who run off in search of a father who walks into the sunset in search of God-knows-what and never looks back, Abouna will charm your heart and break it at the same time. After their mother dismisses the absent father as 'irresponsible' in French (irresponsable, or something like), the younger

New Reads

2008-12-01T02:08:00.000Z

Nubian Princes of Bel Air. Recently published in the New Yorker, Edwidge Danticat's tale of gangsters and brotherhood in Baz Benin - the Baghdad of Haiti - titled Ghosts. ExcerptPascal’s father had been a pigeon breeder since he was a boy in Léogâne. He’d stopped briefly in the early eighties, when some soldiers came and collected his birds because it was rumored that he was breeding carriers

Abuja Carnival

2008-12-01T01:04:00.000Z

This tiny tot of a masquerade led the pack from his state at the recently concluded Abuja Carnival.Images © Akintayo Abodunrin

Robeson Play: today & tomorrow

2008-11-20T10:33:00.001Z

Written by Tayo AlukoDirected by Olusola Oyeleye"Paul Robeson was one of the greatest actors, singers and civil rights campaigners of the 20th century. When over the years he gets progressively too radical and outspoken for the establishment' s liking, he is branded a traitor to his country, harassed, and denied opportunities to perform or travel. Just as physical, emotional and mental stress

Goodbye Malaika

2008-11-11T09:32:00.004Z

Miriam Makeba, photographed on a giant screen on Africa Day in Trafalgar Square, London - May 28, 2007*I told my sons: this may be your one and only chance - your very last chance - to see Miriam Makeba - MWMiriam Makeba: 4 March 1932 - 9 November 2008

Okore's Infinite Flow

2008-10-20T07:17:00.001+01:00

Ade Omoloja captured for Wordsbody this moment @ the opening of Nnenna Okore's exhibition, Ukulububa - Infinite Flow - at London's October Gallery. At the opening event were the likes of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, her Nigerian publisher Muhtar Bakare; and the writer Sade Adeniran. Talk of the artist as her own creation - here on the right is Okore speaking at the opening, looking somewhat like one

Agary wins the NLNG

2008-10-20T06:52:00.008+01:00

11 October: The MUSON Centre, Lagos - Debut novelist, Kaine Agary emerged the winner of this year's NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature for her book, 'Yellow Yellow'.*See Victor Ehikhamenor's images from the award night, attended by a slew of dignitaries. 'Dignitary' in the Nigerian sense almost always means the movers and shakers of the political class; and so in this case we had former President

Ladipo Manyika's reading

2008-10-06T14:28:00.000+01:00

Nnenna Okore in London

2008-10-03T18:37:00.002+01:00

Nnenna Okore's works are on show at London's October Gallery from 16th October to 29th November 2008 - in an exhibition to be opened by none other than Orange Prize winner Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie..It's the first London solo exhibition for Okore, a former student of another October Gallery favourite, El Anatsui. .This, from the gallery"[Okore's] work often employs ordinary media like magazines

Many Rivers To Cross

2008-10-03T18:27:00.002+01:00

Many Rivers to Crossposters, cartoons, drawings, prints and paintings from Zimbabwe30 September - 25 October 2008Oval House Café/Gallery, LondonSee also "Yours Abundantly, From Zimbabwe" - a play.

Sarah Ladipo Manyika's "In Dependence"

2008-10-03T18:12:00.002+01:00

Sarah Ladipo Manyika is currently on a transatlantic reading tour with her debut novel, In Dependence. She's already done 3 dates in London and 1 in Birmingham. See details of where you might catch her, below.Saturday 4th October - Borders Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham (1-3pm).Friday 17th October - Pacifica Library, San Mateo (7.30pm).Wednesday 22nd October - Main Theatre (Bldg 3), Canada

African Theatre Festival

2008-10-02T07:38:00.000+01:00

A season of plays exploring the African conditionLion & Unicorn Theatre42/44 Gaisford StreetKentish TownLondon NW5Plays on until 5 OctoberZolly by Nico LuwesAgamemnon by LuwesThe Island by Athol FugardStatements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act by Athol FugardThe Swamp Dwellers by Wole Soyinka

Shooting Adesuwa

2008-09-23T12:52:00.001+01:00

5 Sept '08: A normal afternoon in a Lagos office block, until Victor Ehikhamenor grabbed his camera and spirited this dark beauty, Adesuwa, to the construction site next door and started to shoot. She, it turned out, was a natural. And MW was on hand to catch the behind-the-camera images, and even lent a hand as pretend stylist.

Book Moves

2008-09-23T08:16:00.003+01:00

Whilst Wordsbody was sleeping, the world of books has rolled on, as it should. Here are just a few happenings we've been unduly silent on...Jude Dibia went down south for the launch of the South African edition of his second novel, Unbridled, published by Jacana. The Pretoria News said of the author: “He is lively, interesting and willing to have a laugh at himself... [a] talented young Nigerian

Downtown Lagos

2008-09-02T20:44:00.000+01:00

I've just exchanged office views of Victoria Street in London for that of downtown Lagos. This is the office window view as photographed by me yesterday afternoon. Forget the skyline in Dubai or Bangkok. Igbosere, Lagos, is where it's at right now!

Highlife at the Ojez

2008-09-02T19:54:00.000+01:00

Here's the ageless Fatai Rolling Dollar (81 years old) performing at the Highlife Party (Elder's forum), held at the Ojez Club, in the Lagos Stadium on Sunday 31st August. This last edition was held to celebrate the 50th birthdays of 3 artistes: Kunle Ajibade of TheNEWS Magazine (writer and journalist), Horgan Ekong (graphic designer) and Arnold Udoka (dancer). The Highlife Party is a monthly

Art Expo - Lagos

2008-09-02T19:51:00.002+01:00

Nike Davies Okundaye (left) of the Nike Art Gallery at the Art Expo Nigeria 2008Not many places you could catch these 3 in one shot: Jahman Anikulapo (Editor of The Guardian on Sunday, Lagos), Kaye Whiteman (former editor of West Africa Magazine; he's writing a much awaited book on Lagos) and artist Nike Davies Okundaye.Kaye Whiteman, Mudiare Onobrakpeya and Nike Davies OkundayeMudiare

Conversation with Victor

2008-09-02T13:30:00.003+01:00

Was at the the last day of the Art Expo Nigeria, held at the National Museum, Onikan in Lagos on Sunday. It ran from 27th August to the 31st and featured over 700 pieces from about 30 art galleries (members of the Arts Galleries Association of Nigeria - AGAN). Getting there, I touched an artist who had come ahead of me to the Expo and left his imprint. Victor Ehikhamenor wrote on the white Scrawl

New Read

2008-08-18T20:57:00.001+01:00

To make up some for the silence here of late, how about a new read from me? "Smoking Bamboo", a tale of love and loss and lots more besides, is published in Serendipity, the online journal of magical realist fiction.ExcerptThe notion of babies from the sky was drummed into us by the mothers, to explain how we came about. I had long concluded that this could not be true. No babies had arrived

Contribute to Cavalcade

2008-08-11T07:58:00.003+01:00

CAVALCADE literary journal, devoted to publishing original stories, poems,one-act plays, reviews, critical essays and art from an African perspective,will debut in October 2008 with a special edition. The tri-annual journal, aproject of the Abuja Writers' Forum (AWF), is now seeking submissions for the second and third editions.All works must be submitted by email in the form of a single

SB on Caine Prize 2008

2008-07-28T18:26:00.001+01:00

Many thanks to SB who sent me the following about this year's Caine Prize..Caine Prize 2008 WinnerThis year's Caine Prize has been won by Henrietta Rose-Innes from South Africa, with her story ‘Poison’ from ‘Africa Pens,’ published by Spearhead, an imprint of New Africa Books, Cape Town, 2007.The winner of the £10,000 prize was announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford on

New Read

2008-07-28T18:18:00.000+01:00

The adventures of a 419 chancer chasing scamming dreams on the internet, is the subject of a new story by A Igoni Barrett, Dream Chaser, published in Eclectica.ExcerptIt was twenty minutes past eight in the morning, and the cybercafé was already three-quarters full. Samu'ila chose an unoccupied system at the far end of the room. Approaching it, he walked into a blast of air so cold he could feel