Eastern Light Magazine

SENTINEL LITERARY QUARTERLY SHORT STORY COMPETITION (AUGUST 2014)–ADJUDICATION REPORT

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 00:05:00 +0000

Administrator’s Note

Please note that this competition was judged blind and the adjudication report was sent in by the Judge with only the titles of the winning and commended poems. I have matched the winners and their poems to make for easier reading.

- Nnorom Azuonye (14/10/2014)

An adjudication report by Brindley Hallam Dennis

There were 73 entries, and I knew I was in trouble when my shortlist reached twenty.

Adding one more to the list would have brought another nineteen in with it, and that didn't help either. What I'm saying is that I enjoyed an awful lot of these stories. In fact, there were only a few – two or three – that I didn't think had something good going for them; and two of those read like well-written articles, but they weren't really short stories. For all you glass half full types out there, you could say, I found a lot of the stories to be lacking that little something that would make them winners!

It's only in competitions that you have to make these sort of judgements. Otherwise you take your shorts like an espresso, and enjoy them for what they are, in the moment, for you, as you are, at that moment. What's it about? Do you care? How's it written? Does the voice beguile you?

As I sifted through I began to realise that the stories I wanted to celebrate most were somewhat oblique in form or content; forceful in their tellings, with voices that made me stop and listen; with subjects that caught my interest. The whole range was there: life death; love; comic; tragic; absurd; serious, and the rest. A few took what are becoming contemporary standards, and anything that everyone is talking about is hard to write about without becoming part of the undistinguishable murmur, or cacophony. Two, in my 'Commended' list were, I guessed, by the same author, having the same characters. I'd like to see those as part of a longer fiction – a novel perhaps?

Here's my list, in traditionally reversed order:

Commended (in no particular order):

Till Death Us Do Part by Gareth Shore (Sale)

Fifty-Second Birthday in Bed by Christie Cluett (Bristol)

Odd Boy by Sharon Boyle (East Linton)

It's Seven Letters You Need by Maxine Backus (Grueningen, Switzerland.)

Abide With Me by Maxine Backus (Grueningen, Switzerland.)

Highly Commended (in no particular order):

For Mike by Geoff Aird (Edinburgh)

Swan Sculpting in Leighton Buzzard by Katie Martin (Cambridge)

Oh How We Danced by Tony Crafter (Knockholt)

3^rd Prize

The Eternal Knot by John Robinson (Newbury) - Complex, convoluted, philosophical. A conversation between an Old Man and a snake, on the huge subject of sentience – of being alive and knowing it; of being mortal, and knowing that too.

2^nd Prize

Coffee-Coloured Eyes by Olga Vakruchev (Toronto, Canada) -Slipping into the surreal, but I never doubted this woman's voice, nor her belief in her own story.

1^st Prize

Killers at Fat Joe's by Tom Serengeti (BERTSHAM , South Africa) – I think I liked the ambition of this most of all: daring to echo Hemingway's title, and story, and do a riff on it. But I liked the spare descriptions and the dialogue too, and the unfolding events, and the characters, and their names, and the ending. I guess I would have liked the pizza too!

BRINDLEY HALLAM DENNIS

SLQ POETRY & SHORT STORY COMPETITIONS MAY 2014, JUDGES: DOMINIC JAMES & CATHERINE EDMUNDS. ENTER NOW.

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 04:33:00 +0000

SENTINEL LITERARY QUARTERLY POETRY COMPETITION

Closing Date: 31-May-2014

For original, previously unpublished poems in English Language, on any subject, in any style up to 50 lines long. This competition is open to all poets regardless of nationality, living anywhere in the world. Judge: Dominic James.

Prizes: £200 (First), £75 (Second), £50 (Third), £20 x 3 (High Commendation).

The winners and commended poems will receive first publication in Sentinel Literary Quarterly magazine.

Fees: £4/1, £7/2, £9/3, £11/ 4, £12/5, £16/7, and £22 for 10 poems.

Enter online and pay securely by PayPal or print out an Entry Form for postal entries at:

www.sentinelquarterly.com/competitions/poetry

Or send your poems with a cover note titled ‘Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition May 2014’, together with a cheque/postal order for the applicable payment in favour of SENTINEL POETRY MOVEMENT to: Sentinel Poetry Movement, Unit 136, 113-115 George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1AB, United Kingdom

SENTINEL LITERARY QUARTERLY SHORT STORY COMPETITION

Closing Date: 31-May-2014

For original, previously unpublished short stories in English Language, on any subject, in any style up to 1500 words long. This competition is open to all writers regardless of nationality, living anywhere in the world. Judge: Catherine Edmunds

Prizes: £200 (First), £75 (Second), £50 (Third), £20 x 3 (High Commendation).

The winners and commended stories will receive first publication in Sentinel Literary Quarterly magazine.

Fees: £5 per story, £8 for 2, £10 for 3, £12 for 4.

Enter online and pay securely by PayPal or print out an Entry Form for postal entries at:

www.sentinelquarterly.com/competitions/short-stories

Or send your stories with a cover note titled ‘Sentinel Literary Quarterly Short Story Competition May 2014’, together with a cheque/postal order for the applicable payment in favour of SENTINEL POETRY MOVEMENT to: Sentinel Poetry Movement, Unit 136, 113-115 George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1AB, United Kingdom

SENTINEL PUBLICATIONS ACTION FOCUS TIME

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 14:07:00 +0000

We have put aside everything else to focus the next seven days on Sentinel publications. Our scheduling has been a right mess lately to be quite honest. Therefore over the next 7 days, we will be working with our distributors to ensure that all books and magazines ordered are on their way to the buyers. We shall also be pushing our Christmas special offers.

We are truly humbled by the fact that despite the delay in publishing Sentinel Literary Quarterly, subscriptions have continued to come in from the UK, the United States and especially South Africa. We can't let down such faith people have in Sentinel. We appreciate the overwhelming support we have continued to receive.

So far today we have dispatched many copies of "The Genesis of Falcon", "First Flame" - the short fiction collection by Bruce Harris, and various back issues of Sentinel Literary Quarterly, and Sentinel Champions. If you are waiting for your order, we will get to it inside this focus week and dispatch it.

If you have any queries please shoot them in. We can guarantee a reply within 24 hours - not the 72 hours our mail confirmation says.

E-mail: nnorom.azuonye@sentinelpoetry.org.uk | sentinel@sentinelpoetry.org.uk | publisher@spmpublications.com | competitions@sentinelpoetry.org.uk | editor@sentinelquarterly.com

All of these emails are manned. Sandra, Jacob and I are standing by to deal with any issues.

Want to talk? Call me on 07812 755 751 or 0870 127 1967. If the lines are busy, leave a message and somebody will call you back.

All the best

Nnorom Azuonye

Sentinel Writing & Publishing Company Ltd

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition (June 2013)

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Wed, 29 May 2013 04:17:00 +0000

Closing Date: 30 June 2013

Details: For previously unpublished poems in English language in any style, on any subject up to 50 lines long. Poems entered must also not be under consideration or accepted for publication elsewhere and may not be entered into another competition running at the same time.

Eligibility: Poets of all ages, gender and nationality living anywhere in the world are eligible to enter.

Prizes: £150 (First), £75 (Second), £50 (Third), £10 x 3 (High Commendation) + Publication in Sentinel Literary Quarterly magazine.

Fees: £4/1, £7/2, £9/3, £11/4, £12/5, £16/7 and £22/10 poems.

Judge: Claire Askew author of The Mermaid and the Sailors.

Contact: Enter online or download Entry Form (for postal entries) at http://www.sentinelquarterly.com/competitions/poetry

Postal Entries: Cheques/Postal Orders in favour of SENTINEL POETRY MOVEMENT, Unit 136, 113-115 George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1AB.

The Champion Sportsman – Weekend Ticket Giveaway Sensation!

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:25:00 +0000

Azubuike Erinugha, Writer and Director of “The Champion Sportsman” is in a good mood. He has splashed out on 10 Standard Tickets to give away over this weekend for the UK Premiere of The Champion Sportsman at the Greenwich Odeon, 10th May 2013 at 10pm.

The Champion Sportsman stars funny man John Okafor (Mr Ibu) and Patience Ozokwor.

To get one of these free tickets, all you have to do is purchase a “Two Plus One” Ticket between Friday 19th April and midnight Sunday 21st April 2013.

A “Two Plus One” Ticket is a Couples ticket which would normally admit 2 people, but this ticket will admit 3 people for a princely price of just £20.00

Get a “Two Plus One” Ticket now. When they are gone, they are gone.

Event Registration Online for THE CHAMPION SPORTSMAN UK PREMIERE powered by Eventbrite

JUDGE’S REPORT AND RESULTS, THE TRYANGLE PROJECT POETRY COMPETITION 2012

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:58:00 +0000

JUDGE’S REPORT BY GABRIEL GRIFFIN

The beginning was easy – a handful of poems had the poet’s name below and I had to disqualify them –please remember competition entries must not bear any name or other mark of identification! Then I turned to the bulk of the poems and the selection process proved far more difficult. It is clear that the standard of poems entered into competitions has improved enormously in recent years, due, I guess, to wider reading, to workshops and creative writing courses – or to all three. I read all the poems with interest and at least twice before coming up with a long list.

(One point I wish to make regarding layout – a font that is too large (16 point) is almost as tiring to read as one too small, and double spacing in a poem is usually unnecessary. Ideally use Times font size 12, with 1.15 line spacing and reasonably wide margins.)

Overview

An open theme ensured a wide variety of subject matter, including quite a shocking number of distressing poems relating episodes of domestic abuse. (Very often in these latter poems the strong emotions obviously felt overwhelmed the poetry – it’s understandable.) There were poems about personalities: Edith Piaf, Mozart’s sister, Keats, Mrs Darwin and one referring to Jimmy Saville, as well as lighter ones about dancing, amber, rivers, trees, and the more serious subjects of birth and death. Once upon a washday is a poem likely to be quickly eliminated from most competitions since it is in rhyme and metre and the subject sounds rather old-fashioned, but it was a pleasure to read. I also liked Day Trip, Gap, Building Blocks, Moth, The Honey Times (a comforting poem about old age) and The Seafarer, a poem well-constructed. And others. All made for fascinating reading – but also for difficulty in deciding which to list and which to reject.

Long list (in random order)

By the 0ld Lock-Gate; Not Now, Not Yet; On the Cards; Origami; Recital on the Perfumer’s Organ; Book Louse Lace; On meeting Jean Paul Sartre; At the Barber’s; For love of a burning bush; Swan on the A46; The World Begins at the Kitchen Table;

All these were well-written. By the Old Lock Gate and Not Now, Not Yet, describe episodes of violence, the first in essential language the drowning of a puppy by boys, watched in silent horror by much younger boys afraid to intervene. The persona in the second is a suicide bomber, a monologue reminiscent of Carol Ann Duffy’s Education for Leisure. Another monologue, On the Cards, well-written, with only two long sentences for the 29 lines, begins and ends neatly with the identical phrase. I liked Origami, the folding of paper to produce birds, rabbits, frogs, is beautifully described. A plethora of delicious scents flows from the Recital on the Perfumer’s Organ; Book Louse Lace is a small gem of a poem. On Meeting Jean Paul Sartre describes that meeting in a concise, rather amusing way – loved “Simone de Beauvoir was in the background so we couldn’t say much”. The subject matter of At the Barber’s is just that, a good description of the barbers and of the hair-cutting. More mysterious is For love of a burning bush that reads rather like an admonition to someone seeking a mystical experience. Both Swan on the A46 and The World Begins at the Kitchen Table are descriptions of past happenings remembered. In the first poem the person’s mind shifts the simile she originally employed for the fallen swan (that of an angel) to “a ghost, or soul/that of a child who has left home”. The second is written from the point of view of children witnessing in silence their father’s violence towards their mother and ends with the line “God was Dad’s friend and we knew it”.

Short list (in random order)

To Whom Crime is a Theory; Half-Gone; Squat; The Teacher’s Lot; Meeting Point; The Ghost of Banquo Speaks; Mr Micawber writes to Mrs Micawber, from King’s Bench Debtors’ Prison; What historians, vicars, geographers and mapmakers can’t help being dumb about, but the locals know.

To Whom Crime is a Theory is a political poem, a deeply-felt admonition to those in power to face up to reality and do something about effectively resolving crime, ending “The day approaches when you will ring 999/Only to find yourselves in a dialling queue/Your wait enlivened by mood music”.

Half-Gone is a very well-sustained metaphor for old ideas; a short poem – only 9 lines – but extremely vivid: “The old ideas…held together/dangerously with board and barbed wire”.

Squat is a poem about fear. A woman is alone with her baby in a squat. She has come from another country, doesn’t know the language of the country she is in, daren’t go out and is terrified: “in the night/ the animals and peering faces peeled themselves/from the despairing plaster and/ danced into the air, scurrying dimly around the squat”. This poem makes one wonder how many women are in a similar terrible situation. A note: the poet has capitalized the initial letter of most lines but not all; please be consistent, either all lines are capitalized or only those following a full stop.

The Teacher’s Lot is in rhyme and ‘reports’ children’s speech as the teacher hears it, “I’ve got a calculator like what adds/so I won’t have to do it in me ‘ead”. Notwithstanding the incorrect grammar, the teacher predicts in each case a future profession for the student. An amusing, original, most enjoyable and optimistic poem.

Meeting Point is a fine sonnet, employing the image of a tiger to illustrate the options available to all of us, “One way the grazing herd, one way the gun – “; choices, however, whose desired outcomes may well be annulled by fate.

The Ghost of Banquo Speaks has Banquo ranting in chain-rhymed quatrains against Macbeth, Lady M and the witches, an extremely well-written formal poem.

Mr Micawber writes to Mrs Micawber, from King’s Bench Debtors’ Prison is very enjoyable. Micawber, fearing a pauper’s grave, in his letter to his wife, composes his epitaph: “Here lies Micawber, dead and cold as flint/lived well, loved much, spent more, so perished – skint.” But ends optimistically, just like the figure of Micawber.

What historians, vicars, geographers and mapmakers can’t help being dumb about, but the locals know is about those mentioned in the title not knowing where in that area – a “a coccyx on the Pennine spine” and a “god-forsaken place” – rises the river Trent, and ends, in contrast with the prosaic body of the poem, with the lyrical lines ( employing lots of gurgling ‘l’ sounds) “where the daughter of the water-god/ girds up her loins, lifts her head/and trills till her heart spills out”.

Prize-winners and Highly Commended

Choosing from the final poems – my short-short list - was extremely difficult, they were all deserving to be winners.

The contenders – seven for five prizes: Intruders and Thieves; Kite-surfer; Darwinius masillae; My Private Collection. The Lost Library of Jesi; To Iken and back; Stoughton Church.

Intruders and Thieves has some lovely images: two stone owls “under the cherry tree/veiled in every tumbling blossom which drifts/at the end of spring” act as guardians to keep out intruders. But they failed, the ‘you’ in the poem – the husband? – lets one in. The poet doesn’t explain if the intruder is a betrayal or, perhaps, death.

Kite-surfer is an intriguing poem and every line is delightful, each word chosen with extreme care. It is written from the point of view of observers who see a surfer “lift over waves/your kite above you like a segment of moon” A poem about endeavor and failure, of longings and loss, and ends “A long while/ you lie prostrate upon the water till the moon/loops and climbs, lifts you up in its shadow.”

Darwinius masillae recounts of fossils found in a quarry that the poet sees as “a time-line”, the fossils “entries in a journal of millennia” and one, that of the poem’s title, “ a creature with opposable thumbs/etched on the ancient rock/reaches out, takes our hand.”

My Private Collection is about a museum – or is this really a dream or, perhaps, the poet’s mind – in which the poet searches for something he can’t name through “an aisle of whale-ribs” and rooms with cases “where dogfish hang suspended like lifeboats”. A grim Darwinian-museum ambience with some extremely vivid images; a very disturbing poem, ending “Once outside I might hear on the wind/the voices of rain which are also the voices of children. I might remember/what I left to wait like clagged boots at the door.” (N.B. ‘clagged’: while I understood this word to mean clotted with mud or similar, it is, according to the Urban Dictionary, also used to describe someone who is ‘suffering from symptoms of memory loss or disconnection from society”. Here the latter definition fits nicely!)

The Lost Library of Jesi consists of seven couplets describing men carefully dismantling a library of antique books and papers and finding behind the shelves a sealed room., with “columns fallen under a hemispheric dome/shadows curled asleep in empty niches along the walls.” The poem ends with “the men crawled inside that chamber’s deepest quiet/where one or two still could hear the beating of a heart.” As far as I can ascertain (Google), although Jesi is the name of an actual Italian town, the lost library of the title never existed, so it is a delightful conceit on the part of the poet.

In To Iken and Back the poet returns after thirty years to the cove where she (I’m guessing the poet is a she) went boating as a child. It is told masterfully (in 45 lines with no stanza breaks), the present and recollections of the past flowing easily in and out of the poem like the tides in the cove that is “…full now, washed with grey/to a perfect scallop”. It ends “…you have/ forgotten nothing and it is not sad/ the river narrows and widens again/ but everyone you loved is still with you.”

Stoughton Church, is about going to a church where there had been a function a couple of weeks earlier – a wedding, a funeral? – but now the flowers are faded, the celebration long over. The poet attempts to take a photograph but “cannot find the angle/ to take a picture”. This poem has rather sinister overtones, “clouds chase each other”, “weeds hem the base/ of the tower” and then “a rusty stain/trails down as if it had been weeping blood.” A poem to make one wonder what lies beneath the lines – and to shiver.

These are very different poems, each one worthy of a prize. The final choice must, inevitably be subjective. I chose Kite-surfer for its sense of rapture, a perfect description using the minimum of words, and for the way the poem catches the reader up into the poem itself and incites personal reflection; My Private Collection for its sad, grim undertones, the dream-like atmosphere, the vivid description of the windy winter scene outside the windows and the mystery of what is waiting outside that the poet has forgotten; To Iken and back because the poet takes us with her to Iken, we can almost hear the water birds’ cry, the voices rising from the pub and the child from the past laughing; The Lost Library of Jesi because of the sealed room, shadowed and quiet, in which the beating of a long-dead heart may still be heard; Intruders and Thieves because it is beautifully described and for its terrible, mysterious ending.

So, of these seven, the two Highly Commended poems are:

MANDY PANNETT - Intruders and Thieves

CAROLINE MALDONADO - The Lost Library of Jesi

Third Prize

CAROLINE PRICE - To Iken and back

Second Prize

A.C. CLARKE - My Private Collection

First prize

CAROLINE MALDONADO - Kite-surfer

Gabriel Griffin. February 2013

See all current Excel for Charity competitions

African Prisons Project

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 07:10:00 +0000

Excel for Charity has agreed to run poetry and short story competitions for the African Prisons Project, a UK registered charity working to bring dignity and hope to men, women and children in prisons in Africa through healthcare, education, access to justice and community reintegration. It is our vision that time spent in prison is a period of positive transformation.

We know that there are many innocent people languishing in prisons across Africa with little or no access to legal representation.

Excel for Charity has so far raised and given £1,839.05 to charities including Diversity House, Lupus UK, Stepping Stones Nigeria, The Psychiatry Research Trust, The TRYangle Project and Build Africa.

More information will be announced in http://excelforcharity.blogspot.co.uk

“The Champions Sportsman is an important, intelligent film that will change how the Nollywood comedy is perceived.” – Azubuike Erinugha

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 12:07:00 +0000

Azubuike Erinugha is a Nigerian poet, actor, screenwriter and film director living in Germany. His film, ‘The Asylum’, directed by Obi Emelonye received its world premiere at the Odeon cinema, Surrey Quays, London in May 2008. Azubuike has come up with a new movie: ‘The Champion Sportsman‘ (TCS), a comedy that serves as a sugar coating in the film’s study of the misadventures of an immigrant in Europe. TCS stars funny man John Okafor (Mr Ibu, Uncle Wayward) and the queen of mean, Patience Ozokwor.

Azubuike talks to Nollywood Focus publisher, NNOROM AZUONYE.

You currently teach Business English in Germany. How long have you done this?

I teach Business English to very interesting groups of students who are mainly adults and company managers. I have been doing this and enjoying it for almost five years now. It is a very challenging and rewarding experience to rub minds with business executives who are on top of their game. It keeps me striving for excellence in everything I do.

How then did you become involved in filmmaking?

I have always been involved in writing for the stage and screen as well as productions right from my college days. I guess I seriously got involved in filmmaking when I was accepted to join the team of writers of the acclaimed NTA network comedy, ‘Icheoku’. The production set was then at NTA 8 Enugu, just like the sets of ‘The New Masquerade’ and ‘Basi and Company’ were at the ABS Channel 50 also in Enugu. It was during the productions of these TV series I discovered how interested I'd come to be with all the actor-camera-director relationships. That was the point I made up my mind to be get into the business of film. With all the great things happening in Nollywood, I knew that I had much to contribute. My ambition is to create memorable issues films that will form an important part of Nollywood and global history of film development.

I attended the premiere of “The Asylum”. As far as I know, it never went on general release or on to DVD. Any reason for that?

‘The Asylum’ never went on big screen theatrical release because I was not stationed on ground, in Nigeria, to push the film towards that direction. Back then in 2008, mainstream theatrical releases in London spearheaded by films like ‘The Mirror Boy’ was not what Nollywood films did. It was also difficult to pursue that alongside my job which was already becoming quite successful and extremely demanding on my time. I left the promotion and distribution task to some other people who were apparently not skilled in film marketing and exhibition. This is a major issue with Nollywood, of course. However, ‘The Asylum’ later made it to DVD and VCD where all the initial copies available were sold off. The marketer and I have recently agreed to introduce more copies into the market.

What was it like working with Emelonye on that film, and given his massive international successes with ‘The Mirror Boy’ and ‘Last Flight to Abuja’, will you consider working with him on a future film?

I started working with Obi Emelonye right from our days at the university. He helped us in building Ide Theatre Group, the Abia State University's first private theatre. He later directed me in an excerpt of Esiaba Irobi's Hangmen Also Die which later led to me directing the entire play. I played the major role of Metumaribe in Emelonye’s own play ‘Claws of the Hawk’. We also worked together during a command presentation of Chris Abani's ‘Song of a Goat’. You can now see that working with him again on ‘The Asylum’ was like a homecoming! We worked with most of our Ide Theatre Group members about fifteen years later. Obi's successes with ‘The Mirror Boy’ and ‘Last Flight to Abuja’ never came to me as any surprise because we have always known this fact and only waited patiently for it to manifest. There are still many more crazy concepts in the offing, and naturally, I am following those footsteps.

You made another film ‘The Plumber’ before ‘The Asylum’. Did you direct that yourself?

No, I didn't direct ‘The Plumber’. I wrote and produced it because I didn't want it to be one-sided by directing it as well, especially because it was my first major film production. But I wasn't happy with the project so I decided not to release it. I plan to redo the entire project at the right time with much better resources and materials.

Let’s talk now about ‘The Champion Sportsman’. What is this film about and why should people go to the cinema to see it?

‘The Champion Sportsman’ is a reality-based comedy with a storyline one can almost touch with the finger. You feel it happening around you and sometimes you wonder if it a personal story of someone you know. Only that that someone you know happens to be John Okafor, Mr. Ibu, who arrives Germany with the passport and visas of a sportsman. For him to stay in the country, he has to prove his sportsmanship! This is where the comedy springs up in an apparent tragedy. People are encouraged to see this film not just because it is differently hilarious but for the important topic of migration, situations of immigrants in their host countries as compared to the reactions and expectations of family members and friends back home. Last week I was invited to speak at the European Integration Forum of the European Commission on this topic where ‘The Champion Sportsman’ was presented to policy makers and administrators. ‘The Champion Sportsman’ is on the way to becoming an accepted enlightenment tool for both the African migrants and European host audiences. Whatever we have seen as comedy in Nollywood is replaced intelligently in ‘The Champion Sportsman’.

Shed some light on your experience of working with funny man John Okafor? He is in no shape to convince anybody that he is a sportsman, is he? What was the reason to cast him in this unlikely role and did he carry it off?

No other could have played the role of Okoro in TCS better than John Okafor, Mr. Ibu! Yes, he is in no sportive shape but he's already endowed with that original disconnection seen in his perfect portrayal of the migrating character. He is the most unlikely cast for this role but that exactly is the irony that pushes the hard humour forward! No doubt he is a born comedian as well as a believable actor. It was fun, big fun all the way working with him. At the end of the shooting we had problems selecting our materials because the guy is just too funny! He is very calm and down to earth, understanding and portraying his character to the point! Of course I had a couple of clashes with him because he almost turned our set into a somewhat comedy spot. We wasted a lot of precious time on trying stop Mr. Ibu from entertaining, albeit distracting, the cast and crew members with his unending jokes. It was difficult because those entertained saw me as uptight and a workaholic dictator. But I had to put my foot down if we must wrap. Whenever we fought it got even worse because the whole shouting and name calling turned funny again! Above all, it was real fun and I will do my best to work with John Okafor again and again.

Patience Ozokwor. There was a time she only played mean women in Nollywood movies. Does she play a role to love or hate in The Champion Sportsman?

She plays her roles true to life with her personal touch of exaggerations and I am sure that is what got her to where she is today as one of top, bankable Nollywood actors ever. In TCS she plays the role a typical village woman. The role a mother would play when her son has suddenly gone to live in Germany! She is also comic because she thinks the time to recognize her importance in life has finally come and it has to be rubbed into people's faces. I am sure every member of the audience would love to hate her after seeing The Champion Sportsman, but cannot fail to recognise the kind of woman she plays in this movie. Patience Ozokwor is really an outstanding talent and I say this, Nollywood is enriched by having her work in the industry. She is smart. She is funny. She is a very kind woman in real life and fun to be with. Nothing at all like some of the characters she has played on screen.

Nollywood has been making waves in British cinemas with such films as ‘The Mirror Boy’, ‘Tango with Me’, and ‘Amina’ generating quite some interest. What achievements do you expect ‘The Champion Sportsman’ to add to the Nollywood phenomenon in Britain?

I expect ‘The Champion Sportsman’ to change the perception of Nollywood comedy films as struggling too hard to make audiences laugh at somewhat stupid and unrounded characterisations with ill-conceived gag situations, dialogues and gestures. ‘The Champion Sportsman’ does not set out to make the audience laugh in the first place. It presents an identified problem of an identified people and breaks this problem down to mentor and inspire us into action. Along the line some of these identified situations may evoke the same laughter we are aware of without distracting us from the original theme of the art. Don't get me wrong, ‘The Champion Sportsman’ remains a comedy set in the midst of real serious issues.

You are one of the Nollywood film-makers working mainly outside Nigeria. Do you have any advantages over Nigeria-based film-makers?

I don't think I have any advantages over Nigeria-based film-makers. What I'd prefer is a situation where all of us should come together and start working on how to improve the film industry. All these ideas of comparisons and working differently from totally different angles without any reasonable central cohesion makes no sense at all. That said, who am I to dictate to others on how their work patterns should be?

Why do you seem to make mostly comedies?

Simple. I enjoy making people laugh. I am happy with my life when I see people around me laughing, especially when my work is the source of the laughter.

Offer an honest assessment of Nollywood at the moment. Is there any truth to claims that in search of international acceptance, Nollywood film-makers are gradually dumping the traditional Nigerian stories that made Nollywood what it is in the first place?

I agree that some of us African based filmmakers have totally ignored the basis that even set up the Nollywood industry. I don't want to go into colonial mentality theories but the filmmakers are not the only ones guilty in this regard. The distributors, the executive producers, the cinema owners, the audiences; what are they doing about it? It is a case of demand and supply. If I make a traditional Nollywood film and no one wants to distribute it, no cinema wants to show it because they are afraid the audience wouldn't want to see it, do you expect me to make the same kind of movie next time? Until we start placing values in ourselves and what we have as a people, it will always be the same old story.

Where would you like to see Nollywood in 5 to 10 years?

I would like to see Nollywood as the real pride of African media not only for entertainment but also to inform and educate its own people.

Tell me the one Nollywood film made between 1995 and 2012 that you wish you had made, and why?

I wish I made that Nkem Owoh's ‘Ikuku’ because I see a lot of potentials that are totally ignored in such a super storyline. Imagine a top educated man dragged home to the village by the gods to become a deity priest? Powerful storyline, I think.

What is next for you after The Champion Sportsman?

Two TV series and two films. I am still working on which one to be realised first. One of the TV series will be based in Berlin because the target is the German audience. The other is a TV comedy situated in a hospital in Nigeria aimed at exposing the poor and sometimes ridiculous health delivery system in our country. I hope that this film will generate discussion and push for change in our healthcare system. Our country will fare better if we are a healthy people. The films promise to be wild, insane and very very funny.

Will you be personally attending the UK Premiere of The Champion Sportsman. I am sure members of the audience will have questions for you?

Yes, I will be there at the Greenwich Odeon for the UK premiere of The Champion Sportsman. I have also written to my German co-producers who are working on their schedules to find time and accompany me to the event.

Thanks for talking to Nollywood Focus.

You are welcome, Nnorom! Thanks a lot, for having me.

The Champion Sportsman will receive its UK premiere at the Odeon Greenwich on the 9^th of November.

Sell Tickets Online through Eventbrite

Skyfall comes to UK cinemas October 26

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 05:56:00 +0000

If you were impressed when Daniel Craig did the Bond test in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, wait until you have seen him come back from the dead in Skyfall.

Build Africa Poetry Competition, 2012, Results and Judge’s Report

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:33:00 +0000

The winning poems for the 2012 Build Africa Poetry Competition are as follows:

First Prize: Understanding Dung Beetles by ROGER ELKIN

Second Prize: Artichokes and an Olive Grove by MANDY PANNETT

Third Prize: Stalkers by FAY MARSHALL

Two other entries have been selected as ‘Highly Commended’ from a strong list of poems also deserving of such honour. The two highly commended poems are:

1. Titania’s Wood by MANDY PANNETT

2. Finding Edna by BRUCE HARRIS

Congratulations to the winners. The winning and commended poems will be published in the Excel for Charity News Blog on the 1^st of October 2012.

This competition has raised £69.48 for the Build Africa charity. Thanks to all the entrants.

Now here is the Judge’s report:

Report on the Build Africa Poetry Competition, 2012

Judgement in literary competitions is burdened with the expectation of precision in the determination of value. It is of course also burdened with the challenge of perspective. Added to this is the paucity of material a judge or any critic has to work with in determining the relative strength of poems. A novel or short story presents the critic or judge with more material, many pages of information, by which it can be evaluated against another novel or short story. Prose-fiction does have its own challenges, but it comes with significantly less unresolved ‘tribal’ conflict than poetry. The poetry universe is seriously sectarian, with factious practice camps, which sometimes refuse to publish, honour or even acknowledge each other. This does inform judgement in a poetry competition.

Perhaps, I exaggerate, or hope I do, hope indeed there is greater agreement on value between differently persuaded poetry practices and traditions. It may be that the greater quarrel is about form rather than value, though the two issues tend to be conflated. So, if we like a certain kind of poetry we happily attach value to it, but if we are not happy with that way of writing poetry we do not even care that it may be of significant value to others. We just don’t touch that kind of poetry, won’t buy or read it unless we have professional interest in it – as would media reviewers, academics, archivists and other collectors.

The good news for those who support and enter poetry competitions is that the qualities by which the best poems succeed and excite interest remain unchanged and roughly same across the tribes. To an extent the bickering of our poetry tribes has complicated perceptions of value and capacity for fairness in judgement, but excellence is ultimately its own way maker, and poems which emerge winners will usually be among the best of any kind in practice. A poem is only fairly judged according to its form – the extent to which it excels in the appropriation or exposition of those qualities germane to its form. If we understand what a poet is doing in a poem we can determine how well he or she has done it, and also accurately compare the quality of what has been done to what other poets have been able to do working with the same material in a similar manner. If we are informed enough through training or practice, or just as experienced readers, we can also judge correctly that a given poet has done more or less excellent work with a chosen set of poetry material than another poet working on a different set of material. In judgement, it helps to be informed by the history of practice and the movement of innovation. No poetry competition is judged in an ahistorical vacuum.

I was thus mindful of our poetry moment, its centred practices and attendant politics of placement, coming to the 2012 Build Africa Poetry Competition. I decided to begin as I intended to conclude, by examining and moderating my own preferences and perspectives. In the end I was able to find clear winners from my shortlisted entries, but I think it is useful to generally remind those who win a poetry competition and others whose poems only made the shortlist that the values of the governing poetics in a competition can in some cases determine the outcome. The triumph of the winners will in such cases represent excellence but also good fortune, especially where there has been performance parity or something close to that among the best entries. For the winners there ought to be joy in the public acknowledgement of excellence by peers, delight with progress in craft, but scant room for triumphalism as in sports competitions.

What kind of poems was I hoping to find and honour in the 2012 Build Africa Poetry Competition; that is, what baggage did I come to this judgement with? I find value in all poetry forms and traditions. I like to go beyond the centred poetics of dominant perspectives in recent poetry publishing and creative writing education, and find value in whatever form it is being offered. Every kind of poetry is capable of excellence but not every poem is excellent. I do not insist on showcase poems, the kind that scream ‘Look at us! We are poems!’ at every reader, but I have retained that healthy foundational interest in ambition, eloquence and the personal voice in practice. Poetic difficulty is not for me just a period modernist obsession because there is even more complexity in the cosmopolitan contemporary, more of everything tied together and still unresolved, to complicate the art and unconscious of practising poets. I recognise that what I consider ambition in practice – elaborate or exceptional exploration of craft or subject – some now see as pretentious. However, I still believe in the thinking poet’s poem and consider elaborate thought, histories and mythologies valuable material for practice even in our time, just as valuable as the preferred autobiographical realism of the snap shot here and now, recorded ad nauseam in recent narrative poetry. I worry about poets being the inescapable protagonists of all or most of their poems, but recognise and respect the fact that this is essential fare for much recent poetry. It happens with poets for whom practice is not only art but also confession and therapy.

I hoped to find in these competition poems a settled ownership of language, confidence in the application of meaning, because in most cases poetry practice still involves the creative processing of meaning, demanding or demonstrating above average dexterity in the verbal arts. You have to own or know enough of language before you can successfully ‘disown’ it, or attempt to deny it meaning or even presence in your work as some poets have done and some still do. I wanted to encounter the competition poems first as a lay or ‘common’ reader, and so expected to be provoked, informed, entertained, inspired and humoured, becoming so moved by whatever I read that I would want to read it again… possibly pick up a poetry reading habit if I wasn’t already one of the converted. I was looking for variety and strong individual voices. I hoped the competition would provide in its variety the lyrical and narrative, even commentaries of compelling descriptive and expository power. Poetry is all of these things. It embraces all subjects, nothing off limit or taboo.

Thankfully, I did find the variety and robust poetics I was hoping for in this competition. The winning poem, ‘Understanding Dung Beetles’ is not for the squeamish, but the poem’s conversational tone and humour draws its readers to share an interest in what will be for many an unusual and possibly unsuitable subject. For both poet and readers, there is hard work in this informative poem, involving the processing of specialist information, but this is neither obvious nor obtrusive because the poet has masked it with an informal tone, that near conspiratorial voice by which the subject is exposed. In the third stanza there is the kind of heady information on dung beetles by which the poem is mostly constructed:

They work arse-over-heels, literally:

though have spade-shaped heads

use their hind legs to shift a dung ball

fifty times their body weight: backwards.

There is more rib-tickling erudition in the poem from where that came. But there is also a serious purpose to all that laughter. We get to know the dung beetle, get to know the importance of its life to our lives, and are moved to serious thought, as the poet in conclusion:

Dung is all they own.

Get high on piles of ordure.

And dedicating their lives to dung

question the testament

that bread is the staff of life.

We are on a journey in ‘Artichokes and an Olive Grove’, second prize winner in the competition. It does not matter so much that this journey may be more imagined than real. What engaged me as a reader was how the poem enacts movement as metaphor, imagining progress from brokenness and despair towards hope. There is a Mediterranean theme in the references to Laertes, a name from Greek mythology, and the two land products, artichokes and olives, from which the poem takes its title. The allusion to Greek mythology, in particular Homer’s Odyssey, informs the poem’s interest in place or land as a cathartic as well as therapeutic site for the processing of personal journeys, connecting the past with its present and possible future –physical and emotional journeys of acceptance and closure, recovery and renewal. The quiet, persuasive voice of the poem is speaking life or healing or hope to one slumped “like an over-blown poppy” on a donkey of despondency. Instead of staying saddled to that ‘donkey’, or removing to an ‘island’ location, an Odysseyan quest land, only to relive the pain of loss and separation, hope was on offer at a land of new beginning, a restful upland location, with familiar or reassuring olive surrounds, from which to look beyond the moment:

In those hills is an olive grove

and a plot of land to grow artichokes on

where we shall put that donkey out to graze.

This rich poem has a simple lineal structure, moving from the observation which identifies its conflict early in the first line, ‘’Your spirit slumps in the saddle’’, to the two questions which engage and then resolve the conflict: ‘’What can I offer to make you look up’’ and “A small farm then, in the backhills?’’ A concluding observation completes the frame, identifying resolution of the conflict with the line, “You are starting to un-slump”.

I liked the ambition of these first two winning poems and the risks successfully taken in the choice of subject, the referencing of mythology, and use of detail, including scientific data. Mood is a significant contributor to enrichment of reader experience in both poems. ‘Stalkers’, winner of the third prize, as well as ‘Finding Edna’ and ‘Titania’s Wood’, which I highly commend, all demonstrate this impressive use of material, as do a number of other poems. ‘Stalkers’ wins the early interest of its reader by suggesting itself as a detective story. We immediately want to know who the stalkers are, a question the poem only responds to tangentially but never quite answers. Instead it provides descriptive identikits to guide its readers towards own interpretations and conclusions on who the culprits might be – as in police artist drawings of unknown villains:

The first

is a handsome brute;

……………………….

it swoops from tree-top to tree-top,

hurdles roads, blazes across horizons,

ravager, turning

forest to ash, cropland to desert

Looking at this portrait, we may begin to sense that rogue weather types and ecological disasters are the enemies we seek here rather than human or animal agents, but this is inconclusive. So we seek further information by turning to more of the pictures:

The other stalker

is more insidious.

It sleeks beneath sills in serpentine coils,

undermines drip by slow drop,

fragile foundations;

inches up imperceptibly,

sinks islands,

swamps cities;

swallows shores

Aha! We think we are now sure about these stalkers, and even if we still don’t know who or what they are we are happier for taking part in the adventure the poem has provided.

It has been a pleasure reading these poems – all the competition entries. I found in them much comfort, and the support to continue celebrating poetry in all its subjects, forms and traditions. I hoped to find excellence in its various poetry signatures and did. I hoped to find boldness in the use of language, adventure in the application of form, and I did too. I would say it has been a successful outing for the Build Africa Poetry Competition and its organisers.

Afam Akeh

Oxford, UK.

LAST FLIGHT TO ABUJA WORLD PREMIERE AND AFTER-PARTY

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:25:00 +0000

TICKETS GOING FAST AT http://lastflighttoabujapremiere.eventbrite.com/ Book your seat now!

Press Release: Poetry competition to help battle poverty in Uganda and Kenya

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:48:00 +0000

For immediate release

02 May 2012

POETRY COMPETITION TO HELP BATTLE POVERTY IN UGANDA AND KENYA

Eastern Light EPM International, organisers of the Excel for Charity Writing Competitions Series that raises money for the world’s charities announces today a new 2012 competition in aid of Build Africa.

Build Africa is a UK charity working in rural areas of Uganda and Kenya to help young people escape poverty through education and income generation.

The 2012 competition is the second organised for Build Africa by Excel for Charity. The first competition judged by Frost Hollow author, Mandy Pannett was run in 2010 and raised £131.70 for the charity. That year, Gabriel Griffin-Hall won the first prize of £150. The second prize of £75.00 was won by Jeni Williams while the third prize of £35.00 was won by Margaret Eddershaw. In a wonderful twist of events, all three prize winners opted to donate their winnings to Build Africa bringing the total amount raised for the charity that year to £391.70.

In a letter of appreciation to Excel for Charity dated 25 November 2010, Build Africa’s Education and Community Fundraiser, Helen Sharpe said, “The prize winners gifts will be used to help build and equip schools in Kenya and Uganda, helping disadvantaged children and young people go to school, to learn, and to make better lives for them and their families.”

The 2012 competition is judged by Afam Akeh, one of the strongest poetic voices from Africa, author of Stolen Moments and Founding Editor of African Writing magazine. The total prize pot this year for the winning authors is £285.00 and Excel for Charity hopes to donate more to the charity this year than was done in 2010.

This competition is open to both professional and amateur writers from every part of the world. Interested poets may enter online or by post up to midnight on the 15^th of July 2012 when the competition closes.

For further information, to enter online or to print off an Entry form, the web address to visit is http://www.easternlightepm.com/excelforcharity/buildafrica-poetry-competition-2012/

The Excel for Charity writing competitions series was created for Eastern Light EPM International and administered by writer and publisher, Nnorom Azuonye, the founder and administrator of Sentinel Poetry Movement, premier community of writers and artists since 2002.

What Petrol Price?

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:44:00 +0000

Tills, 79 Sandy Hill Road, London SE18 7BQ. 16-April-2012, Standard Unleaded 142.9p

Jet, 160-168 Plumstead Common Road, London SE18 2UL, 16-April-2012, Standard Unleaded 141.9p, Super Unleaded, 151.9p

Your poem could help the fight against mental illness

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:03:00 +0000

YOUR POEM COULD HELP THE FIGHT AGAINST MENTAL ILLNESS. In 2009, we successfully ran a poetry competition in aid of The Psychiatry Research Trust. The 2012 competition is now open. A third of net entry fees will go to the Trust. You could win one of 5 cash prizes: £150 ($238), £75 ($119), £40 ($63), and 2 x £10($16). This competition is administered by Eastern Light EPM International, organisers of the Excel for Charity International Writing Competition Series. | Fees: £4($6.50)/1, £7.50($12)/2, £10.50 ($17)/3, £12.50 ($20)/4 and £14 ($22.50)/5 poems. Pay securely by PayPal either in GB£ or US$ or enter by post. | Derek Adams judges. | CLOSING DATE: 31st MAY 2012 | http://www.easternlightepm.com/excelforcharity/psychtrust-poetry-competition/

Africa Movie Academy Awards 2012 Nominations Announced

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:30:00 +0000

Nigeria and South Africa lead AMAA nominations

The Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), the continent's most prestigious awards for filmmakers announced the nominees in Banjul, the capital of Gambia, at an exclusive ceremony attended by celebrities, top government officials and capitals of industry from Gambia and other African countries.

AMAA 2012 BEST SHORT FILM

JAMAA - Uganda
Look Again - Kenya
Maffe Tiga - Guinea
Braids On Bald Head - Nigeria
Hidden Life - South Africa
Mwansa The Great - Zimbabwe
Chumo - Tanzania
The Young Smoker - Nigeria

AMAA 2012 BEST DOCUMENTARY

African Election - Nigeria / Germany
Beyond The Deadly Pit - Rwanda
Awa Ogbe An African Adventure - Algeria
Dear Mandella - South Africa
White & Black, Crime And Colour - Tanzania
The Niger Delta Struggle - Ghana
There Is Nothing Wrong With My Uncle - Nigeria
How Much Is Too Much - Kenya

AMAA 2012 BEST DIASPORA FEATURE

Toussanat Louverture - France
Ghetta Life - Jamaica
High Chicago - Canada
Elza - Guadelupe
Better Must Come - Jamaica
Kinyanrwanda - USA

AMAA 2012 BEST DIASPORA DOCUMENTARY

The Education Of Auma Obama - Germany
White Wash - USA
Almendron Mi Corazon - Guadeloupe
All Me The Life And Times Of Winfred Hubert - USA

AMAA 2012 BEST DIASPORA (SHORT FILM)

John Doe - USA
White Sugar In A Black Pot - USA
The Lost One - USA

AMAA 2012 BEST ANIMATION
The Legend Of Ngog Hills – Kenya
Oba - Nigeria
Climate Change Is Real - Kenya
Egu - South Africa
Chomoka - Kenya

AMAA 2012 BEST FILM BY AN AFRICAN LIVING ABROAD

Mystery Of Birds - USA / Nigeria
Housemates - United Kingdom / Nigeria
Ben Kross - Italy / Nigeria
Paparezzi Eye In The Dark - USA / Nigeria / Ghana

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN

Somewhere In Africa - Ghana
Phone Swap - Nigeria
Otelo Burning - South Africa
Adesuwa - Nigeria
How To Steal 2 Million - South Africa

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

The Captain Of Nakara
Adesuwa - Nigeria
Rugged Priest - Kenya
Somewhere In Africa - Ghana
Queens Desire

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP

Rugged Priest - Kenya
State Research Bureau - Uganda
Adesuwa - Nigeria
Somewhere in Africa - Ghana
Shattered - Kenya

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUNDTRACK

Otelo Burning - South Africa
Alero’s Symphony - Nigeria
Adesuwa - Nigeria
How To Steal 2 Million - South Africa
Somewhere In Africa - Ghana

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

Behind The Mask
Somewhere In Africa - Ghana
Adesuwa - Nigeria
State Research Bureau - Uganda
Otelo Burning - South Africa

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND

State Of Violence - South Africa
Otelo Burning - South Africa
How To Steal 2 Million - South Africa
Man On Ground - South Africa
Algiers Murder - South Africa

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

How To Steal 2 Million - South Africa
Otelo Burning - South Africa
Rugged Priest - Kenya
Masquerades - Ghana
Man On Ground - South Africa / Nigeria

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING

Algiers Murder - South Africa
Man On Ground - South Africa / Nigeria
Unwanted Guest - Nigeria
How To Steal 2 Million - South Africa
Otelo Burning - South Africa
Alero’s Symphony – Nigeria

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN SCREENPLAY

Ties That Bind - Ghana
Mr & Mrs - Nigeria
How To Steal 2 Million - South Africa
Otelo Burning - South Africa
Unwanted Guest - Nigeria
Two Brides And A Baby - Nigeria

AMAA 2012 BEST NIGERIAN FILM

Unwanted Guest
Family On Fire
Alero’s Symphony
Adesuwa
Phone Swap

AMAA 2012 BEST FILM IN AN AFRICAN LANGUAGE
Chumo - Tanzania
State Of Violence - South Africa
Family On Fire - Nigeria
Otelo Burning - South Africa
Asoni - Cameroun

AMAA 2012 BEST CHILD ACTOR

Rahman Junior Bande (Greg) - Behind The Mask
Tsepang Mohlomi (Ntwe) - Otelo Burning
Reginna Danies (Jenny) - Bank Job
Benjamin Abemigisha and Racheal Nduhukire (Derick and Margaret) - JAMAA
Ayinla O Abdulaheem - ZR-7

AMAA 2012 BEST YOUNG / PROMISING ACTOR

Neo Ntatleno (OJ) - State Of Violence
Ivie Okujaye (Alero) - Alero’s Symphony
Iyobosa Olaye (Adesuwa) - Adesuwa
Martha Ankomah - Somewhere In Africa
Thomas Gumede and Sihle Xaba - Otelo Burning

AMAA 2012 BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Rapuldna Seiphemo (Twala) - How To Steal 2 Million
Fano Mokoena - Man On Ground
Hafiz Oyetoro - Phone Swap
Okechukwu Uzoesi - Two Brides And A Baby
Godfrey Theobejane - 48
Lwanda Jawar - Rugged Priest

AMAA 2012 BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Terry Phetto - How To Steal 2 Million
Ebbe Bassey - Ties That Bind
Empress Njamah - Bank Job
Ngozi Ezeonu - Adesuwa
Thelma Okoduwa - Mr & Mrs
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde - Ties That Bind

AMAA 2012 BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Menzi Ngubane - How To Steal 2 Million
Majid Micheal - Somewhere In Africa
Chet Anekwe - Unwanted Guest
Jafta Mamabolo - Otelo Burning
Karabo Lance - 48
Wale Ojo - Phone Swap
Hakeem Kae-Kazim - Man On Ground

AMAA 2012 BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Nse Ikpe Etim - Mr & Mrs
Yvonne Okoro - Single Six
Ama K. Abebrese - Ties That Bind
Rita Dominic - Shattered
Uche Jombo - Damage
Millicent Makheido - 48
Kudzai Sevenzo-Nyarai - Playing Warriors

AMAA 2012 BEST DIRECTOR

Adesuwa - Lancelot Oduwa Imaseun
Ties That Bind - Leila Djansi
Rugged Priest - Bob Nyanja
How To Steal 2 Million - Charlie Vundla
State Of Violence - Khalo Matabane
Man On Ground - Akin Omotoso
Otelo Burning - Sara Bletcher

AMAA 2011 PRIZE FOR BEST FILM

State Of Violence - South Africa
Adesuwa - Nigeria
Otelo Burning - South Africa
Rugged Priest - Kenya
How To Steal 2 Million - South Africa
Ties That Bind - Ghana
Man On Ground - South Africa / Nigeria

Learn more at www.ama-awards.com

SENTINEL LITERARY QUARTERLY POETRY AND SHORT STORY COMPETITIONS (APRIL 2012) NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES.

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:13:00 +0000

The Short Story Competition for this quarter is judged by Dr Kate Horsley, an award-winning author and Creative Writing lecturer at Lancaster University. Total prize fund of £305.00 plus publishing opportunity. Click here to enter competition now.

The Poetry Competition for this quarter is judged by Miles Cain, an award-winning author The Border and a visiting Creative Writing lecturer at Leeds Trinity University College. Total prize fund of £305.00 plus publishing opportunity.

Click here to enter competition now.

Whitney Houston–I Have Nothing–Tribute by Paschal Obidile

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:45:00 +0000

- Nnorom Azuonye

Here is a brilliant tribute to Whitney Houston by Paschal Obidile. Nobody can sing a song quite like Whitney, but in this tribute, singing “I Have Nothing” Paschal manages to make the song his own, blessing us with his rich sonorous voice. Whitney will definitely be proud of this.

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition (January 2012) – Judge’s Report

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:35:00 +0000

Being the judge in a poetry competition can be very disheartening, presented with two hundred and fifty interesting and exciting poems to read through, I had to pick fifteen. This means as a judge you spend all of your time looking for reasons to discard the others. This task gets harder and harder towards the end of the process, when you are left with twenty or thirty poems that you really like and have to be extremely critical of them to try to pick the top six and put them in some sort of order.

All the short listed pieces were technically competent and well crafted, but in the end there is something that just nudges the overall winners above the rest, something that is a bit harder to put your finger on, but each time you look through the poems you find some that just keep grabbing your attention and ending up on top of the pile.

Here are the final six, with an idea of what it was that drew me to the winning poems.

First Prize: When a Sound Pretends to Kick a Bucket.

Lots of the poems entered had good images in them, but this poem is relentless in its imagery. The images tumble out one after the other as they carry us and the driver down the road to an inevitable car crash where he is left upside down ‘a floating foetus suspended in a seatbelt’, and from this point of stasis midway in the poem, we are propelled on another wave of images of a life flashing by, ‘The mind disrobing’. This poem stood out on first reading and stood up to being read again and again and again.

Second prize: Captain Nemo's Dinner

I loved the way this poem turned a domestic scene on its head. I revelled in gloomy main character of this poem, in a ‘whole deep-sunken world’ of his own making patrolled by ‘ship-sized water-beetles’, as well as the precise voice of the narrator, whose ‘the breathless laughter, / that coloured me deep-blue as a torn open clam’ was wonderful. This poem delighted me with is fantastic surreal imagery

Third prize: Sugar

This is a poem that punches above its weight, with its sustained bitter-sweet metaphor for falling in and out of love, it carries a story that is much bigger than its mere seventeen lines.

Highly commended:

Still Life is a well observed poem in the form of a sonnet. It deals with another road death, this time a child has been run over. It ends with a haunting image of spilt ink.

Passing Over takes us to a ‘border that isn’t on the map’; instructing us how to behave as officials from this other place search through personal belongings and make awkward demands on what could be a final journey.

Why can’t you, is a very clever little poem shows you just what to do with all those clichés you’ve been avoiding. This makes me smile every time I read it.

Derek Adams, February 2012

www.derek-adams.co.uk

The winning and highly commended stories from this competition will be published in Sentinel Champions magazine #11, August 2012. Subscribe to Sentinel Champions magazine.

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry and Short Story Competitions Results

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Short Story Competition (January 2012)–Judge’s Report

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:08:00 +0000

My critical criteria for evaluating the short stories submitted to the Competition consisted of assessing whether there was a grasp of the form and an attempt to say something. I was looking for structure, a clear developmental arc with its attendant desire to test a character and move the reader through literary effects. I was looking for a narrative voice that filtered relevant information and used detail to carry the narrative texture forward and made the reader see and feel beyond. I hoped for an implied story rather than a blob of writing without purpose.

Whilst the overall standard of writing was good, many pieces submitted had no story and were seriously under-developed. This is consistent with the current national state of short story writing. There are many people who do not have a clue what they are doing. There was a lot of structureless prose that could have been made more reader-friendly with some basic story telling craft. A lot of the writing was interesting without challenging the reader. The stories that were aware of the form shone through and held my attention. Other stories seemed random and ill-considered by comparison. A number of stories were unrealized in terms of length as well as structure. They sought to tell and had no story, no action, simply disorganized writing.

The best stories showed the reader and held attention through their narrative force and the gradual filtering of information leading to some form of resolution that forced the reader back to the beginning. The best stories drew the reader into the world and engaged with the reader. They made their world matter and have significance.

I selected Small Town Fever for the First Prize. This first person narrative is completely immersed in the experience of Marcie, who is on the run from her dangerous boyfriend, Jason. The unpredictable narrative moves back and forward and withholds information so that the reader wants to discover more. It is a volatile page-turner. The use of detail is strong throughout and reinforces the edgy, implied and unknown danger. The reader is taken on a journey and the underlying threat is beautifully sustained and understated. It is all implied rather than told and has a great ending.

The Second Prize story, The Difference, is a third person narrative concerning a 61 year-old Lecturer who becomes infatuated with a twenty three year old student. She is full of inner turmoil and becomes disorientated. She talks to herself and when hearing Berlioz, recalls the memory of her first affair with her Professor. She is a serial adulterer that has chosen a lifestyle without a family. Her past life and age catch up with her as it is revealed that the student is not interested in her. However, she is able to put the negatives to good use and writes a poem about being ‘over the hill’ and her unknown desire. A potential crisis is averted and the inner turmoil is put to good use. The story has a classic narrative structure and forces the reader back to the beginning.

The Third Prize went to The Lift, a third person narrative, about a young woman’s attraction for an older man. Angela has difficulty in judging men and the story explores her gut instincts. She is given a lift to Sunday Mass by Eion, who has a hint of danger and an implied past with women. They arrive at the Church, chat and drive back to his farmhouse. Her physical attraction to Eion is implied through the use of detail. The reader is drawn into their physical world of fingers, hands, legs and between the legs. The thrill for Angela of finding an independent and sexually attractive man is sustained through a rapid series of epiphanies that propel the action forward. It is all implied and evoked rather than stated and has a strong ending that allows the reader to see why Angela went in the direction that she did.

The Highly Commended stories included The first time, another adulteress woman story that has a strong developmental arc. Here the woman doubts her behaviour and recalls the loss of her virginity to a married man. She is caught in the repetition of her behavior and desires. The story reveals the physical side of wanting two men and the moral courage, despite worries of betrayal, to make a difficult choice. The story ends with her having both men on the same day. Again all the detail is physical and the reader has a strong sense that this is not a frivolous betrayal but a considered and clear choice. Living in Bleaney’s Room, a first person narrative, reads splendidly when read aloud and would work well on the radio. The narrator’s mutability is thoroughly caught in the voice and its cadences. The story resonates through its rich texture, use of detail and draws the reader into its distinct Welshness. It requires rereading as the texture is rich and sometimes covers the under-developed arc of the story, despite being well under the word limit. Pews For Thought impressed with its narrator’s characterization and the exposition of his contradictions.

Other notable stories are Luck Has Got Nothing To Do With It, a third person narrative, attempts to explore the notion of a luck in a socially dived school world, and Present Clarity, works well with its mostly implied desire of a young woman to become upwardly mobile through transgression. I also admired the innovative approach of Paul in Pictures. Anniversary, A Kind Of Heaven, A Small Cool Evening, The Lighthouse, My Loss and Perfect were all commendable efforts. Congratulations to all the writers.

David Caddy

Tears in the Fence | David Caddy’s Blog

The winning and highly commended stories from this competition will be published in Sentinel Champions magazine #11, August 2012. Subscribe to Sentinel Champions magazine.

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry and Short Story Competitions Results

Swale Life Poetry Competition (January 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:47:00 +0000

Closing Date: 31 January 2012

Details: #5 in the quarterly poetry competition in aid of Diversity House, a charity based in Sittingbourne, Kent, publishers of Swale Life magazine. This competition is for previously unpublished poems in English Language, on any subject, in any style, up to 50 lines long (excluding title). Poems entered must not have been posted to any website or blog, and must not be under consideration for publication, or accepted for publication elsewhere.

First Prize: £100.00, Second Prize: £50.00, Third Prize: £30.00, High Commendation Prizes: 2 x £10.00

First Publication: All prize winners will receive first publication in Swale Life Magazine at www.swalelife.com on 28th February 2012, and will be included in the second Swale Life Anthology to be published in January 2013.

Entry Fees: £3 per poem, £12 for 5 poems. £16 for 7 poems and £22 for 10 poems.

Donations to Charity: A third of net entry fees and all profits from the sale of the anthology will go to Diversity House.

The Judge: Mandy Pannett - author of Frost Hollow.

Competition Administration: Eastern Light EPM International -organisers of Excel for Charity writing competitions series.

Enter online and pay securely by PayPal or print off Entry Form at http://easternlightepm.com/excelforcharity/swale-life-poetry-competition/jan-12/

Cheques/Postal Orders in GB£ payable to:

EASTERN LIGHT EPM INTERNATIONAL

Unit 136, 113 -115 George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1AB

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Competitions

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:32:00 +0000

SENTINEL LITERARY QUARTERLY POETRY COMPETITION (JANUARY 2012) | CLOSING DATE: 20-JANUARY-2012
For previously unpublished poems in English Language on any subject, in any style, up to 50 lines long (excluding title). Poems submitted must not have been accepted, or currently be under consideration for publication elsewhere and must not be simultaneously entered into another competition. Judge: Derek Adams.
PRIZES: £150 (First), £75 (Second), £50 (Third), £10 x 3 (High Commendation). All winning and commended poems will receive first publication in Sentinel Champions magazine. The authors will each receive 1 free contributor's copy. All entrants to this competition will also be automatically entered into a draw to win 1 year's subscription to Sentinel Champions. 1 poet and 1 short story writer must win the subscription this quarter.
Results will be announced at www.sentinelquarterly.com on 20-Feb-2012
ENTRY FEES: £3/1 poem, £6/2 poems, £9/3 poems, £11/4 poems, £12/5 poems. Cheques/Postal Orders in GB£ to SENTINEL POETRY MOVEMENT, Unit 136, 113-115 George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1AB
Enter online and pay securely by PayPal or print off Entry Form from website at http://sentinelquarterly.com/competitions/poetry-0112/

SENTINEL LITERARY QUARTERLY SHORT STORY COMPETITION (JANUARY 2012) | CLOSING DATE: 20-JANUARY-2012
For previously unpublished short stories in English Language on any subject, in any style, up to 1,500 words long (excluding title). Stories submitted must not have been accepted, or currently be under consideration for publication elsewhere and must not be simultaneously entered into another competition. Judge: David Caddy.
PRIZES: £150 (First), £75 (Second), £50 (Third), £10 x 3 (High Commendation). All winning and commended stories will receive first publication in Sentinel Champions magazine. The authors will each receive 1 free contributor's copy. All entrants to this competition will also be automatically entered into a draw to win 1 year's subscription to Sentinel Champions. 1 poet and 1 short story writer must win the subscription this quarter.
Results will be announced at www.sentinelquarterly.com on 20-Feb-2012
ENTRY FEES: £4/1 story, £8/2 stories, £10/3 stories, £12/4 stories. Cheques/Postal Orders in GB£ to SENTINEL POETRY MOVEMENT, Unit 136, 113-115 George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1AB
Enter online and pay securely by PayPal or print off Entry Form from website at http://www.sentinelquarterly.com/competitions/short-stories-0112/

Occupy Nigeria solidarity action in DC - Protesting oil price hikes in f...

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:33:00 +0000

Don’t Fuel Panic, Toni Kan urges BBM Broadcasters

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:13:00 +0000

By NNOROM AZUONYE

On Monday, January 9^th, 2012 I received this BBM message from poet Toni Kan:

“People, pls, pls don’t send out broadcast messages until you verify them. Things are tense. Let’s not make them worse. Msgs about fighting, shooting, killings. Pls don’t broadcast until you make a few calls.”

It was very welcome to receive this message and I have forwarded it to most of my BBM contacts, especially those in Nigeria, who need to remain calm to be able to think clearly in these turbulent times.

It is not always clear where the intel that feeds these BBM broadcasts come from, or how authentic they are, but they can be quite disturbing. Here are some recent ones:

“Boko haram claimed responsibility of the Christmas day bombing,and promised more bombings on new year eve & new year day in strategic locations in Nigeria to press down their grievances, a representative of the dreaded sect said on BBC Hausa service. Nigerians are warned to avoid gathering like joints,clubs,cinemas,churches etc. cos those are likely targets of the next series of bombings which they call "the mother of all bombings in Nigeria" .please re-broadcast to. Family,friends and loved ones to save innocent lives,may we never be victims...... Jst got dat frm a friend now.”

**********

BREAKING NEWS:
The SSS Just announced d seizure of 10 containers of Bangers & Fireworks. Upon examination, Iτ̅ was discovered
1. They av d initial BH..meaning Boko Haram.
2. They are laced with Nitrate used for making Bombs.
3. When lighted Iτ̅ can blow up 10 x 10 sq metres
... 4. The containers were heading for d south western part of Nigeria.
5. Iτ̅ is believed some have already pass through
SSS warns Nigerians to be careful of d use of bangers & fireworks or if possible do away with them. Boko Haram means business.
Please re broadcast. We shall all live to see 2012

**********

For those who stay in Abuja or who have relatives there.The American embassy have contacted all Americans to tell them to stay indoors, they said there are 3 cars in Abuja loaded with explosives planted @ different areas. They are yet to know their exact targets. Pass the message please.

The thought behind these BBM broadcasts are laudable as they appear to reflect a genuine concern for the welfare of fellow citizens. There is also a feeling that these are creative products of terror rumour merchants and that there is no basis for them at all. I have spoken to some friends and family in Northern Nigeria and they say that after reading some of these messages, not knowing which one is true or false, they err on the side of caution and worship God in their own homes rather than become sitting ducks in churches.

It breaks my heart to see just how helpless my Christian brothers seem to have become, and how this Boko Haram thing is wearing down the faith of some Christians. Yesterday, I got into an argument with a church deacon who said that Christians who stay away from churches out of fear of being killed by Boko Haram while they worship God are not Christians at all, because a true Christian should be prepared to die for God.

You see, I personally don’t think that if a Christian’s gut feeling is that there is truth behind a message of caution and stays out of harm’s way, that this is one of the things that can annoy God.

Like brother Toni Kan has urged, let BBM, Facebook or Twitter broadcasters verify their messages before sending them out. Recipients of these messages of caution, please pray for the grace to be directed by the Spirit on whether the intelligence behind these messages are credible. If in doubt, stay in your house and worship God there. If you must pay your tithe and offering in the church, you could always mail a cheque to your pastor. You can only worship God if there is breath in your lungs.

Follow Nnorom Azuonye on Facebook and Twitter

Now President Jonathan is terrorising Nigerians

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:04:00 +0000

By NNOROM AZUONYE

It is really depressing to read about and see all the pictures of widespread demonstrations in Nigeria against the removal of fuel subsidy which has now put the minimum price of petrol at N141.00 with the price in the neighbourhood of N175.00 in some areas.

It is good that Nigerians are marching the streets and shouting on top of their voices in an attempt to get the Jonathan administration to rescind this action. I am not very hopeful that these demonstrations will achieve anything anyway, I am sorry for being a pessimist here, but the truth is that President Goodluck Jonathan is proving to have a talent for ignoring the plight of Nigerians, or perhaps he has supped with the devil and is therefore incapacitated and unable to do what is right for the people he is supposed to be leading.

The timing of the actualisation of the removal of fuel subsidy is nothing short of terrorism by the state against the people of Nigeria.

Every Nigerian is worried about the terrorist and religious attacks in the country at the moment, especially in the Northern parts of Nigeria. Kidnappings are still rife in most parts of the South and South-east. Armed robbery is a growth industry nationwide. There is nothing in place to attempt securing the lives and properties of the average Nigerian.

The removal of fuel subsidy at this time will have far-reaching knock-on effects; people who drive their own vehicles will pay much more to run them. Public transport fares will rise astronomically, making it hard for people to get to work, to go out and seek work (for the unemployed), or simply to have any kind of social life. Prices of goods and services will invariably rise as the costs of delivering them rise. There is also the problem with electric power. With irregular power supply in most parts of the country, the people of Nigeria, who could afford it, have been providing alternative sources of power with generators. Now, it will cost a lot of money to fuel these generators.

It is not rocket science to work out that the results of the problems caused by the removal of oil subsidy will be widespread suffering, disillusionment and an exponential increase of crime. It is too difficult to fathom why the Nigerian leadership could so brazenly contrive to plunge the nation into such deep suffering.

There has been a report, I don’t know how credible it is, that a protester has been shot dead by the Nigerian police in Ilorin. Is Jonathan also turning Gaddafi and Assad on Nigerians? It will be very unfortunate if he resorts to violence and the terror of guns as a way of clamping down on demonstrators. At this time we can only watch and encourage those who are able to march in Nigeria. It is a brave thing, and we hope that they will be safe in the face of a possible brute force that may be turned on the.

My eyes have seen the year of our Lord 2012.

noreply@blogger.com (The Blogmaster) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:01:00 +0000

My cluttered table bustles like a tech carnival; laptops,

BlackBerries upon a Clarks shoebox stuffed with receipts,

cables, i-gizmos and a screwdriver. No shoes. No red socks.

My daughter has left a sieve entangled with a USB cable

beside a batteryless digital camera atop my wife’s books.

I scan this mess with tired eyes, my back to the lit, over-

decorated Christmas tree we bought from Tesco last year.

The air is filled with sleep sounds of my family carried

in here by the gentle morning breeze of the new year.

Happy New Year, my loves, sleep well, sleep sweet.

O, what a marvellous Christmastime this week has been;

Ugbagha with showboy and stockfish has been eaten,

turkey and chicken, broccoli and sprouts, ‘eddoes’,

pounded yam, bitter-leaf soup and peppersoup too

led home with wines and beers, malts and juices, and water.

This time, our children - four and three - have learnt jingles,

so we have daily been sing-along-ing and dance-along-ing;

‘Must be Santa’, ‘Father Christmas, he got stuck, coming

down the chimney’ and ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’.

We have had ourselves a wonderful Christmastime.

We rode on choo choo trains and the London Eye

and the kids touched a starfish at the London Aquarium.

O yes, we have created so many memories this Christmas

and for every beautiful second I have praised Him with joy.

Especially now my eyes have seen the year of our Lord 2012.

Nnorom Azuonye

Plumstead, 01 January 2012