Literature came alive this September in Nigeria’s South-eastern state of Enugu. The coal city had its first ever literary evening. The event organised by literary initiative, OpenBookNigeria was headlined by ‘Diary of a Stupid Boyfriend’ author and Writivist, Bura Bari Nwilo. It featured spoken word poetry performances, book exhibitions and a book chat anchored by budding writer, Nnamdi Anyadu.
What was most interesting about the Enugu Literary Evening was that it was organised and attended by young people at a time when we’ve had so many arguments about whether or not African youths actually do engage with literature coming out of Africa.
The book chat, however pivoted by the theme of Nwilo’s book (which is Relationships), spawned into a discussion of varying topics from the retention of facial hair amongst males, to how writers of the African continent can better engage with their audience, and then the relevance of new media in African literature. The poetry recitations left the audience stunned. Who knew Enugu had so many (brilliant) spoken word poets?
The event was supported by the Enugu State Broadcasting Service and OpenBookNigeria has plans to make it a monthly. Kudos to @openbooknigeria and we dare say: more grease to your elbow. Below are a few photos from the event.
Obinna Udenwe October 21, 2015 01:24
This is a grand initiative. Kudos to all the brains behind Open Book Nigeria and the Enugu literary evening.