Literary feast as Farafina workshop ends

The third Farafina Trust creative writing workshop ended on a high note, with a literary evening held at the Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos.

In a brief introduction, Muhtar Bakare, who started the not-for-profit Trust with writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, told the gathering that this edition was the first to be sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc. The company will sponsor the workshops till 2011.

Beer and literature

The managing director, Nigerian Breweries, Michiel Herkemij, recalled his first meeting with Bakare a year ago, and the publisher’s delight on learning that he loved reading.

Herkemij revealed that he had read the biography of Che Guevara and all of Adichie’s books, amongst others. “It was not a single book that changed my life, many books did. My love for books is what formed me and at age 45, I still read books,” he said.

In Adichie’s words

Chimamanda Adichie presented certificates to workshop participants. Stating and reiterating that a number of the participants are “writers whose works people should be on the look-out for,” Adichie recounted her impressions of them.

Omowunmi Akinde is ‘the blogger’ while Amanda Obili is the quiet one who tripped Adichie by writing a wonderful story. Kayode Jegede wrote “the most alarmingly good story” about his childhood, while Chiaka Obazi is the careful reader who would make a wonderful editor.

She hailed Jide Adebayo as the “most read participant who has read about everything under the moon.” Mamle Kabu, a Ghanaian, was the last to be called up.

Adichie disclosed that some of the participants were already into a particular genre of writing. Jumoke Verissimo was the resident poet, while Pelu Awofeso, the travel writer, learnt much from the Caine winning Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainana, a facilitator.

Oyindamola Afini is a self-proclaimed screenwriter whom Adichie strongly believed should be writing prose instead.

Nigerian authors read

The first writer to read at the event, Eghosa Imasuen, read ‘New Generator: I Better Pass My Neighbour’ published in The New Gong Book of New Nigerian Short Stories. The story, a tragicomedy, had the audience laughing and sighing at the same time.

Poet Odia Ofeimun, read from his famous volume, ‘The Poet Lied’, but went further. He offered something richer by declaring that, “I will read from every book that I have published.” Many in the 500-strong gathering could not hide their delight with his amusing poem, ‘Pidgin Soup’.

Author of ‘The Hangman’s Game’, Karen King-Aribisala, also gave a good performance, taking on the voices of the ant characters in her short story, ‘Queen Honey Bee and Drone Designs’.

Literature on their minds

Television presenters, Funmi Iyanda and Adesuwa Oyenokwe spoke about their love for books. It was heartwarming to hear Iyanda, presenter of the now-rested talk show,‘New Dawn’, encourage youths to read in order to better their lot in life.

She read from a memoir chronicling her tough background; and acknowledged a debt to her English teacher, Mrs. Okoro, “who taught me to knit words together and introduced me into the literary world that turned me into the woman that I am today.”

Oyenokwe, who has run a TV show for 10 years now, also affirmed her belief in the supremacy of text over television.

According to her, it is “only words that can make you think.” Adding that, “A good book makes you decide to go forward in life and make a change,” she cited Funmi Iyanda’s story as an example. “The power of prose, the power of writing is amazing,” Oyenokwe said.

International writers

Adichie introduced the four international writers who headlined the event with her: Binyavanga Wainana, Nathan Englander, Doreen Baingana, and Jackie Kay.

Doreen Baingana, a Ugandan writer based in Kenya, read the title story from ‘Tropical Fish’, her collection of short stories, which won the Washington Independent Fiction Prize.

British-born Jackie Kay, performed ‘Pride’, a poem she wrote some years before meeting her Nigerian father. Kay, who is visiting Nigeria for the second time, said she would visit her ancestral village, despite her father’s painful refusal to show her to his family and church members.

Asked what she hoped to take away from the visit, Kay said: “I’m hoping to just get a sense of my village and meet people; I’m also interested in seeing what belonging to a place is really all about.”