Sola Osofisan
06-04-2007, 02:27 PM
'Performance Poetry in Contemporary Nigeria'
JUNE, with its rains and sun in a single combat, has dawned with a tight programme for Nigerian writers. Already, umbrella body of the writers, Association of Nigerian Authors, (ANA), will kick off the month this weekend, June 9, 2007, when writers in Lagos, will celebrate their Poetry Festival instead.
With the theme, 'Performance Poetry in Contemporary Nigeria', the event will hold at Aina Onabule Gallery, National Theatre, Lagos. Mr. Denja Abdullahi, general secretary, of the writers, in a press release last weekend, said arrangements are on for the hosting of the 26th International Convention of the writers, scheduled for Owerri, Imo State Nigeria from November 1-4, 2007 with the theme, 'Literature and Conflict Resolution'.
Prof. Kole Omotoso, a former president of ANA, now based in South Africa, will present the keynote address.
ANA, he went on, wants abstracts from interested scholars who would like to present papers during the seminar session at the convention under any of the following sub themes: Literature and cross-cultural dialogue; Literature and the advancement of world peace; Children's literature and the challenges of National Integration; Literature and globalisation; Literature, writers and the ICT revolution.
Abstracts of not more than 200 words should be sent via email to ananatsec@yahoo.com not later than July 30, 2007. ANA's National Public Relations Officer (South) Mr. Hyacinth Obunseh, also announced, the group has extended deadline, entries for its prizes to 5.00pm, June15, 2007.
However, ANA seeks materials for its ANA REVIEW, an annual journal of the group dedicated to scholarly criticism, book reviews, essays, interviews, tributes, travelogues and creative writing.
"The time to package another edition of the ANA Review due for release before the 26th International Convention of the Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA) scheduled for Owerri, Imo State from 1st- 4th November, 2007, has come. Interested scholars and writers in and outside the country desirous of contributing to the ANA REVIEW should package their entries with the following guidelines in mind," Abdullahi wrote.
Entries, he said, should be 1000 and maximum of 2000 words. Editors of want lucid writings that command attention, thus authors are urged to send in their best, preferably ones that have had some prior editorial attention. They also asked to include visual (picture artwork or drawing) that complements their writing. Such files must be sent as email attachments in jpeg format.
This provision also applies to book reviews, which in addition, should include a picture of the book cover page, and vital statistics like number of pages, ISBN, publishers, year of publication, names of author, editor (for anthologies of journals), and reviewer. Authors should include full names, address, daytime phone and brief biography. Deadline for submission of entries for the ANA REVIEW is July 30, 2007. Submission is strictly by email to reviewana@yahoo.com.
The novelist, Chris Abani, editor of Noir, a collection of noir stories based in Lagos, Nigeria, also announced that he wants some stories. The maximum length for each story is 7,000 words. Unless, there is a previous agreement, the minimum is 3,500 words.
"All noir stories have an element of crime. They are usually about how a crime was committed and solved, and make the city they are set in a particular backdrop. Slang, mood, atmosphere and good city descriptions give the stories some grounding; as does the language which is often very self aware and ironic (without being satirical). The voice is a fine balance and difficult to negotiate. Most noir stories are very plot driven, but once that is in place, a writer can feel free to explore larger social issues, much the same way that Walter Mosley does with his Easy Rawlins books about LA. Noir stories are often about the underbelly of cities and the criminal elements that inhabit them, but as long as they turn around a crime, they can come from and be set around any time period. Remember, they have to be suspenseful and dramatic," Abani wrote.
The anthology will be published in the US by Akashic Books (www.akashicbooks.com (http://www.akashicbooks.com)) as part of their Noir series. The stories must be in Microsoft Word 97-2003, formatted properly and double-spaced. And sent to abani@chrisabani.com. The deadline is June 30. Authors whose stories are accepted for publication will be paid $200 and a copy of the anthology. And they retain copyright to their work with modifications that will be stated in the contract.
JUNE, with its rains and sun in a single combat, has dawned with a tight programme for Nigerian writers. Already, umbrella body of the writers, Association of Nigerian Authors, (ANA), will kick off the month this weekend, June 9, 2007, when writers in Lagos, will celebrate their Poetry Festival instead.
With the theme, 'Performance Poetry in Contemporary Nigeria', the event will hold at Aina Onabule Gallery, National Theatre, Lagos. Mr. Denja Abdullahi, general secretary, of the writers, in a press release last weekend, said arrangements are on for the hosting of the 26th International Convention of the writers, scheduled for Owerri, Imo State Nigeria from November 1-4, 2007 with the theme, 'Literature and Conflict Resolution'.
Prof. Kole Omotoso, a former president of ANA, now based in South Africa, will present the keynote address.
ANA, he went on, wants abstracts from interested scholars who would like to present papers during the seminar session at the convention under any of the following sub themes: Literature and cross-cultural dialogue; Literature and the advancement of world peace; Children's literature and the challenges of National Integration; Literature and globalisation; Literature, writers and the ICT revolution.
Abstracts of not more than 200 words should be sent via email to ananatsec@yahoo.com not later than July 30, 2007. ANA's National Public Relations Officer (South) Mr. Hyacinth Obunseh, also announced, the group has extended deadline, entries for its prizes to 5.00pm, June15, 2007.
However, ANA seeks materials for its ANA REVIEW, an annual journal of the group dedicated to scholarly criticism, book reviews, essays, interviews, tributes, travelogues and creative writing.
"The time to package another edition of the ANA Review due for release before the 26th International Convention of the Association of Nigeria Authors (ANA) scheduled for Owerri, Imo State from 1st- 4th November, 2007, has come. Interested scholars and writers in and outside the country desirous of contributing to the ANA REVIEW should package their entries with the following guidelines in mind," Abdullahi wrote.
Entries, he said, should be 1000 and maximum of 2000 words. Editors of want lucid writings that command attention, thus authors are urged to send in their best, preferably ones that have had some prior editorial attention. They also asked to include visual (picture artwork or drawing) that complements their writing. Such files must be sent as email attachments in jpeg format.
This provision also applies to book reviews, which in addition, should include a picture of the book cover page, and vital statistics like number of pages, ISBN, publishers, year of publication, names of author, editor (for anthologies of journals), and reviewer. Authors should include full names, address, daytime phone and brief biography. Deadline for submission of entries for the ANA REVIEW is July 30, 2007. Submission is strictly by email to reviewana@yahoo.com.
The novelist, Chris Abani, editor of Noir, a collection of noir stories based in Lagos, Nigeria, also announced that he wants some stories. The maximum length for each story is 7,000 words. Unless, there is a previous agreement, the minimum is 3,500 words.
"All noir stories have an element of crime. They are usually about how a crime was committed and solved, and make the city they are set in a particular backdrop. Slang, mood, atmosphere and good city descriptions give the stories some grounding; as does the language which is often very self aware and ironic (without being satirical). The voice is a fine balance and difficult to negotiate. Most noir stories are very plot driven, but once that is in place, a writer can feel free to explore larger social issues, much the same way that Walter Mosley does with his Easy Rawlins books about LA. Noir stories are often about the underbelly of cities and the criminal elements that inhabit them, but as long as they turn around a crime, they can come from and be set around any time period. Remember, they have to be suspenseful and dramatic," Abani wrote.
The anthology will be published in the US by Akashic Books (www.akashicbooks.com (http://www.akashicbooks.com)) as part of their Noir series. The stories must be in Microsoft Word 97-2003, formatted properly and double-spaced. And sent to abani@chrisabani.com. The deadline is June 30. Authors whose stories are accepted for publication will be paid $200 and a copy of the anthology. And they retain copyright to their work with modifications that will be stated in the contract.