Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Amazon Book Launch of 'In My Dreams It Was Simpler'


The book: "In My Dreams It Was Simpler" is now available to buy on Amazon!

Synopsis: Sometimes Life Doesn't Happen The Way We Dream

Lola, Funmi, Titi, Dolapo, Temmy and Maureen are a tight group of friends. They have been through many ups and downs together, from their pre-university days to the present time as young career women. They constantly have to deal with the measures of success - striking the perfect balance in all aspects of their lives – careers, relationships, cultural expectations, moral dilemmas and the demands of 'having it all'.

Then there are the men: Tade - a guy from Temmy’s recent past who is now stalking her, Dayo - who Titi is initially reluctant to introduce to her friends, and Wole who appears to tick all the boxes that Lola is looking for but has a shady past she wants to uncover by all means. They are thrown together in a series of intriguing events and twists, their dreams are shattered, and loyalties are tested to breaking point. Against all odds, the six friends have tried to stay afloat, but they don’t know what the future holds…

They are thrown together in a series of events and twists that will leave you hanging off the edge of your seat! How will they deal with the situations they face? Will they pull through and become stronger? Or will they become victims of circumstances they cannot control?

Find out!

The book includes interviews with the writers, and lots more sweeteners, you'll need to get your hands on a copy to find out!

Amazon UK - here  US - here France here Germany here Lulu here Kindle (Ebook edition) here

For more details about the series, and the writers, please visit the blog here

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

100 Followers on The Bookaholic Blog

Soryy guys, but we have to blow our trumpet - 100 followers on The Bookaholic Blog woooohooo!!!

Monday, March 29, 2010

7 BLOGtastic Tips

  1. The header: This is the most definitive area of your blog/website… paying significant attention to this area and creatively creating a header area that effectively introduces the essence of your blog more often than not leads to a generally beautiful blog/website. Simplicity is recommended.
  2. Uniform sized images: The blog pages are characterized with lists of articles with accompanying images. Having uniformly sized images goes a long way in enhancing the general look and feel of the interface.
  3. Clutter: Use a well spaced layout. Less Clutter = More Appeal. Nobody likes having to filter through tones of info to figure out what your blog/website is about.
  4. Background image: Using a background image can destroy or breathe life to your blog/website. If you opt to use a background image, make sure it complements the color scheme of your website. There should also be a solid color area where your blog/website content can be placed without the background interfering. If you are unsure how to effectively create this, stick to a solid background color.
  5. Color Scheme: The last thing you want to do is make your blog look like a rainbow. A palette of 2 – 4 colors usually does the trick; with 4 being an extreme. Let the images/pictures related to the articles do the remaining coloring.
  6. Typeface: Choose fonts that area easy on the eye. Blogs are all about the content and using fancy fonts for the articles is a No-No! It puts a lot of strain on the reader and generally puts your blog on the “No-Read” list right next to bin laden. The fancy text can be used for Headers though.
  7. Hire a professional: This is the most important tip of all. Blog owners are usually people with a flair for writing and are not usually the best graphics designers in the world. Engage a professional and share your ideas with him/her as a guide so the blog would truly reflect your conception.
 
    Otoide Ayemere
    A young man with an imposing figure, Otoide Ayemere is the founder of 2Digits Solutions Company (www.2digitsweb.com). He holds a Bsc. in Applied information technology from Sikkim Manipal University (India), Aptech Certified Computer Professional amongst other qualifications. With over 5 years experience in the art of website development he has carved a niche for himself as one of Nigeria’s finest.

Introducing Naija Stories....

Now the internet gets more exciting everyday. There are new opportunities for writers daily. Naija Stories is the newest kid on the block.

"Naija Stories is the online community for Nigerian writers and readers of all interests and skill levels. Naija Stories is a way for readers to discover new voices and for writers to share their work, gain recognition, and connect with their audience and each other. There is a special workshop section for feedback and critique from other writers. Whether you're an enthusiastic, creative writer looking for the perfect place to store and display your writing online or a casual reader searching for a good story, Naija Stories is your website. As a writer, this is a place to showcase your creativity and for a reader, here you can feast to your heart's content." 

There's a website launch contest that you can participate in. There are prizes to be won :-) First join their FB page...and be part of the contest. Submission guidelines are here. Deadline for submission: March 31, 2010. 

What are you waiting for? All the best!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Five Ways to Find Motivation to Write....

It's called internet strolling...okay, on my last stroll, I came across Always a Writer. I loved this post so much and couldn't help but ask to cross-post this here. Enjoy!

We all have times when we just don’t want to. One of the really big science fiction writer places had a list of fifty different ways he motivates himself to write. Obviously, this isn’t fifty and in all honesty, I probably should have just stolen them from him, but I’m going to go for this. These are mostly just observations about my writing style.

1. Figure out what you want to do instead, then do it AFTER you write. This works well if say, you want to play stupid games on facebook. Tell yourself you can play said stupid game after you write two pages or some other goal.

2. Imagine the scene. Sometimes merely imagine  what I am going to write encourages me to write it, both before I forget it and because I’m suddenly excited to write it.

3. Keep your eyes on the goal. Since I write in very much of a beginning to end fashion,  I have found that writing when I’m not looking forward to writing a particularly scene makes writing a real challenge.

4. Just do it. Sometimes when I get totally demotivated to write, I find out that it is a particular scene or section that I don’t want to do. Once I get over that section, everything is all right.

5. Get plenty of sleep. Okay, maybe I’m grasping at straws here, but if I don’t get enough sleep (and I don’t often enough thanks to a 7AM clinical time), I lack the energy to do much of anything, including write. Writing takes a lot of mental power and strength, so fatigue means you’ll do something else brainless and bother with it later.

6. Bonus! Figure out why you don’t want to write. This is perhaps just in case I forgot something but in all honesty, this is just as important. We all have different reasons why we lack motivation to write and my reasons might not be your reasons. So figuring out why you don’t want to write whatever might be your first step towards actually writing again.

Do you have any other writing motivation tips? Pray tell...

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The BookJam @ Silverbird 2

Farafina proudly supports BookJam @ Silverbird.  This is the second edition of the once-monthly event happening at Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island.

This edition will feature acclaimed author Uwem Akpan whose book “Say Your One of Them” was picked as an Oprah Book Club Selction, Joy Isi Bewaji author of Eko Dialogue, and Andrew Maja-Pearce, author of Remembering Ken Saro-Wiwa and Other Poems.

At BookJam you have the opportunity to hear each author read their favorite passages from their work, participate in literary discussions, and also the chance to get your copy autographed.  The last edition was loads of fun and this one promises to be more so, so see you there!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

UN Journalism Fellowship...

The Dag Hammarskjöld Scholarship Fund for Journalists is now accepting applications from professional journalists from developing countries for its 2010 fellowship Program. The application deadline is April 9, 2010. 

The fellowships are available to radio, television, print and web journalists, age 25 to 35, from developing countries who are interested in coming to New York to report on international affairs during the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The fellowships will begin in mid-September and extend to late November and will include the cost of travel and accommodations in New York, as well as a per diem allowance

The fellowship program is open to journalists who are native to one of the developing countries in Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean, and are currently working full-time for a bona fide media organization in a developing nation. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in and commitment to international affairs and to conveying a better understanding of the United Nations to their readers and audiences. They must also have approval from their media organizations to spend up to two months in New York to report from the United Nations. 

More info here and here...

Monday, March 22, 2010

Meet WriteFreak...



Why and how did you become a part of the “In My Dreams it was Simpler” project? Favoured Girl wrote a short story that I liked, people left comments and she thought it could become bigger and asked for people who would like to contribute on Facebook. It sounded like something fun and a way to express my creativity, so I decided to give it a shot. FG and I have read each other’s works as writers, we had discussed our works in the past, and our writing styles are similar so I believed I could work with her initial story.

What did you hope to achieve with the character? 
I hoped to present a young woman trying to find her way in life. Funmi is a young woman who seems to have it all together on the outside but is struggling in some parts of her life. Gradually, I’m presenting her as who she is and who she will become. Eventually every young woman can see themselves through her eyes--no one is perfect. You have to be willing to fall down and let others catch you.

How did you connect that character to the whole plot of the story? 
It’s a story about dreams, about friendships, about life and love. Life is generally about these things so it was not hard to build a character that would fit into the plot of the story.

What one lesson did you learn from this ‘group’ experience?  Actually, I’ll mention two (if you permit me).The benefits of team work. I alone could not have published a book last year but WE did it. The second thing is that working with a team has a lot of challenges and you have to be willing to respect other people’s points of view.

What books are currently reading? Cs Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and The Princess by Lori Wick

In your view, how has internet changed the face of publishing? The internet has made self publishing easier. You can publish your book online, sell online, publicise online without having a physical selling point. It has really helped.

What’s your take on the Nigerian publishing scene? I think publishing is almost non-existent in Nigeria. Most so-called publishers are just printers and the few who publish mostly do books that have been previously published abroad. Most writers have to look for agents abroad or resort to self-publishing. I think there’s a lot of room for growth in the publishing industry and hopefully we’ll have the growth.

List five of your favorite blogs and why? 
Verastic- Her wit and humour 
Solomonsydelle- Her kids’ antics make me laugh
Aloted- She’s my friend and she used to do the Thankful Tuesday series that inspired me to start my own Thankful Wednesdays
Jaycee- Her use of allegory in describing the things of God is awesome.
GoodNaijaGirl- I like her openness and sincerity

What are you scared of? I don’t think I’m afraid of anything. I would be scared of not fulfilling my potentials though.

What inspires your writing? Anything and everything. People, things, other people’s experiences and my own experiences. A lot of times, I’m like a gist monger, always listening when people say things because I always think, that could come in handy someday. My husband inspires me too, he gives me story ideas, he is very imaginative and I flesh up the ideas.

What is the worth of a book? Books are priceless!

Who are your literary heroes? The late Professor Ola Rotimi (he was my lecturer and i’m just biased to him, I love him), Chinua Achebe, Flora Nwapa, C.S Lewis and so on.

What does it mean to be a writer? 
A writer is someone who writes. A writer draws inspiration from things around him or her, puts pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as the case may be) and lets their imagination take them to places they have never been and have experiences they might never have had. A writer writes!

What does the future hold for you? More stories, more articles, more books, more laughter, more love, more friendships..maybe an unveiling of Writefreak in the near future though I know I’m not as anonymous as I used to think I was. 

Visit WriteFreak...

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Rethink Scholarship for Graphic Artists...

Rethink Scholarship at Langara is now calling for 2010 entries. We’ll be judging the winner based on one thing: a sketchbook. The sketchbook can be any size in terms of width and height, but it must have a hard black cover. Also, the number of pages in the book might vary depending on where you get it, though it should not exceed 250.

Remember not to worry about filling out the whole book, because a few brilliant ideas are always better than a huge pile of mediocre work. If you’re having trouble finding a blackbook, you can pick one up at any Opus framing and Art Supplies location. Your job is to put your most interesting ideas into that sketchbook to demonstrate what you can do. Your book should also tell us something about who you are.

Deadline: June 1, 2010

Get application form here

Friday, March 19, 2010

50 Years Ahead: Through The Eyes of Nigerian Women

African Artists' Foundation (AAF) in partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Schlumberger Nigeria Ltd. present an exhibition titled "50 Years Ahead; Through the Eyes of Nigerian Women", in commemoration of Nigeria's golden jubilee. Through this exhibition, the AAF is drawing the focus to Nigerian women artists, offering a platform to express their vision of our great Nation over the next half-century. Join us as we celebrate our women in the premier edition of a series of annual women artists' exhibitions, opening at the Civic Center, on the 20th of March 2010.

 
VENUE
The Lagos Civic Centre
Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue,
Opp. 1004 Flats, Victoria Island, Lagos                                     

DATE &TIME
SAT 20TH MARCH 2010 | 3:00pm

'Future' Writers' Creative Classes

The Future Project introduces the Young Writers' Network Creative Classes. So:

  • Do you think you can write?
  • Do you want to be a good writer?
  • Are you writing things at the moment for which you need direction and polishing? 
  • Do you want to find out how to get your material published? 
  • Do you want to know how and where to make an income from writing? 
  • Do you want to intern with the hottest media and publishing houses in the country? 

This is an opportunity learn from Nigeria’s accomplished writers and writing teachers at the Young Writers Network Creative Classes starting in Lagos in April 2010. The lecturers for this session include: 

  • Bola Atta (Editor, True Love West Africa ) 
  • Jeremy Weate (Editor, Cassava Republic ) 
  • Muhtar Bakare (Publisher, Farafina)
  • Tolu Ogunlesi (Winner, CNN/Multichoice Journalist Awards) 
  • ‘Tunde Aladese (Scriptwriter, Tinsel on Mnet) 
  • Karen King-Aribisala (HOD, Department of English, University of Lagos  and others.

 The classes run from April to June, with Internships running for a month in between. To apply to be part of this life-changing opportunity, send a 300-word essay titled: Is Writing Now Irrelevant? to kenneth@thefuturenigeria.com BEFORE Wednesday, 24 March 2010; including your name and phone number.
Note: 

  • Only 20 spaces are available so apply early to stand a chance. 
  • You must be aged 30 and below to be a part of this. 
  • TOTALLY free for those who register early.

For more information, call 08022226712. 

Sentinel Call for Submissions...

This is to announce the call for submissions for the second edition of the Sentinel Nigeria literary magazine due out on May 15th 2010. We are accepting submissions in the categories of Prose, Poetry, Drama, Essay and Literary Criticism. If your work is original and distinctl, if you feel you should be in the avant-garde of writing – then the Sentinel Nigeria Magazine is your natural proving ground.

For more information, visit Sentinel here.

Deadline for submission is March 31. So why not plan to contribute to this issue?

Thursday, March 18, 2010

What is a Poet?

Hello everyone, I stumbled on this very sweet poem by e.e.cummings about poetry. I feel it was so cool and true. What do you think? Tell us your favourite definition of poetry, it could be by you or someone else. Enjoy!!!
  What is a Poet?
   
   A poet is somebody who feels, and who expresses
   his feelings through words.
     This may sound easy.  It isn't.
     A lot of people think or believe or know they
   feel -- but that's thinking or believing or
   knowing; not feeling.  and poetry is feeling --
   not knowing or believing or thinking.
     Almost anybody can learn to think or believe
   or know, but not a single human being can be
   taught to feel.  Why?  Because whenever you think
   or you believe or you know, you're a lot of other
   people;  but the moment you feel, you're 
   NOBODY-BUT-YOURSELF. e.e.cummings

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I Love Publishing Perspectives and StoryMoja

Well in my internet 'wakabout' I came across these two interesting websites. Not that this is my first time any way but it just occurred to me to share reasons why I love them with you. I hope you find perspectives in Publishing Perspectives and interesting stories and writers' lessons from StoryMoja.

Publishing Perspective: An international online publishing newsletter, PP delivers daily opinion about the industry from top members of the global publishing community, a look at the innovators and issues who are shaping the future of the business, as well as news and links from around the Web and the world. With PP, you get a peep into the world of publishing internationally.

StoryMoja: I am not Kenyan but I love StoryMoja. One must commend the efforts of the brains behind this website. There's a lot to gain from it as a budding writer. C'mon dig in.

The good thing about these websites is that you can subscribe to their newsletters to stay on top of the latest gist. So click, read and connect. 

Monday, March 15, 2010

Now is the Time to Act...

Sincerely, this is not the best of times to be a proud Nigerian. In less than, four months, we've made headlines for all  the wrong reasons.Yes, there have been one or two reasons to smile but just as you are about sleeping with that smile, some sad news rears its head from a corner. These are not times to fold hands and look. These are not times to watch others create an image that's not ours for us. These are not times to stay silent as people get power drunk and take other peoples' lives. This is the time for a majority to make them representatives who only 'warm' political offices responsible for the votes they got from us. This is the time for them to be accountable. Even as 2011 beckons, as another election year draws closer, we have to make them know that Enough is Enough!


Enough is Enough: A Youth Rally
This is a call to action – a way you can make your voice heard! If you are tired of the power cuts; tired of the fuel queues; tired of the bad tags Nigeria has earned in recent times; tired of living in a 'headless' nation running around like a 'headless' chicken; if you are ready to take your life from them greedy politicians then Enough just has to be Enough! Then, you should be part of this rally if you can!

Did you know that, in Nigeria, young people are in the majority? Did you know that young people below 35 make up more than 70 per cent of the population? You know what that means? It means we have the power to actually make things happen! So, how come we are doing nothing about the many problems that have hit our nation in the past few months? Is it enough to make noise on Facebook, Twitter, websites, BBMs, blogs and others where no one is listening? How come it’s the Wole Soyinkas, the Femi Falanas and the Tunde Bakares that are fighting for us? Why do we allow ourselves to be branded as the do-nothing generation? The time to “siddon look” is over… Will you stand up and be counted? We have made our choice. We want our country back. And we must get it. It is time for our voices t o be heard, and heard loud and long.

This is a first-of-its-kind rally right there at the seat of power in Abuja . However, this rally is unique because it will be completely powered by young people – young professionals, young celebrities, students, activists and others. We want history to record that this was the point that the young people in Nigeria began to drive fear into the hearts of our leaders and began to make change happen.

It is going to be a MASSIVE rally of hundreds of young Nigerians from across the country saying #enoughisenough! We invite you to sign up to join this rally now if you are angry about what is happening in Nigeria.

Date: TUESDAY, 16 MARCH 2010

Venue:  EAGLE SQUARE, ABUJA                           Rally Time: 11AM

If you want to be part of this movement, register on www.whereisyaradua.com now! The registration form is there, and further information and updates are there. To get any further information, send a mail to info@whereisyaradua.com and info@thefuturenigeria.com.

Even if you are unable to attend, we would appreciate your financial help (we have a budget of N1.4 million to cover transportation, water, banners, truck with music/public address system, and placards. We are looking for persons willing to donate a minimum of N5,000 to the EnoughisEnough project. If you require any clarifications please do not hesitate to get in touch: 0803 337 6685

This is our country; our duty; our future. Join this movement now!

Read Tolu Ogunlesi's articles about this and more on CNN and Next


Jos still writhes in pains from the latest sectarian crisis, they need all the help they can get. One easy way you can help is by getting Western Union to allow free transfer of funds to Jos. The little we can do now is to join their FB fan page. Write on their wall. If they delete it, write it again. 

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop, 2010

As usual, Farafina Trust will be holding a creative writing workshop in Lagos, organized by award-winning writer and creative director of Farafina Trust, Chimamanda Adichie, from May 20 to May 29 2010. The workshop is sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc. Guest writers who will co-teach the workshop alongside Adichie are the Caine Prize Winning Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina, Chika Unigwe winner of a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship for creative writing, South African writer Niq Mhlongo and celebrated Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo.

The workshop will take the form of a class. Participants will be assigned a wide range of reading exercises, as well as daily writing exercises. The aim of the workshop is to improve the craft of Nigerian writers and to encourage published and unpublished writers by bringing different perspectives to the art of storytelling. Participation is limited only to those who apply and are accepted.

To apply, send an e-mail to Udonandu2010@gmail.com

Your e-mail subject should read ‘Workshop Application.’

The body of the e-mail should contain the following:
1. Your Name
2. Your address
3. A few sentences about yourself
4. A writing sample of between 200 and 800 words. The sample must be either fiction or non-fiction.

All material must be pasted or written in the body of the e-mail. Please Do NOT include any attachments in your e-mail. Applications with attachments will be automatically disqualified. Deadline for submissions is April 22 2010. Only those accepted to the workshop will be notified by May 6 2010. Accommodation in Lagos will be provided for all accepted applicants who are able to attend for the ten-day duration of the workshop. A literary evening of readings, open to the public, will be held at the end of the workshop.

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani Wins the Commonwealth Writers Prize...Africa Region

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani has won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in the Africa Region for her novel, I Do Not Come To You By Chance. The win was announced by the Commonwealth Foundation in South Africa earlier today. South African writer Marie Heese was also declared the Africa Regional winner in the Best Book category.

Nwaubani's winning book, published by Cassava Republic tells the story of a young man drawn into the clandestine world of Nigerian advance fee fraud, better known as ‘419'. The overall winner will be announced in New Delhi, India, on April 12.

Also as Jos still writhes in pains from the latest sectarian crisis, they need all the help they can get. One easy way you can help is by getting Western Union to allow free transfer of funds to Jos. The little we can do now is to join their FB fan page. Write on their wall. If they delete it, write it again. Do you have any other ideas of how this can be done? Pray tell. Thank you :-)

Friday, March 12, 2010

Flash 500 Competition

Prizes: 1st £250, 2nd £100, 3rd £50.

Entry fee: £5 for one story or £8 for two stories.

Payment can be made by PayPal or creit card via the competition website.

Stories should be no longer than 500 words. A word count must be given at the end of the story. The title does not form part of the word count.

Click here for more details.

Closing Date: 31st March 2010.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Writers' Opportunities...

Witness Magazine calls for submissions. Would be great if you read pieces from their current issue

The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship: Full-time, part-time or freelance journalists working on human rights or social justice issues are eligible for the IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship. Recipients spend nine months in a tailor-made academic research program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The fellowship is named for the 1998 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner and Boston Globe correspondent who was killed in Iraq in May 2003.

Open and Wide Magazine calls for Content Coordinator, Fiction and Poetry Editors. Positions are on a voluntary long-term basis. Open Wide publishes simply for the love of getting people’s work seen and read. You will need to be able to commit to a few solid hours on several days in the run up to publication. We must stress that your dedication is vital to the smooth running of the magazine. Please register your interest, experience and who you are and why you’d like to help us to: connect@openwidemagazine.co.uk 

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Saraba, AW and A Thank You Note

Okay as usual, we are always sneaking around the internet for what's new and hot in the world of literature. This week, you have two online magazines, a short story and a winning essay, served hot and fresh. Enjoy!

Saraba Mag is one and they celebrate with an anniversary issue. Very rich with interesting memoirs, short stories and interviews.

African Writing Online is such a good one too, with many interesting interviews. BTW, that's their last 'fully' online edition. They are going to be in print. Yay!

Read Chika Unigwe's short story 'Those Safe Hands of His' in Open Wide Magazine.

BTW, Temitayo Olofinlua won the WLP Essay Contest. This is a thank you note from the Bookaholic Ladies. Thank you for all the support. Read the winning essay, On Fear.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Bookaholic Temitayo Needs Your Votes :-)

It's been fun for us doing this blog. And this is not about quitting though it sounds like the first lines when bloggers want to say goodbye. We are so many other things than Bookaholics, we write (that's very obvious by now!); we also enter for writing competitions.

This is about one of such competitions. It's also about Temitayo one of the Bookaholics. It's so exciting that she's been selected as a finalist of the WLP essay competition :--)

Would be great if you can read the essay here and comment on it. It doesn't end there blog about it, tweet about it, facebook it, forward it to your friends. There's the Audience Choice Award for the essay with the most comments. Your comments count much for her, and you would have extended the boundaries, in a way.

Time is not on our hands, we only today left for the votes. So what you waiting for? CLICK! READ! COMMENT!

Some Excerpts from the Essay.

"A woman’s fate is determined by men and women who play God. Her first gift is a doll-named-Baby with which she rehearses home maker, wife and mother. She is groomed to be a ‘proper woman’ — the silent one when the men are talking. All these in preparation for her husband’s house; is that not where all ‘good’ women end? A woman’s worth is defined first by her father, then her husband and last by the children she bears. She’s more blessed if she bore boys. If it’s a girl child, irrespective of her career success, she has to follow her mother’s steps. A ‘good woman’ doesn’t break the cycle! That’s not all, these ‘inequality gods’ add spice to her lifespan with other tough stops like the lack of freedom of choice; gender discrimination; rape and assaults of all kind. A woman should not allow these ‘inequality gods’, be they spiritual, economic, political or social, to script her life and that of her daughters."

"In Buchi Emecheta’s Joys of Motherhood, Nnu Ego the main character laments when she realizes that she has lived for others but herself. To quote her, “God when will you create a woman who will be fulfilled in herself, a full human being, not anybody’s appendage?” In response, that complete woman is you and me—educated or illiterate; rich or poor regardless of nationality. For ‘complete women’ to live in a gender equal world, courage is important.
As a woman, learn that nobody will give you equality.
You just have to decide that you are taking it.
Be fearless and then take it!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Slice and Dice...

This is just a sneak to give you an idea of what you'd get at the Vagina Monologues. Enjoy!


VOICE: In many parts of our country, there is an unabated custom. It is the shortening or the entire total removal of the clitoris, which has more nerve endings than any other part of the human body and gives great sexual pleasure to the female.  Those who practice it call it female circumcision.They say that it is the only way to prevent a woman from being promiscuous and only prostitutes refuse circumcision. Prostitutes and white people. It is the white man who refers to it as female genital mutilation. Those who advocate for its the excision of the clitoris are from all walks of life. They are educated and, they are illiterate, they are bankers and they are traders. They say the clitoris encourages promiscuity and will lead to a woman moving from man to man, seeking sexual gratification. Sex during the day, Sex during theat night, Sex in the house, Sex in the market; never satisfied, always itchying, always hungry for more. The surest way of rearing a ‘come and do’, an unbridled female who seeks sex wantonly, they say, is to leave the clitoris as it was made. It is the devil’s mark and if not removed, must lead its carrier to the devil’s front door. 

WOMAN: (In response) They neglect to say there is no evil in pleasure. No one has ever shortened the head of a man’s penis, an appendage full of nerve ends, because they do not want men to be promiscuous. 

ALL WOMEN: (Thoughtfully) Hmmmm… 

WOMAN: The least that can happen to the woman who has her clitoris chopped off, is the deprivation of the full possibilities of sexual pleasure for the rest of her life: . Aa life sentence of never actually ‘“getting there’.”. In some cases, horrific injuries are done to the vagina of the female being ‘“corrected”, partscorrected’, parts of the labia are sliced off and , deformities occur. People without orthodox medical experience sit and slice, cut and dice. They remould and play God, these people 

WOMAN 1: killjoys 
WOMAN 2: slashers 
WOMAN 3: destroyers of pleasure 
WOMAN 4: mutilators. 

WOMAN: What would you think, if upon birth your hand was chopped off because there was the possibility you might steal or take something that didn’t belong to you? In that case, we all should have one hand or none, because at some point in time, you (she pointspointing at the audience) and you and you have taken someone else’s property, whether it be a book you forgot to return, or a spouse you coveted and took from its first owner. 

The women of Igbuzor know what I am saying. In that place, the clitoris is not removed until a woman gets pregnant and the pregnancy is at an advanced stage. (Pregnant Woman is brought up kicking and screaming and laid spread-eagled) 

Then, she has her clitoris removed. It must not touch the head of the child that is coming into the world.  A woman who has tasted the possibilities of pleasure has everything taken away from her. The clitoris is not an appendix that is removed because it serves no purpose. It is there to give pleasure. Pleasure is a good thing and we have no reason to apologise for it. If you will not cut off your finger to please me, let my clitoris be. It does you no harm.

Watch the Vagina Monologues vs. Tarzan Monologues at Terrakulture every Sunday in March. 

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Vagina Monologues...Again!

V-Monologues has been around for a while now. Read a review of last year's performance here. It's here again. The Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) will put on a benefit performance of the critically acclaimed “V-monologues: the Nigerian story” throughout the month of March. The play is aimed at raising awareness about various aspects of violence women and girls face in Nigeria. This year’s version however, will have a new twist to it with the addition of monologues written and performed by men. It's called “The Ultimate Face-off: V-Monologues vs. Tarzan Monologues”

Actresses include a stellar cast of old and new champions from previous performances of the V-monologues. They include Kate Henshaw Nuttal, Stella Damascus, Carol Adoghe-King, Ireti Doyle, Kemi lala Akindoju, Ayo Adunni Orobiyi, Bimbo Emmanuel, Kenneth Uphopho Kunle Adeyoola (of Rooftop MCs), Paul Alumona and Sola Roberts Iwaotan. 

Through the project, KIND has raised over N2,000,000 Naira for six organizations working with battered women, victims of vesico-vagina fistula and sexually abused children. The play begins March 7th at Terra-Kulture’s Theatre-at-Terra throughout the month of March at 3pm and 6pm. 


Get ready to laugh, think and maybe cry! And of course contribute your bit for girls and women.