Paper Prose

Book cover- Amazon.com Imagine what it feels like to be white-skinned, and thrust at the centre of a city like Lagos, one of the most populous cities in Africa, where foreigners are common in some parts, but rare in most. The protagonist, Furo, a Nigerian from the Niger Delta wakes up suddenly one day to find himself, for some reason, a white man. He tries to cope with this new identity, as it charts a whole new course for his life to follow. Because of this newfound ‘advantage’, opportunities open up to him abundantly, yet the whiteness was not without its own challenges, for example, being automatically assumed for a wealthy person, or being stared at incessantly. There’s a catch. Though the protagonist is now white-skinned, his buttocks remain black, to his embarrassment and annoyance. He tries to deal with this problem in various ways, yet without success. To the normal observer, Furo looks like an average ‘oyibo’ (foreigner). Yet, the presence of his blackass remai

In Lagos you don't talk to strangers You do not answer when Someone calls 'Sister!' or 'Brother' By the roadside, in a park, in a market Lest you become something strange- Something else Don't help that old woman pick her money from the floor Or else you'll turn into a yam tuber If you help that man pass his bus fare He will make you disappear Like magic Don't give alms to beggars They will surely transfer their infirmities to you Because they are that powerful The lame will walk home rejoicing, while  You are left to wonder what suddenly happened To your legs If someone stops in their metal-on-tyres To ask for directions You'd better not answer them! Next thing you have been TAKEN And Liam Neeson won't come for you In fact, if you like yourself Just stay in your house Don't answer any visitors Don't come out

Year : 2016 Director : Mira Nair Producer : John B. Carls Screenwriter : William Wheeler Cast : Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo Genre : Biographical, Drama, Sports Based on the ESPN article and book by Tim Crothers Phiona Mutesi, a young girl from the slums of Katwe, Uganda, discovers chess, and with the help of her coach, Robert Katende, becomes a prodigy, overcoming numerous obstacles. Rating: 4/5 Phiona Mutesi(Nalwanga) lives with her mother(Nyong’o) and siblings in a hovel in katwe. Life is tough and they barely scrape by. One day, she discovers a group of children playing chess, tutored by Robert Katende(Oyelowo). This discovery leads Phiona into a realm of greater possibilities, as she masters the game, despite not being able to read. Katende sees the potential in her, and takes her under his wing, training her for greater aspirations, like representing the whole country internationally. This was the first movie I ever we

  Photo cred: Howng.com     You are dramatic You are loud You are exciting, full of life You are formidable Tight columns of machines Fender to bumper, stand-still Water Badagry, Ologe and Elegbeta You are abundant You are beautiful Tomato reds, Danfo-yellow Night lights You thrive Thick market crowds Like a giant colony of busy ants You are high maintenance Classy lady sipping a Cocktail By the pool in the 5-star hotel You are savage A wild horse Dangerous But you are home

The other day Oma was peeing blood Crimson rivulets streaming Down the cement into the latrine I knew because she showed me She said, Mama, mama and she was quiet What is the essence of dying? Who gets to live off our suffering? Do not make room for an unwanted guest Lest he become an intruder Don’t let him stay the night Or he brings others- sickness, Pain, and Death And your house collapses And everything you have is gone Hunger is an angry thing It devours everything in its path My Oma left today I held her cold body to my thin chest Caressed the tufts of yellow hair on her swollen head I laid her near her brothers I twist the rope in my hands Obiageli! – a familiar voice I turn to the empty house- no one I walk ahead, lifting my eyes to see At last, a tall tree A relief

    The 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize is open for entries. The Prize is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000–5,000 words) in English written by a citizen of a  Commonwealth country . All stories submitted must be unpublished, but both unpublished and published writers are eligible to apply. The competition is free to enter. The international judging panel comprises one judge from each of the five regions – Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Please note that while the entries will be judged regionally, all judges will read and deliberate on entries from all regions. Regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives £5,000. Short stories translated into English from all other languages are eligible. We also accept entries in the original Bengali, Kiswahili, Portuguese and Samoan. Download the entry and eligibility guidelines here , Submit your story via the online entry form, availab

Jalada Africa , a pan-African writers' collective, has partnered with Transition Magazine , a publication of the Hutchins Center at Harvard University to publish a collaborative issue on the theme of Fear. Materials selected for this issue will be available in print and digital editions of issue 123, forthcoming June 2017. From fear as weaponized terror, to the fear of the Other, the fear of love, the fear of death, the fear of failure, of success, of spiders, crowds, heights, closed spaces etc., fear is a diverse topic. Submissions of fiction, poetry, prose and visual art on all aspects of this dynamic force, covering themes as varied as recent global events to philosophical and fantastical treatments of the subject are welcome. 1. Each story has to be sent as a separate Microsoft Word attachment, in the .doc format (no PDFs) ad clearly labeled with the story title and the names of the writer and/or translator. 2. Make sure to include the word, “Fear” in

Hello Poets! The Brunel Prize for African Poetry (2017) is now open for entries! Prize: £3000 Deadline: December 1st, 2016 Requirements: It is open to poets who were born in Africa, or whose parents are African, or who are citizens of any African country. The poems may be published or unpublished. Poets who have self-published poetry books, chapbooks or pamphlets are allowed to submit. However poets who have already had a full-length book of poems published are not eligible. Only poems written in English will be accepted. Each entrant must submit 10 poems. No poem should exceed 40 lines. Submit your poems to BUAPP@brunel.ac.uk in a single word document attachment with a cover page that contains: Entrants' name Entrants' nationality Country of birth Full address Personal email address Telephone number The shortlist will be announced March 6th 2017. The winner would be announced on May 2nd 2017 Past winners of this prize are Warsan Shire in 2013,

Year : 2016 Director : J. Blakeson Producers : Tobey Maguire, Graham King, Matthew Plouffe, Lynn Harris  Screenwriter : Susannah Grant, Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinkner Cast: Chloe Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Alex Roe Genre : Science fiction, Thriller Based on the novel by Rick Yancey Aliens come to earth to occupy it while attacking its occupants.AWDS Cassie Sullivan, a teenager tries to reunite with her little brother, and with the aid of others, rescue the remainder of the human race. Rating: 2/5 s tars An alien ship arrives on earth, settling over Ohio, US. All is calm at first until they hit the humans with “waves” of destruction, drastically reducing the earth’s population. Their real agenda to appropriate the earth from the humans is eventually revealed, as they release the final and fifth “wave”-taking out the rest of the human race. Cassie Sullivan, on the lookout for her own life, tries to reunite with her little brother, Sam. She is assisted by Ben,

TWO FORTY-FIVE   It was undeniable that travelling was in Shile’s blood. His mother always said that even as an infant, he could scarcely always be found where he was placed, often wandering off  on hands and feet to the nearest exit. When he was barely twelve, he ran away from Ibadan to his uncle’s house in Lagos, his savings just enough for the fare. Shile had dreams of visiting every continent in the world before he was thirty. However it seemed the dream was about to be cut off, as he stared into the barrel of an armed robbers’ handgun. “You be deaf and dumb? I say bring out your money!” Typically Shile didn’t travel with cash. Even his luggage was light. He was travelling from Port Harcourt to Abuja for a wedding. “I no get money” “You say wetin? You think say we be mumu”, the masked robber pressed the gun to Shile’s temple. He felt the cold metal on his sweaty skin. The Journey had been going smoothly since they left Port Harcourt. He had decided to t