Warsanshire is certainly one of my favourite poets. Her poem ‘for women who are difficult to love’ seems to have become an anthem to many of us of a certain generation. Her words are simple yet not simplistic but also dealing with very complex themes and situations. Perhaps it is what makes the work […]
Sometime late last year, i presented a two part radio documentary for BBC Radio4 titled ‘Writing a new Nigeria’. I had a great time interviewing and speaking with lots of poets and writers. It’s so unfortunate when making programmes that you have to become very shrewd with killing your darling. This means that lots […]
My first encounter with the South African poet Natalia Molebatsi was sometime in 2012 at the Jozi house of poetry when i attended a workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa. We have spent time together every year ever since. At the Yari Yari Ntoaso women’s conference in Ghana, then Ake festival in Abeokuta and this […]
It’s no secret that we come from a seemingly conservative society but it is also quite secretive. I have been thinking a lot about how Nigerian women deal with pain, shame, grief, depression and everything else that we speak about in hush tones. For some reason the poem ‘The Darkness’ was born out of […]
This week of Words and Inspirations we feature the poet TJ Dema from Botswana and Obii Ifejika from Nigeria. The first time i heard TJ Dema was on the collective project Sonic Slam Chorus that also featured Zimbabwean poet DicksonSlam. Her seering poem ‘Dear Africa’ had left me hooked ever since. As you can […]
Titilope Sonuga just concluded her poetry show at the Muson centre to thundering applause. In this episode of Words and Inspirations, the Intel she will connect ambassador shares with us the title piece ‘Becoming’ which has got many young women on social media quoting stanza’s and chiming along every time she performs.
Something i have found interesting is how people connect and engage with art. I have always loved how we can peel off the layers to find the motivations to many beautiful works of art. This is why i started recording the series Words and Inspirations. I have finally gotten round to recording a new […]
By Wana Udobang I wonder if hearts need a home I wonder if they are built like vagabonds I wonder if hearts can weather storms I wonder if they can ride big waves My heart is brittle from the cold outside your door My heart yearns for the warmth of your home A poet […]
When it comes to poetry envy, after Warsanshire, it has to be Titilope Sonuga. Her words are so vivid you feel like you can taste them. Titi’s latest offering are a compendium on her thoughts on the terrorist bombings that have been going on in Nigeria and of course the case of the two […]
So i finally recorded a few more videos for the ‘Words and Inspirations’ series. It is five videos in total so please subscribe to my channel and feel free to share. It is www.youtube.com/misswanawana Not for sale is an ode to love. I wanted to do something that wasn’t typically dark and torturous. I […]