Eleven Nigerian, foreign poets join Soyinka at ProvidusBank World Poetry Day Café 2026 March 19
By Editor
ON the occasion of World Poetry Day 2026, four foreign-based poets will join seven of their counterparts from Nigeria on Thursday, March 19 to celebrate the power of words and essence of freedom in line with the theme ‘Power & Order: Freedom & Illusion.’ Scheduled for the recently commissioned Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos Mainland, the event will have each of the poets present his or her reflection on the theme either through reading of the text, or spoken word performances before a distinguished audience that would comprise eminent corporate executives, members of the creative community and as well the general public.
World Poetry Day was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999 to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to increase opportunities for languages, especially those that are endangered to be heard. Each year, the day serves as a global reminder of poetry’s unique ability to capture the human experience, challenge injustice, and inspire communities. And Since 2020, Providus Bank, under its CSR initiative – ‘Providus Bank Poetry Café’ — has hosted the celebration of Poetry Day, curated by the Culture Advocates Caucus (CAC) with the direction of Mr. Jahman Anikulapo, under the supervision of the Nobel laureate and former UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Professor Wole Soyinka.
Officially titled ProvidusBank World Poetry Day Café: An Evening with Wole Soyinka, past editions explored themes relating to humanity’s existential concerns, among them preservation of the environment, education, youth and female empowerment, migration and socio-cultural pluralism.
Joining Soyinka on stage are four guest-poets from outside of Nigeria: Yolanda Castano (Spain), Valter Hugo Mae (Angola/Portugal), Maryam Palizban (Iranian/German) and Mohsen Emadi (Iranian/Mexican). From Nigeria are Dike Chukwumerije (Abuja), Abdulalazeez Sirajo Alli (Niger), Ayomide Fasedu (Lagos), Nwani Emmanuel Chidera (Port Harcourt), Pacella Chukwuma-Eke (Abuja), Tobi Abiodun (Lagos) and Hafsat Abdullahi (Abuja). Each of the poets will be reading or performing his/her work before the audience in a concert atmosphere.
The theme of this year’s edition, ‘Power and Order: Freedom and Illusions’, is designed as a session of reflection on the forces that shape society, the nature of order and freedom, and the illusions that sustain power in a conflicted world. The event is designed not only as a literary gathering but also as a cultural moment that reaffirms the importance of creativity, intellectual freedom, and the arts in national development.
Poets on parade
POET, essayist, editor and curator Castaño is the most renowned name in Galician contemporary poetry. Winner of Spanish National Award for Poetry 2023, highest honor for a poet in Spain, she has published eight poetry collections in Galician and Spanish, but also solo poetry volumes in English, Italian, French, Slovenian, Macedonian, Serbian, Catalan, Asturian, Greek, Polish and Armenian, apart from shorter samples of her work in other 30 different languages. Director of her own international writer’s residence in Galicia, she has participated in festivals and literary manifestations all over more than 40 countries of Europe, America, Asia and Africa. Two times Winner of the National Critics Award, the Ojo Crítico (best poetry book by a young author in Spain), the Estandarte Award (best poetry collection in Spain in 2020) or Galician Culture Award, among many others, she has been awarded international fellowships as a writer-in-residence in Greece, Germany, China, Scotland, Spain, Finland, California, Turkey and France. She is also the author of translations, non-fiction, literary editions, history of Galician Poetry and seven poetry books for children. Castano has mixed poetry with music, visual arts, video, architecture, cookery, film in 360º, comic and dance. She can be reached on Facebook as yolandacastanopoesia and Instagram as castano_yolanda.
POET and novelist, Hugo is a renowned Portuguese writer, whose works have been translated and published in more than 20 countries. He achieved public recognition in 2007 when he won the José Saramago Prize, considered to be the most prestigeous literary prize in Portuguese language. During the prize ceremony, José Saramago said his novel is a “tsunami (…) changing and fertilizing literature forevermore” He has published many volumes of poetry collectiions. Born in Henrique de Carvalho, in colonial Angola, he spent his childhood in Paços de Ferreira, and in 1980 he moved to Vila do Conde. He graduated in Law, and did post-graduate work in Modern and Contemporary Portuguese literature. Besides writing, he has dedicated effort to drawing, with a first public exhibition in 2007 in Porto, and also to music, being the singer in the band O Governo. Recentely one of his most famous books became a Netflix movie in a brazilian production, The Son of a Thousand Men, staring Hollywood actor Rodrigo Santoro.Mãe is praised for his intense prose style and evocative exploration of human vulnerability.
POET, scholar, and actress, Palizban is an author and the curator of the 3 Days to Liberation festival. Her work stands at the intersection of performance, religion, and cultural theory, exploring the body as a site of ritual and resistance. Having published two volumes of poetry in Persian, she regularly releases new work in both Persian and German. She earned her PhD from Freie Universität Berlin and the ZfL; her monograph, The Performativity of Killing (Kadmos, 2017), examined martyrdom and Shiite theatricality. A celebrated figure in Iranian cinema, her acclaimed roles include Deep Breath (Cannes), Fat Shaker (Rotterdam), Lantouri, and Roya (both Berlinale). Beyond her research and fellowships at Schloss Wiepersdorf and the Käte Hamburger Kolleg, she is active in feminist collectives, bridging the gap between academic inquiry and transformative social practice through a poetic and political lens. She can be reached on Instagram @maryampalizbanofficial | 3daystoliberation.de/
POET, translator, programmer and filmmaker, Emadi, Iranian/Mexican, has published among other poetry books: La flor en los renglones; We never talked about her eyes; Las leyes de gravedad; and Sonata en la ceniza; as well as the book of conversations with Clara Janés and Antonio Gamoneda, De la realidad y la poesía. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies and his poetry has been translated into several languages. His work has received various awards, including International Prize of poesìa de miedo (Casa del Poeta, Trasmoz, Spain, 2010), the FILI Scholarship (Finnish Literature Exchange, Finland, 2010), and the VI Poets of Other Worlds Distinction (International Poetic Fund, 2015). As a filmmaker, he has directed several poetic documentaries. He is founder/editor of Persian Anthology of World Poetry. He holds a BSc in Computer Engineering from Sharif University of Technology; MA in Digital Culture from University of Jyvaskyla and, PhD in Comparative Literature from National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
SPOKEN Word, performance poet and award-winning author, Dike, though a trained lawyer, is a leading light of the Nigerian and African poetry circuits. With eight published books to his credit, his poetry and theatre production – Made In Nigeria – has toured extensively around Nigeria. He is the Managing Director of Simply Poetry Ltd, the Executive Director of Simply Poetry Foundation, and the Founder of the Dike Chukwumerije Center. Dike is a practitioner and advocate of Socially Conscious Art. He has won several poetry grand slams in Nigeria including the maiden edition of the African Poet (Nigeria) Grand Slam competition. Since 2013, he has hosted and directed the annual Night of the Spoken Word (NSW) as part of a movement to insert performance poetry into Nigeria’s mainstream pop culture. He also hosts Open Mic performances which include a mix of acts from readings of short stories by their authors to musical performances, poetry and spoken word acts. He can be reached on Facebook @ dike.chukwumerije and X @ @dmerije.
POET, known for blending Sufism, surrealism and eroticism, Sabouke’s poetry explores themes of spiritual and sensual self-discovery, love and the human experience, often incorporating provocative imagery. A joint winner of the 2016 WRR Green Author Prize, his notable works include Rainbows and Fireflies (2016, Authorpedia), A Meccan Spring (2023, Konya Shamsrumi) and Seeking Barhama (2025, NIRPRI). His anticipated full collection, Waistbeads and Rosaries, which bridges the gap between the carnal and the celestial, will be released oN March 31, 2026, by Masobe. Through his evocative verses, Sabouke continues to challenge conventional boundaries, establishing himself as a distinct and daring voice within contemporary Nigerian literature and mystical poetry. Critics praise his unique style, which draws heavily on Sufi mysticism and eroticism. Sabouke suggests a seeker can find the divine through the body of a woman. He is a former Managing Editor of Konya Shamsrumi.
AVID storyteller and poet telling conscious personal stories through poetry, performance, music, and film, Benin City-born Tobi is heavily influenced by his upbringing. Best known for popularising the use of ‘pidgin’ through his performances, his short story ‘Eyes Like the Burning End of a Cigarette’ was long-listed for the PIN Prize for fiction, and his poems have appeared in NantyGreens, Animal Press, Feral, Komorebi Magazine, Malimbe magazine, and others. He has performed at the Poetry Africa Festival in Durban, the Lagos International Poetry Festival (LIPFest) and the Global Literary Festival Conference, earning poetry slam titles and awards from prestigious Nigerian literary bodies. He has shared his work on BBC Radio, London, produced spoken word for Guinness Nigeria, Oando PLC, and Hewlett-Packard, and co-created Oriona, a poetry film series. He is the founder of Before the Silence, a virtual poetry workshop with alumni across the USA and Europe. He c be reached on Instagram: toby_abiodun and X: abiodun_toby.
POET and short story writer, Chukwuma-Eke, author of Love in its Bliss and Sins, is first runner-up for the Nigerian Prize for Teen Authors (Poetry Category) and The Apocalypse, winner of the African Human Rights Inter-Versity Essay Competition, Utopia Award (Poetry Category), Cradle Poetry Contest, HCAF Creative Writing Award for Excellence, Efe Paul Azino Prize, D’Lit Review Writing contest, and others. She is currently a consecutive slam champion, a Sundress Best of the Nets nominee, and a two-time Pushcart nominee. She has been shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize, Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize, Hyginus Ekwazi Prize for Poetry, Kudo Eresia-Eke Prize for Performance Poetry, Labari Prize for Poetry, and others. Her works have been published in several literary magazines, including Eunoia Review, Lolwe, Strange Horizons, Poetry Sango ota, Certain Age magazine, Roughcut Press, IHRAM Publishes, Poetry Column NND, and elsewhere. She is a member of the Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation. She can be reached on Instagram: @pacellachukwumaeke and X: @PacellaEke.
A multi-disciplinary creator, poet and designer with the pseudonym ‘Grey Martyr’, Chidera is a member of the GANDS collective, and co-founder of Eden, a literary hub in Owerri aimed at grooming budding writers. He was winner of the Lagos International Poetry Festival, LIPfest Poetry Grandslam 2024. As National Poetry Slam Champion, he represented Nigeria at the World Slam 2025 and African Slam Cup 2025. Also winner of the K.E.E.P prize 2026, he has performed and made installations in reputable art festivals across the country, such as the Abuja International Poetry Festival 2024, ÌMÍ-The Offering 2025/2026, Lagos Fringe Festival 2025, Port-Harcourt Poetry Festival 2023/2024. His works have been published on Horizon Maps Second Poetic Anthology of the Border Book Fair, 2025 Sande Poetry Prize Long List. Grey Martyr believes art is necessary and a powerful language in shaping culture and memory. He can be reached on Instagram: greymartyr and Facebook: greymartyr
SPOKEN word poet, prolific writer, and editor, Ayomide (brand name Mide Fash), made her debut as a self-published author in 2022 with The Ashes Have Their Own Stories, which was shortlisted twice for literary awards, including the 2022 SPRINGNG Women Author’s Prize. Her writing is centred around women, engaging with themes of healing, femininity, queerness, social justice, and Nigerianism. Deeply inspired by her earthy roots and rich literary background, she draws inspiration from love and chaos. Also, a sound engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and singer, she made her entry into the music scene under the moniker ‘Mide Fash’. Her musical work is Afro-Soul, Neo-Soul, Afro EDM, Alternative R&B, and House Music. She has worked with reputable organisations like Heinrich Böll on multiple projects. She was the first runner-up at The Lagos International Poetry Festival in 2022, winner of the Wordaholics Poetry Slam in 2018, Best Performer at Terra Kulture in 2018, and Best Essayist at Saint Titus Initiative in 2017.
A multi-award-winning performance poet, Hafsat affectionately known as Havfy, is a passionate writer, creative visionary, and fashion enthusiast. She uses her poetry as a tool for change in her community and on the world stage. With over one million followers across social media platforms, she uses her voice and influence to advocate for music, women and girls, and young people in underrepresented communities. Through her poetry and advocacy, she has captured the attention of global institutions including TEDx, World Bank, UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Security Council, UNAIDS, USAID, and Pediatric AIDS, among others. Also a United Nations Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Global Youth Leader for Education with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and a proud member of the Grammy Recording Academy, her bold and thought-provoking style dissects complex issues; transforming them into conversations that inspire awareness, empathy, and action. Her goal is changing the world, one metaphor at a time. She can be reached on Instagram: @_havfy, Facebook: @Havfy|, T-Tok: @_havfy, Threads: @_havfy and LinkedIn: Hafsat Abdullahi_Havfy.
