Soyinka @90: When poets celebrated patron saint with Gallery Poetry Slam
By Eriata Oribhabor
THE honour of curating the Poets in Nigeria’s Gallery Poetry Slam, sponsored by LVI Gallery and Cultural Nexus, Lekki on 13th July, 2024 and a Virtual Poetry Reading in honour of Prof Wole Soyinka on 14th July, 2024 respectively will remain etched in my memory and that of participants at both events. While the Gallery Poetry Slam was sizzlingly hot and cool, the reading was warm, educating, entertaining and loaded with encomiums for a man whose “gift of grey wits and socio-cultural strength” will eternally serve as a fountain of inspiration for generations of Nigerians and literary minds across the world. A Nobel laureate and global literary Icon, the Professor would love all poems written and superbly rendered in his honour. In view of the different activities being celebrated in his honour at this season, we weren’t expecting him to feature at our event, but was certain that his personality would palpably loom large before and over us all.
According to the moderator of PIN Literary Celebration of Wole Soyinka @90, Adekunle-Oguntoyinbo Shola Phebian, “The anthology is a literary offering in celebration of our literary icon Professor Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka and to the blossoming world of literary creativity”. Furthermore, she said inter alia, “…the poems look at decades of multidimensional conscientisation of people for socio-cultural development in Nigeria and around the world”.
Anchored by Shola Phebian and Prof. Ola Ifatimehin of Bayero University, Kano, it was a great event that saw poet-contributors render their poems with gusto.
The event centre for this epic celebration, Gallery Poetry Slam, was formally opened by the CEO LVI Gallery and Cultural Nexus, Mr. Julius Iyoghiojie. He expressed excitement at the presence of young and upcoming artists in poetry slam, saying he was happy that his intervention/sponsorship was well placed. It was a unique slam that saw both the established and upcoming spoken word poets lifting the audience with powerful performances.
Finally, the following poets emerged as the top three winners Oludasa Olawale Olubade who came first, Jay Sukpa second and Abimbola Abdulwaris came third. Judges for the poetry slam were Adekunle-Oguntoyinbo Shola Phebian, Paul Word and Yusuf Balogun Gemini.
Oribhabor, a much published poet and Pidgin English expponent, is the founder of Poet in Nigeria (PIN) Initiative
