Arts Arena

She is bold and beautiful and has a special heart to give back to the society where she comes from. Having grown up in the suburb area of Ajegunle in Lagos, Nigeria, Helen knows exactly the challenges youths in that world faces. Her effort to get kids going on the right path inspired her to start up The Street University Project after her debut book. She tells Ahaoma Kanu why she is the Vice Chancellor of this institution for hard knocks.

Helen, it feels so nice catching up with you again, what have you been doing?
Well being the workaholic that I am, I've only gotten myself into more work than before. Having my hands full.

You have been on The Street University Project for some years now, what are your students doing?
Yes, the students in TSUP are being trained using our street light stages: Red, Yellow and Green. Red: Workshops. Yellow: Skills acquisition training. Green: Higher Institution and Entrepreneurship. So far, we have been able to consistently train these youths free in all stages. With support we intend to do much more and spread to the six geo political zones of the federation and beyond.

Novelist AS Byatt and critic John Carey have been announced as the winners of Britain's oldest literary awards.They were awarded James Tait Black Memorial Prizes, following in the footsteps of acclaimed writers including DH Lawrence and Evelyn Waugh.The prizes are for the best work of fiction and the best biography published during the previous 12 months.It is the only major British book award judged by scholars and students.Man Booker prize winner Byatt was given the fiction prize of £10,000 for her novel, The Children's Book.

Many books have dealt on the Niger Delta crisis and one of the latest to the list is Fuelling the Niger Delta Crisis written by Ayo Akinfe who said he had the objective of raising awareness of the Niger Delta crisis as well as proffer solutions to the endemic problem. In this chat with AHAOMA KANU, he opened up on issues bothering on his life as a writer. 

You just released your debut novel, Fuelling the Niger Delta Crisis, what really inspired that book?
I felt not enough had been written about the Niger Delta. There are too many misconceptions out there. As usual, we Africans do not write out history and subsequently, the rest of the world writes it from their perspective.

I would like to know why you chose a subject on the Niger Delta.
A Malian historian once said that whenever an old man dies it Africa, it is like a library has been burnt down. We rely on oral tradition too much. I felt that if I did not write about the environmental catastrophe in the Niger Delta, the story might be missed forever. It is the world's largest environmental crisis and should be on the news every day.

Take us back a bit on where you are from and your early years?
I was born in the UK and went back to Nigeria as an eight year old in 1974. I went to FGC Kaduna and University of Ibadan. I grew up in Lagos, went to school in Kaduna and went to UI, so really, I am from all over Nigeria.

PROPERTY interior decoration is simply all about making your home look cute. With colours, style, theme, furnishings and various decor fixtures a home gets its right character. Starting with the living room right to the bathroom, home interior decorations touch all aspects of the property. The primary goal for interior decoration of any space within the home is to give it an individual personality. Interior decor generally concentrates on finishes like wallpapers, wall paint, window blinds and furniture. Along with it comes the balance from the several decoration items like wall hangings, show-pieces etc. Let's have a quick go at  household interior decoration ideas for various rooms in a home. You will find numerous methods to make a space look spacious and large. The initial most crucial element may be the space lighting. Go for soft and even lighting to ensure that shadows don't divide your place into smaller sections. Avoid putting ceiling lights as they make the ceiling seem lower.

The 13 novels being considered for this year's Man Booker prize are selling better than any other longlist since 2001.Christos Tsiolkas' The Slap is most popular longlisted book, selling more than 5,000 in the first week of August, according to Nielsen BookScan figures.nnIt sold more than three times as well as Emma Donoghue's Room (1,422 copies). The Booker shortlist will be announced on 7 September, with the winner crowned on 12 October."The selection committee of the Booker Prize appear to have deliberately tried to select more commercially feasible titles in the list, and it's reflected in the sales," said Andre Breedt, research and development analyst at Nielsen BookScan.

IT was a gathering of writers in different genres; drama, prose, poetry and journalists as well when last week at the Eko Hotels and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos, the Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA) hosted the 11 dramatists that are in contention for this year's NLNG Literature Prize which is apparently the biggest literary prize in Nigeria.
Among the contenders were men and women of letters, old and young,  , Professors Doctors who have distinguished themselves in their fields with their literary work and as well various lovers of the Arts.

If you happened to have watched the movie Phat Girlz starring Mo'Nique  and have had an interaction with “unconventionally stubborn” AYỌDÈLÉ MOROCCO-CLARKE, then you may start thinking the director of the movie that grossed millions of dollars at the box office, should have starred excitement her as the lead.

With eccentric features starting from her plus-size and golden hair, agility and Ayọdèlé is full of fun. She introduces herself proudly as  a  Nigerian of mixed heritage and currently lives in the United Kingdom. Ayodele is a multi-award winning Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria with a Master of Laws Degree from the University of Dundee in Scotland. At the moment she is pursuing a doctorate degree at the University of Aberdeen.  In this chat with AHAOMA KANU, Ayo goes way back to when she started being the adventurous daughter of a good mother and also gives insight why as a lawyer, she still finds out time to write short stories.

The Sixth Edition of “The BookJam @ Silverbird” the monthly event that consists of book readings, discussions, musical performances, poetry recitals, book signings as well as  a raffle draw was held  Saturday, 24th July 2010. The literary event which is hosted by A. Igoni Barrett and the Silverbird Lifestyle store  held between 3 to 5 pm on Saturday 24 July 2010 at the Silverbird Lifestyle store, Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos and will feature Madeleine Thien, author of three works of fiction including Simple Recipes and Certainty. Simple Recipes received the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and Certainty won the Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award. Her work has been published internationally and translated into 16 languages. Her new novel about the Cambodian civil war, Dogs at the Perimeter, will be published in 2011.

She represents the new generation of Nigerian writers and has a kind of craftsmanship in writing that is infectious and addictive. CHIKA UNIGWE  is the author of fiction, poetry, articles and educational material. She won the 2003 BBC Short Story Competition for her story "Borrowed Smile", a Commonwealth Short Story Award for "Weathered Smiles" and a Flemish literary prize for "De Smaak van Sneeuw", her first short story written in Dutch. "The Secret", another of her short pieces, was nominated for the 2004 Caine Prize. She was the recipient of a 2007 UNESCO-Aschberg Fellowship for creative writing, and of a 2009 Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship for creative writing. AHAOMA KANU caught up with her in this exclusive interview where she goes way back to talk about some up close and personal issues including why she got into politics in Belgium, something she would not have achieved in Nigeria

THE Sierra Leonean writer Olufemi Terry has won this year's Caine Prize for African Writing, regarded as Africa's leading literary award. The prize was given for his story Stickfighting Days - the judges said it presented a heroic culture that was "Homeric" in its scale and conception. They described Olufemi Terry as a talent with an enormous future. Terry was born in Sierra Leone, grew up in Nigeria, was a journalist in Somalia and Uganda, and now lives in Cape Town. His book is about Raul, a boy who lives in a dump and uses sticks to fight with other boys.

LAGOS State Senior Model College Igbokuta Ikorodu, has won this year's 5th edition of Literary Festival for Teenagers (LIFT), among senior secondary schools in Ikorodu division of the state, It was held at the auditorium of Government Senior College, and over 18 schools featured during this year's event.

The one day drama festival also featured cultural dances, debates, career talk, and choreography displays by the participating schools. Organized by Children Emergency Relief Foundation (CERF), a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), based in Ikorodu, the festival was aimed at bringing out the creativity in them and to make them to be role models in the nearest future.

JUST some few weeks after it debuted in Nigeria, the romance novel from Nigeria-U.S based author, Nkem Okotcha writing under the name Myne Whitman, A Heart To Mend, has been nominated by the Next Best Book Club on Goodreads for the July group read.
Announcing the development on her Facebook, the author expressed optimism that her book will win. Please click on the link below to vote for me.

“This group which is the second largest on Goodreads has almost seven thousand members so you can imagine if my book is selected. Did I hear anyone say Oprah Book Club? Poll ends tomorrow June 25th, so get going. You may need to sign in to vote.”  The author can be reached on her Facebook account, www.Facebook/myne whitman.

THE monthly literary event, The BookJam @ Silverbird last week held its fifth edition which consisted of book readings, discussions, musical performances, poetry recitals, book signings and a raffle draw. The event which is hosted by A. Igoni Barrett held at the Silverbird Lifestyle store and had as guests Kunle Ajibade , Abraham Oshoko and Toni Kan. While Kunle Ajibade is a journalist and nonfiction writer who authored the book,   Jailed for Life: A Reporter' s Prison Notes, which is an account of his years in jail during the General Sani Abacha regime,  is currently the executive editor for the NEWS and P.M. News publications, his book Jailed for Life won the Victor Nwankwo Book of the Year award in 2005 with his latest work What a Country,  released in 2008, Abraham Oshoko on the other hand is an illustrator/graphic designer who is the author of June 12: The Struggle for Power in Nigeria. 

AN ex-bookseller in the United Kingdom has won a £10,000 prize for first time novelists, named in honour of a distinguished publisher and literary agent. Ali Shaw's The Girl with Glass Feet beat two other novels to the Desmond Elliott Prize, now in its third year. Writer Elizabeth Buchan, chair of the judges, called it "an extraordinary first novel - bold, original, tragic and endlessly surprising." Author Edward Hogan won last year's prize for his novel Blackmoor. Shaw spent almost five years writing The Girl with Glass Feet, which tells of a young woman who slowly turns to glass.

The Igbo Council of Europe, a socio-cultural group based in Dublin, Ireland has proferred solutions to the many problems facing the country; these solutions were drawn up in a book entitled The African Tiger. In this edition, we present their recommendations in tackling the issues of power and security. Excerpts:

Power Generation
Power generation continues to present a major challenge and remains an impediment to industrialisation.However; the South East can adopt a regional initiative which can substantially reduce the specter of power shortages by setting up independent power plants in each of the South East States. The power projects should be developed in accordance with existing local resources for power generation. Enugu State for example, has an abundance of coal and could develop power plants based on coal. In Abia, Anambra and Imo States where there are crude oil resources, gas powered plants could be built. Ebonyi State will likewise construct power plants with available local resources. Hydro-power and Solar energy amongst others could also be harnessed. These initiatives would bring the South East close to self sufficiency in power generation.

CALL it a gathering of literary minds, a fellowship of book enthusiasts or a celebration of writers and you will not be wrong; the Book Jam which was held over the weekend at the Silverbird Galleria in Victoria Island Lagos was indeed a jamming of famed writers who have recorded outstanding achievements in the literary scene internationally. 

Leading the crew of four writers was Orange Prize winner and author of Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun and The Thing Around Your Neck, Dr. Chimamanda Adichie who had been handling her literary workshop in Abuja; Chuma Nwokolo Jnr, lawyer and author of   African Tales at Jailpoint,  Diaries of a Dead African and One More Tale for the Road; Binyavanga  Wainaina, 2002 winner of the Ciane Prize and the present  Director of the Chinua Achebe Center for African Literature and Languages at Bard College, New York and Sade Adeniran, author of Imagine This and winner of 2008 Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book. It was indeed a full house of literary icons and with Anwuli Ojogwu formerly of Farafina Publishers, on as the coordinator; the guests, which includes seasoned writers like Odia Ofeimun, Toni Kan, Jumoke Veraasimo, were in for a good time.

FIVE paintings by Picasso, Matisse and other great artists have been stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, French officials say. The paintings are estimated to be worth just under 100m euros (£86m; $123m; N18.4b).They were taken overnight on Wednesday and reported missing early on Thursday, officials say.

The museum, across the River Seine from the Eiffel Tower, has been cordoned off by investigators.Security camera footage reportedly shows someone entering the museum through a window during the night."This is a serious crime to the heritage of humanity," Christophe Girard, deputy culture secretary at the Paris Town Hall, told journalists that the theft was committed by "one or more individuals who were obviously organized.”He added that investigators were looking into how the museum's security system and several guards were outsmarted by the thief or thieves.

Mr. Girard put the value of the stolen paintings at just under 100m euros (£86m; $123m). They had earlier been estimated to be worth some 500m euros (£431m; $618m).The five missing paintings are Dove with Green Peas by Pablo Picasso (painted in 1911), Pastoral by Henri Matisse (1906), Olive Tree near l'Estaque by Georges Braque (1906), Woman with Fan by Amedeo Modigliani (1919) and Still Life with Candlestick by Fernand Leger (1922). Museum officials discovered the theft last week, when they found a smashed window and a broken padlock which had been cut to gain access to the five paintings.

HAVE you ever wondered what it takes to create that beautiful aisle you see the bride and groom walk down through on the many wedding ceremonies you have been to? Have you taken time to admire and appreciate the time, the energy and the skills deployed in making the atmosphere look romantic, beautiful and exciting? Well, it takes quite a lot and Charles Onwudinjo, a career decorator takes us through a roller coaster on how he got into the business.

HIS last words were for his fans, “Tell my fans that I love them,” and since he breathed his last week, encomiums, eulogies and  tributes has been pouring out for Oladapo Olaitan Olanipekun, the artiste know as  Dagrin  who died of injuries sustained in a ghastly automobile accident recently.
A look at the life of this young man reveals a story of a mind that was focused, a heart that was determined and an objective that was somehow accomplished for the singer who have shown that a dream can be achieved only if you have the will. 

NIGERIANS and literary lovers who have been longing to get their hands on the new novel by new kid on the literary block, Myne Whitman can now heave a sigh of relief as A Heart to Mend has come to town. Last week, at the a media presentation, Magic Wand Publishing, unveiled the Nigerian edition of the debut novel that presents the gripping tale of a young woman finding her feet in the world and how her life intersects with that of the wealthy egoist she meets.