Eastern Light Magazine

Swale Life Poetry Competition (January 2012)

2012-01-12T05:47:00.001-08:00

Closing Date: 31 January 2012

Details: #5 in the quarterly poetry competition in aid of Diversity House, a charity based in Sittingbourne, Kent, publishers of Swale Life magazine. This competition is for previously unpublished poems in English Language, on any subject, in any style, up to 50 lines long (excluding title). Poems entered must not have been posted to any website or blog, and must not be under consideration for publication, or accepted for publication elsewhere.

First Prize: £100.00, Second Prize: £50.00, Third Prize: £30.00, High Commendation Prizes: 2 x £10.00

First Publication: All prize winners will receive first publication in Swale Life Magazine at www.swalelife.com on 28th February 2012, and will be included in the second Swale Life Anthology to be published in January 2013.

Entry Fees: £3 per poem, £12 for 5 poems. £16 for 7 poems and £22 for 10 poems.

Donations to Charity: A third of net entry fees and all profits from the sale of the anthology will go to Diversity House.

The Judge: Mandy Pannett - author of Frost Hollow.

Competition Administration: Eastern Light EPM International -organisers of Excel for Charity writing competitions series.

Enter online and pay securely by PayPal or print off Entry Form at http://easternlightepm.com/excelforcharity/swale-life-poetry-competition/jan-12/

Cheques/Postal Orders in GB£ payable to:

EASTERN LIGHT EPM INTERNATIONAL

Unit 136, 113 -115 George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1AB

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Competitions

2012-01-11T03:32:00.001-08:00

SENTINEL LITERARY QUARTERLY POETRY COMPETITION (JANUARY 2012) | CLOSING DATE: 20-JANUARY-2012
For previously unpublished poems in English Language on any subject, in any style, up to 50 lines long (excluding title). Poems submitted must not have been accepted, or currently be under consideration for publication elsewhere and must not be simultaneously entered into another competition. Judge: Derek Adams.
PRIZES: £150 (First), £75 (Second), £50 (Third), £10 x 3 (High Commendation). All winning and commended poems will receive first publication in Sentinel Champions magazine. The authors will each receive 1 free contributor's copy. All entrants to this competition will also be automatically entered into a draw to win 1 year's subscription to Sentinel Champions. 1 poet and 1 short story writer must win the subscription this quarter.
Results will be announced at www.sentinelquarterly.com on 20-Feb-2012
ENTRY FEES: £3/1 poem, £6/2 poems, £9/3 poems, £11/4 poems, £12/5 poems. Cheques/Postal Orders in GB£ to SENTINEL POETRY MOVEMENT, Unit 136, 113-115 George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1AB
Enter online and pay securely by PayPal or print off Entry Form from website at http://sentinelquarterly.com/competitions/poetry-0112/

SENTINEL LITERARY QUARTERLY SHORT STORY COMPETITION (JANUARY 2012) | CLOSING DATE: 20-JANUARY-2012
For previously unpublished short stories in English Language on any subject, in any style, up to 1,500 words long (excluding title). Stories submitted must not have been accepted, or currently be under consideration for publication elsewhere and must not be simultaneously entered into another competition. Judge: David Caddy.
PRIZES: £150 (First), £75 (Second), £50 (Third), £10 x 3 (High Commendation). All winning and commended stories will receive first publication in Sentinel Champions magazine. The authors will each receive 1 free contributor's copy. All entrants to this competition will also be automatically entered into a draw to win 1 year's subscription to Sentinel Champions. 1 poet and 1 short story writer must win the subscription this quarter.
Results will be announced at www.sentinelquarterly.com on 20-Feb-2012
ENTRY FEES: £4/1 story, £8/2 stories, £10/3 stories, £12/4 stories. Cheques/Postal Orders in GB£ to SENTINEL POETRY MOVEMENT, Unit 136, 113-115 George Lane, South Woodford, London E18 1AB
Enter online and pay securely by PayPal or print off Entry Form from website at http://www.sentinelquarterly.com/competitions/short-stories-0112/

Occupy Nigeria solidarity action in DC - Protesting oil price hikes in f...

2012-01-10T03:33:00.000-08:00

Don’t Fuel Panic, Toni Kan urges BBM Broadcasters

2012-01-09T23:13:00.001-08:00

By NNOROM AZUONYE

On Monday, January 9^th, 2012 I received this BBM message from poet Toni Kan:

“People, pls, pls don’t send out broadcast messages until you verify them. Things are tense. Let’s not make them worse. Msgs about fighting, shooting, killings. Pls don’t broadcast until you make a few calls.”

It was very welcome to receive this message and I have forwarded it to most of my BBM contacts, especially those in Nigeria, who need to remain calm to be able to think clearly in these turbulent times.

It is not always clear where the intel that feeds these BBM broadcasts come from, or how authentic they are, but they can be quite disturbing. Here are some recent ones:

“Boko haram claimed responsibility of the Christmas day bombing,and promised more bombings on new year eve & new year day in strategic locations in Nigeria to press down their grievances, a representative of the dreaded sect said on BBC Hausa service. Nigerians are warned to avoid gathering like joints,clubs,cinemas,churches etc. cos those are likely targets of the next series of bombings which they call "the mother of all bombings in Nigeria" .please re-broadcast to. Family,friends and loved ones to save innocent lives,may we never be victims...... Jst got dat frm a friend now.”

**********

BREAKING NEWS:
The SSS Just announced d seizure of 10 containers of Bangers & Fireworks. Upon examination, Iτ̅ was discovered
1. They av d initial BH..meaning Boko Haram.
2. They are laced with Nitrate used for making Bombs.
3. When lighted Iτ̅ can blow up 10 x 10 sq metres
... 4. The containers were heading for d south western part of Nigeria.
5. Iτ̅ is believed some have already pass through
SSS warns Nigerians to be careful of d use of bangers & fireworks or if possible do away with them. Boko Haram means business.
Please re broadcast. We shall all live to see 2012

**********

For those who stay in Abuja or who have relatives there.The American embassy have contacted all Americans to tell them to stay indoors, they said there are 3 cars in Abuja loaded with explosives planted @ different areas. They are yet to know their exact targets. Pass the message please.

The thought behind these BBM broadcasts are laudable as they appear to reflect a genuine concern for the welfare of fellow citizens. There is also a feeling that these are creative products of terror rumour merchants and that there is no basis for them at all. I have spoken to some friends and family in Northern Nigeria and they say that after reading some of these messages, not knowing which one is true or false, they err on the side of caution and worship God in their own homes rather than become sitting ducks in churches.

It breaks my heart to see just how helpless my Christian brothers seem to have become, and how this Boko Haram thing is wearing down the faith of some Christians. Yesterday, I got into an argument with a church deacon who said that Christians who stay away from churches out of fear of being killed by Boko Haram while they worship God are not Christians at all, because a true Christian should be prepared to die for God.

You see, I personally don’t think that if a Christian’s gut feeling is that there is truth behind a message of caution and stays out of harm’s way, that this is one of the things that can annoy God.

Like brother Toni Kan has urged, let BBM, Facebook or Twitter broadcasters verify their messages before sending them out. Recipients of these messages of caution, please pray for the grace to be directed by the Spirit on whether the intelligence behind these messages are credible. If in doubt, stay in your house and worship God there. If you must pay your tithe and offering in the church, you could always mail a cheque to your pastor. You can only worship God if there is breath in your lungs.

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Now President Jonathan is terrorising Nigerians

2012-01-05T22:04:00.001-08:00

By NNOROM AZUONYE

It is really depressing to read about and see all the pictures of widespread demonstrations in Nigeria against the removal of fuel subsidy which has now put the minimum price of petrol at N141.00 with the price in the neighbourhood of N175.00 in some areas.

It is good that Nigerians are marching the streets and shouting on top of their voices in an attempt to get the Jonathan administration to rescind this action. I am not very hopeful that these demonstrations will achieve anything anyway, I am sorry for being a pessimist here, but the truth is that President Goodluck Jonathan is proving to have a talent for ignoring the plight of Nigerians, or perhaps he has supped with the devil and is therefore incapacitated and unable to do what is right for the people he is supposed to be leading.

The timing of the actualisation of the removal of fuel subsidy is nothing short of terrorism by the state against the people of Nigeria.

Every Nigerian is worried about the terrorist and religious attacks in the country at the moment, especially in the Northern parts of Nigeria. Kidnappings are still rife in most parts of the South and South-east. Armed robbery is a growth industry nationwide. There is nothing in place to attempt securing the lives and properties of the average Nigerian.

The removal of fuel subsidy at this time will have far-reaching knock-on effects; people who drive their own vehicles will pay much more to run them. Public transport fares will rise astronomically, making it hard for people to get to work, to go out and seek work (for the unemployed), or simply to have any kind of social life. Prices of goods and services will invariably rise as the costs of delivering them rise. There is also the problem with electric power. With irregular power supply in most parts of the country, the people of Nigeria, who could afford it, have been providing alternative sources of power with generators. Now, it will cost a lot of money to fuel these generators.

It is not rocket science to work out that the results of the problems caused by the removal of oil subsidy will be widespread suffering, disillusionment and an exponential increase of crime. It is too difficult to fathom why the Nigerian leadership could so brazenly contrive to plunge the nation into such deep suffering.

There has been a report, I don’t know how credible it is, that a protester has been shot dead by the Nigerian police in Ilorin. Is Jonathan also turning Gaddafi and Assad on Nigerians? It will be very unfortunate if he resorts to violence and the terror of guns as a way of clamping down on demonstrators. At this time we can only watch and encourage those who are able to march in Nigeria. It is a brave thing, and we hope that they will be safe in the face of a possible brute force that may be turned on the.

My eyes have seen the year of our Lord 2012.

2012-01-05T22:01:00.001-08:00

My cluttered table bustles like a tech carnival; laptops,

BlackBerries upon a Clarks shoebox stuffed with receipts,

cables, i-gizmos and a screwdriver. No shoes. No red socks.

My daughter has left a sieve entangled with a USB cable

beside a batteryless digital camera atop my wife’s books.

I scan this mess with tired eyes, my back to the lit, over-

decorated Christmas tree we bought from Tesco last year.

The air is filled with sleep sounds of my family carried

in here by the gentle morning breeze of the new year.

Happy New Year, my loves, sleep well, sleep sweet.

O, what a marvellous Christmastime this week has been;

Ugbagha with showboy and stockfish has been eaten,

turkey and chicken, broccoli and sprouts, ‘eddoes’,

pounded yam, bitter-leaf soup and peppersoup too

led home with wines and beers, malts and juices, and water.

This time, our children - four and three - have learnt jingles,

so we have daily been sing-along-ing and dance-along-ing;

‘Must be Santa’, ‘Father Christmas, he got stuck, coming

down the chimney’ and ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’.

We have had ourselves a wonderful Christmastime.

We rode on choo choo trains and the London Eye

and the kids touched a starfish at the London Aquarium.

O yes, we have created so many memories this Christmas

and for every beautiful second I have praised Him with joy.

Especially now my eyes have seen the year of our Lord 2012.

Nnorom Azuonye

Plumstead, 01 January 2012

Thoughts on Anti-gay Law in Nigeria

2011-12-26T17:30:00.001-08:00

By NNOROM AZUONYE

The Nigerian senate recently passed a bill criminalising homosexuality in the country. If the bill is upheld by the House of Representatives, President Goodluck Jonathan may sign it into law and this could spell stints of up to 14 years in jail for the crime of homosexuality.

Naturally western leaders have risen in condemnation of the proposed law, with the American government threatening to cut or stop American aid to Nigeria, as surely other non-African leaders are wont to do. There is no shortage of voices rising against this move by the Nigerian government, including Amnesty International who in a statement suggests that if passed, the law "…would place a wide range of people at risk of criminal sanctions, including human rights defenders and anyone else -- including friends, families and colleagues -- who stands up for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people in Nigeria,"

Socio-political activism in Nigeria tends to be rather highly dramatic and some might say, even dangerous. However it is quite unlikely that Nigerian leaders could try to silence activists or political opponents by branding them gay or lesbian and stashing them away in jails for up to 14 years. An anti-gay law has never been necessary to exercise political intimidation in Nigeria. It is inappropriate to suggest that this anti-gay bill will feed a culture of witch-hunt. In fact, many Nigerians believe that it seeks to preserve the cultural and spiritual well-being of the society in an ill-advised manner. Besides, when viewed from an angle that a normal family setting is desirable, especially if children are to be brought up within them, a law prohibiting same-sex marriage may be necessary in order to prevent emotional violence against possible offspring. Many people across the world strongly believe that children should not be brought up by same-sex couples because such an environment would surely be confusing to them and will definitely set them up for ridicule in schools, which might damage them emotionally and psychologically for life. The wrongness of this kind of family building is clear in the marriage of celebrity musician Elton John and David Furniss. They had a child in 2010 through a ‘secret’ surrogate mother. Apparently their sperms were mixed up and used to inseminate the woman and it has been reported that they as yet don’t know which one of them is the father.

While there is a basis for understanding the reasoning behind putting a law in place against gay marriage, legislating against harmless, possibly transient romantic liaisons between same-sex couples cuts it fine along lines of violation of rights. The argument here is that if two adults wish to engage in homosexual activity that is harming nobody, they should not be prevented from doing so. However if they wish to get married and possibly proceed to acquire children, the society has a responsibility to protect those children.

Nigerians in Nigeria and in the Diaspora have widely different takes on the issue. For many, the feeling is of sheer incredulity that in a country where armed robbery and kidnaps are rife, in a country where terrorism is growing fast with bombings of public places claiming lives, in a country where unemployment is becoming unmanageable, prices are soaring, millions are starving and unsure of how they will survive, the law men have placed priority in criminalising homosexuality. There are others who oppose the law on the grounds that the government is trying to interfere in some basic human rights of the Nigerian citizenry. There are of course a lot of voices rising for the sake of it, who must always make propaganda of themselves by finding something wrong in everything the Nigerian leadership does.

As these voices rise against the impending law, millions of others are raised in support of it. From a cultural and religious standpoint, the majority of Nigerians will never accept homosexuality. This is the major problem that those who oppose the bill will have. Nigeria is not ready and may never be ready to embrace gay and lesbian activity in the country. It just will not happen. No matter how hard people try to argue that they are born that way or have made a choice to live that way, it is nothing that will gain acceptance.

The major problem is religion. The two major religions in Nigeria are Christianity and Islam. More than anywhere in the world, followers of these two religions are overzealous and intolerant of opposing or dissenting views. Both Islam and Christianity deem homosexuality to be wrong.

Islamic.org.uk for instance offers the perspective that “There is no doubt that in Islam homosexuality is considered 'sinful'. Homosexuality as far as Islam is concerned is a profound mistake (as are all sins if they are not intending to do wrong). Humans are not homosexuals by nature. People become homosexuals because of their environments. Particularly critical is the environment during puberty. Suggestions, ideas & strange dreams are symptoms of confused attempts to understand new and blunt sexual desires and are rashly interpreted as defining someone as being one sexuality or another. If these conclusions are accompanied by actual homosexual acts they are even more strongly reinforced. Human instincts can be subjected to acts of will. Sexuality is a choice of identity which follows choices of action which follow from choices of what to have sexual fantasies about. Human beings are especially able to control their thoughts, entertaining some and dismissing others.”

Clearly, there is no chance of Muslims in Nigeria to accept what is not ‘natural’ with human beings. This is the same with Christians. The Holy Bible severally condemns homosexuality and lumps it together with bestiality and other perverse leanings. The aim of every true Christian is to be worthy of entering into the Kingdom of God. In verses 9-10 of the first book of Corinthians, chapter 6, homosexuality is listed as one of the transgressions that will prevent a Christian from inheriting the Kingdom; “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Nigeria may sometimes be dismissed as a place of over-church-attending, over-mosque-attending God-forsaken people where religious practices leave much to be desired, often coming across as borderline evil, but the Nigerian religious are a bunch of uncompromising zealots and will never betray their God by embracing gays and lesbians.

There is also the issue of social and cultural perception. In Nigeria it is a shame to be gay or lesbian. This is why those that are known to be, never openly admit it. You find them in politics and literature masquerading as gay rights activists, but ask them pointedly on record if they are gay and you receive a very bland answer; “I don’t have to be gay to fight for the rights of gay and lesbian people” or “Why do I always get that question because I am trying to say stop attacking homosexuals for the way they are born?”

If they are firm in their beliefs. If they are sure that they are simply wired that way. If they are certain that their rights ought to be protected, why is it that they cannot stand up to be counted? The idea of fighting for the faceless and the nameless is lame and will not achieve any results. All those people who are homosexuals should come out of the cupboards, wardrobes or wherever they are hiding and stand by their convictions and let us see if the Nigerian government will arrest them all and jail them.

The truth of the matter is that the Nigerian society and culture frowns at homosexuality and the families of any confirmed gay people will have a hard time living down the shame. Nobody wants to be responsible for his old parents dying of heartbreak or even suicide.

Nigeria does not need to make a law against homosexuality. This issue already is regulated by the country’s social and cultural norms. The only thing this law-making process will achieve is prove that the nation’s legislature are simply a bunch of overpaid clowns who don’t know what to do with their time. TB

This article was first published in Sunday Punch on 18th December 2011

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Results of the Swale Life Poetry Competition (November 2011)

2011-12-07T08:11:00.001-08:00

We are pleased to announce the results of the Swale Life Poetry Competition (November 2011) as judged by Geoff Stevens.

There are 7 commended in no particular order:

K. Woodrow – ‘Graffiti Artist, 37, seeks symbol with gsoh

Adrian Bushen – Schubertiad

Michael Newman – Sunrise at Wainlode

Michael Newman – In the Key of Regret

Michael Newman – News from Wales

C.J. Korta – A Dorset Couple

Garden Pests – Flick Spear

The Highly Commended Poems which win prizes of £10 each are:

Roger Elkin – Sun Street, Shelton

Troy Elliot – Hurricane Rita

The winner of the Third Prize of £30.00 is Bruce Harris - Commuter Computer

The Second Prize of £50.00 goes to Christian Ward – Scafell

And the First Prize of £100.00 goes to Noelle Janaczewska – Once upon a Tiger

These 12 poems, together with the winners and commended poems from the previous 3 Swale Life International Poetry Competitions held in 2011 will be included in the anthology to be published in December.

Excel for Charity - writing competitions in aid of the world's charities

2011-10-08T04:11:00.000-07:00

Excel for Charity - International Writing Competitions Series in aid of charities. Current competitions: 1. The TRYangle Project Poetry (Judge: Gabriel Griffin) & Short Story (Judge: Kate Horsley) Competitions on DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. Closing 10-10-11 2. Stepping Stones Nigeria Poetry (Judge: Susanna Roxman) & Short Story (Judge: Toni Kan) Competitions on CHILDHOOD. Closing 31-10-11 and 3. Swale Life International Poetry Competition. Open theme. Closing 10-11-11 www.excelforcharity.com
Excel for Charity - writing competitions in aid of the world's charities

Nollywood and the Femme Fatale | Nigeria News & Opinion | Think Africa Press

2011-06-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Nollywood and the Femme Fatale | Nigeria News & Opinion | Think Africa Press

LUPUS UK International Poetry Competition

2011-06-01T03:55:00.000-07:00

Closing Date: 30/06/11

Lupus UK International Poetry Competition 2011
This competition is administered by Excel for Charity in aid of LUPUS UK – a national charity helping people with the presently incurable immune system illness lupus. Lupus UK currently supports some 6,000 members through their Regional Groups and advise many others on the symptoms prior to diagnosis.
Open theme. Maximum 40 lines long.
Prizes: £150, £75, £40 and 2 x £10 Commendation Prizes. Plus publication in the Excel for Charity website.
Entry Fees: £4/1, £7.50/2, £10.50/3, £12.50/4 and £14.00/5 (a third of entry fees goes to Lupus UK).
Judge: Jim Bennett – award-winning author of The Man Who Tried to Hug Clouds, Managing Editor, Poetry Kit. Go to competition page

THE MIRROR BOY WORLD PREMIERE AND AFTER-PARTY

2011-01-29T02:03:00.001-08:00

Nollywood Focus invites you to The Mirror Boy movie World Premiere and After-party.

Mirror Boy is the Nollywood movie everybody wants to see. Written and Directed by Obi Emelonye (Who's Next?, Echoes of War, The London Successor). The impressive cast includes Nollywood's foremost actress Genevieve Nnaji alongside a strong cast including Osita Iheme (Back from America), Fatima Jabbe, Edward Kagutuzi (The Bill, Law & order), John Charles Njie (The Calabash, Wrong Identity), and Modu Musa Ceesay (The Banjul Cops, My Gambian Holiday).

Produced by OH Films in association with The Nollywood Factory, The Mirror Boy (as talked about on CNN Inside Africa), promises to set new standards in Nollywood film-making. That's it friends, Nollywood continues its march to conquer the world. What is left is for everyone to come out and support the film by going to the cinema to see it.

What is the film about?

“The Mirror Boy” is an enthralling journey through the picturesque terrains of The Gambia, as seen through the eyes of a London-born 12 year old boy, TIJANI.

On the 13th of June and wholly out of character, TIJANI gets involved in a street fight in which a boy is hurt. Convinced that TIJANI needs discipline, TEEMA, his mum decides to take him to the Gambia to live with her sister.

On their arrival in Banjul, TIJANI encounters what he considers to be a simple apparition - a boy smiling at him in a mirror and vanishing afterwards.

However, seeing the same boy in a crowded street market the next day sets in motion a chain of events that culminates in him getting lost.

While the panic-stricken TEEMA struggles with the Police Force to find her son in an intriguing game of survival brinkmanship, TIJANI is left alone in the company of the enigmatic MIRROR BOY who is only visible to him.

As a bruising spiritual rite of passage, the MIRROR BOY takes TIJANI on a magical journey through the dark belly of the forest.

After a series of edge-of-the-seat adventures in the forest, TIJANI emerges the next day, a bewildered boy; for whom the lines between reality and fantasy; between the physical and the spiritual have been forever blurred.

His arrival at a time of mourning for a small kingdom upsets the evil machinations of a desperate Queen who; threatened by his innocent presence; is not afraid to wield her mysterious powers.

A cathartic climax helps TIJANI to unravel the mystery of the MIRROR BOY. It also provides him with a rather mystical explanation for the way his life has cascaded from the 13th of June towards this inter-twined fate with a father he has never met...

What does it cost?
There are 4 ticket options for you.

1. Limited unreserved Seating - £15.00 only available until 31/01/2011
2. VIP Limited Reserved Seating - £20.00
3. VIP Reserved Seating plus After-Party - £50.00 (The most popular)
4. After-party only - £20.00

Where can you get the tickets?
NOLLYWOOD FOCUS - The Mirror Boy Premiere Partners are selling online now --- NO BOOKING FEES! --- Pay Safely and Securely by PAYPAL by following this link: http://www.nollywoodfocus.com/2011/01/mirror-boy-world-premiere-and-after.html

Your e-ticket will be delivered by e-mail. Please note: Tickets will not be available at the door.

If you don't do online payments, you can send a cheque or postal order payable to: EASTERN LIGHT EPM INTERNATIONAL and send to:

Nollywood FocusEastern Light EPM International
Unit 136
113-115 George Lane
London
E18 1AB

If you are sending a cheque or postal order, due to the high demand for the tickets, in order not to miss out, send us an e-mail to let us know you have sent a cheque in the post and we will reserve your tickets.
All e-mails to nollywoodfocus@easternlightepm.com

Nollywood Focus is a publishing style of Eastern Light EPM International - spotlighting milestones and people in the Nigerian film industry.

Ronaldo fathers a son

2010-07-04T17:21:00.001-07:00

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo announced the birth of his son on his Facebook page Sunday, saying, "It is with great joy and emotion that I inform I have recently become a father to a baby boy...As agreed with the baby's mother, who prefers to have her identity kept confidential, my son will be under my exclusive guardianship."

It is in order first of all to offer congratulatory words to the new and young father. He has sprung this of course to his fans across the globe, just like Michael Jackson did the birth of his second son, Blanket, the identity of whose mother is still not known.

Already there are widespread speculations on the Internet about the sexuality of the world's most expensive player. To some, this unusual style of bringing a child into the world and deliberately keeping the child away from his mother smells of a surrogacy arrangement by a gay couple. Perhaps towards the end of his career, Ronaldo might do a Ricky Martin and jump out of the closet.

Although there is no credible correlation between having a baby through surrogacy and homosexuality, it is difficult not to wonder why this 25-year-old player would opt for such a child-unfriendly arrangement. This question is particularly important, considering that his job as a footballer entails a lot of travel and time away from home. One would have thought that it would have served the child's interest better to stay with his mother.

Nollywood, the molue has hit a pole

2010-06-30T02:25:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nnorom Azuonye 2010

Interview by NNOROM AZUONYE

Charles Novia is a trained Dramatist, Actor, Director and Film Producer. One of the key players in Nollywood, Nigeria’s phenomenal film industry. In this interview for Next (Nigeria) and Nollywood Focus, Novia talks about his childhood years, his professional beginnings, current work and future projects.

Prior to studying Dramatic Arts at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, did you have any training or experience in the Performing Arts?

Yes, I was sort of a child actor in Benin. I grew up in Benin. At an early age of about seven, my talent was discovered by a school teacher, Mr. Dickson. He realised I was good in acting. One day, he gave me ‘The Wizard of Law’ by Zulu Sofola, and asked me study the part of the lawyer. We performed the play during school assembly. That kind of fired up my zeal. At the age of ten I began acting in the NTA Benin Children’s Time. I did a couple of adult plays with the Bendel Playhouse. My acting was honed by the environment around me. Bendel State had a lot of artistic and creative energy flowing.

That early start motivated you to take a degree in Dramatic Arts?

I had grandiose dreams about going into the arts. At the time, if you were not a lawyer, accountant, or doctor you were not regarded as anything. So, I was very thrilled when a reverend father who just came back from the United States, came visiting us. I asked him what he read in America and he said he did a Masters in Theatre Arts. That sort of triggered something in me. Theatre Arts? Is there something called Theatre Arts? He said, ‘yeah.’ I said, ‘you mean you can actually go to school to study acting?’ and he said ‘yeah.’ I decided right there and then that’s what I was going to study. My mother laughed it off, but it stuck in my head.

Good thing your parents did not interfere with your career choice then?

Not that they didn’t try! My father, particularly, was initially against it. He really wanted me to go into Law. Along the line, when he discovered I could write very well, he then wanted me to study Mass Communications, to become a journalist. When I got my admission from UNN, he was like, ‘Law?’ I said, ‘no, Theatre Arts’. His face was a big mask of disappointment. Anyway, after one year, I came home with reports of what I had done. You remember, Nnorom, I did your play, ‘A Tasty Taboo.’ I also played Yekini in Esiaba Irobi’s ‘Hangmen Also Die’ and Senator Arikpo in ‘Nwokedi’. I played Elesin in ‘Death and the King’s Horseman.’ I was also in Godfrey Okoro’s ‘Fruits in the Wind’ - the first play to highlight the problem of cults in universities. My father was happy. Unfortunately, he died before he could see the fruits of his investment. I think I was born for this.

Upon graduation, did you know, even then, that you would go into film production?

I was at crossroads. I thought I would stick with the theatre. There was this guy, Greg Mbajiorgu, he actually did a one-man show, ‘The Prime Minister’s Son,’ and I saw that and I was like ‘wow, I could be doing this.’ But in 1998, I decided to go into films.

Nollywood at the time was at the cusp of becoming something big, so I decided to show my stuff. Just before then, I played Tasso in Goethe’s ‘Torquato Tasso’ at the Goethe Institute, Lagos. It was amazing, but as I took the curtain call, it was sort of sad, my spirit told me I wasn’t coming on stage anymore. That was it. I crossed over to Nollywood.

Why have you challenged yourself to make successful films without Nollywood’s superstars?

I did not use Nollywood’s well-known stars for my first two movies. The marketers kept calling me to say, ‘your movies are good o, but they no dey sell because you no dey use faces.’ So, I started to use some of the known faces, and I tried to give them a new orientation; to follow my style. As time went on, they became larger than life in terms of discipline.

In 2003, I made ‘Missing Angel’ – my biggest-selling movie to date, over a million copies. I used an as yet unknown Desmond Elliot, and it became his breakthrough movie. There were no stars in that movie. Then four years ago, I said, enough is enough. The high of a director is the believability of his movie. I don’t get that when I use a Genevieve or a Ramsay. The story might be good, but people always say, ‘ah, na acting’ because they have seen those same people in five hundred other films.

So, I thought I just have to use new faces. The suspension of disbelief must be paramount. A Brad Pitt would go through the rigours and motions of characterisation because he respects the director. I mean, here I am working with a star and he has fifteen other scripts waiting for him. He will be on set and other producers will come there, clapping their hands saying ‘hurry up, you have to finish tomorrow and start on my film.’ So you are not getting the right commitment. There is a lot of arrogance. Moreover, you can read the mood of the buying audience. They want change, to see new talent and value for their money.

Describe the state of Nollywood today.

Nollywood started as ‘molue’( commercial bus). In the rickety molue, Fela said sixty-nine standing, twenty-nine sitting. At the initial, experimental stage, a few people got in; the twenty-nine sitting. When it started making money, sixty-nine got in and it became overcrowded. A lot of crazy ideas! Mediocrity and professionalism clashed, and mediocrity sort of became the order of the day. The bus veered off the road and hit a pole. The survivors are coming out of the bus. Professionalism will now take its own bus, and mediocrity will enter its own bus.

The whole world has been saying Nollywood is a phenomenon, but hey, it’s more quantity than quality. It’s more Onitsha market literature at its lowest level, than cinematic artistry at its highest level. It is more of ‘let me do twenty movies a year and make ten million’, rather than make one movie and make a hundred million.

So, Nollywood is at crossroads, but there is hope. I see hope because in the past year or so, I have seen a brain gain, I call it a brain gain from abroad. People have gone to film schools abroad and they are coming back to explore the terrain. They are bringing new ideas. They are bringing a measure of professionalism. Some of my colleagues are sort of antagonistic towards these ideas, but I always say, when the time comes, you can’t stop the movement.

We are moving to a new direction where we can have professionalism at the highest level and mediocrity going to its graveyard.

Have you considered turning any of Nigeria’s novels or plays into a movie?

In 2006, I met with the late Cyprian Ekwensi and obtained the rights to turn one of his books into a film: ‘The Passport of Mallam Ilia.’ I am going to shoot that later this year.

Given Nigeria’s rich folklore with colourful animal characters, is anyone doing animations in Nollywood at all?

None that I know of, at least not cinematically. There was a guy though who made animations for TV commercials. Animated movies are lacking in Nigeria. Children’s films and family movies are lacking. Besides, animations cost a lot of money to make and the average Nigerian film-maker will not put his money into something with long-term benefits. They want things that will yield profits quickly, within three months or so.

What will be the next big thing in Nollywood?

We are seeing investment in infrastructure. In cinemas. ‘Figurine’ made about forty million naira in one month, playing in just five cinema houses. To make that kind of money through our traditional DVDs is very difficult. I think cinema is the future.

Are you working on any movie at the moment?

I am working on a biopic of Majek Fashek. ‘Majek’ will tell the story of Majek Fashek from his rise to his stardom to his decline and his struggle now. I’ve just got a venture capital firm to invest in it. I have been working on it for three years. At the risk of being immodest, it is going to be the next big movie Nollywood will see. I have done one other biopic before – on Pastor Adeboye. It was called Covenant Church. It was huge. ‘Majek’ is due for realease in December 2010.

Note: This is an abridged version of the interview as published in Next (Nigeria). The full version of the interview will be published in Nollywood Focus in September 2010.

Chika Unigwe's On Black Sisters’ Street

2009-12-17T03:30:00.001-08:00

Book Review by IKHIDE R. IKHELOA

[Chika Unigwe reads from On Black Sisters' Street
at the Sentinel Literature Festival (02/12/2009)
Photo: Nnorom Azuonye.]

Chika Unigwe’s book, On Black Sisters’ Street chronicles the sad odyssey of an army of young women prostitutes drawn from various parts of Nigeria (and the Sudan!) who invade Europe desperate to do for themselves and their clans what waves of prostitute African governments have neglected to do for them. The ladies, Efe, Ama, Sisi, and Joyce are the main characters in a set of stories that collectively narrate epic struggles in the face of fear and despair. In this well-researched book, Sisi leads this pack of warrior-sisters on the streets of Europe determined to force down the doors of poverty and hopelessness that forced them away from home. They go out daily in search of lonely men - and wealth, the new measure of respect back home in Nigeria.

There is plenty to like in the book. It is rich with environment, populated by colorful, pleasant details that do not overwhelm the senses. It is a book that will take you a few days to read – the prose is languid, seemingly in no hurry to get to a climax. I like the way Unigwe introduces side issues into conversations and they stick with you – issues like sexism and the treatment of women as chattel in Africa. It is a neat trick, how she tucks weighty issues into throw-away sentences.

Every character in this book is driven by a deep hunger. Perhaps the monotony of yearning is the story of a Nigeria gradually turning soulless from material lust. In the process, we have learnt to hate ourselves. Energy seems reserved for mimicking the otherness that resides in the West. Unigwe’s book showcases Nigeria as a nation of people deeply invested in acquiring the trappings of an otherness that emanates from the West.

God must be exhausted and Nigerians are to blame. The book captures the ceaseless supplications for more and more and the pious request for God to annihilate our enemies that stand in the way of our more and more. God must regret the day the devil tricked her into creating the Nigerian; we are such a needy group. We see the new Christianity as the new plague sweeping across a nation of uncritical thinkers.

The absurdities of life in Nigeria are expertly captured. Lagos is filth and dust at dusk advertising the meanness of neglect: The chapter named Ama was the best. It hearkens to the beauty of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, of what happens when language is not in the way of the story. Here, Unigwe writes with confidence and her literary muscle barrels her voice into a full-throated roar. The expert way she weaves local Igbo and onomatopoeic idioms into the English is sexy, kpom kwem.

The book offers plenty to frustrate the reader. The prose is uneven overall; as a result the book sometimes has the consistency of pulp fiction. The use of Pidgin English in this book added nothing to the book. Unigwe’s knowledge of Pidgin English seemed tentative or perhaps watered down to make it more palatable to a broader market. Pidgin English has an image problem. In the hands of Nigerian writers it undergoes an extreme makeover and acquires an inferiority complex.

The book’s chapters are not numbered; they are repeatedly named after each “sister” or the street Zwartezusterstraat. There are about thirteen chapters named Sisi. Confusing. The chapters see-saw between multiple consciousnesses; the reader is force-fed the future up front and in the next chapter, the past walks up to the day. The reader learns of the future death of one of the characters – on the first few pages of the book.

The book is not quite convincing in its analysis of how the girls chose prostitution. It is not for lack of trying. Indeed, Unigwe is guilty of an over-analysis of the characters’ motives. She obviously interviewed a lot of prostitutes. One wonders if they held back from this sister who went to too much school.

The plight of Nigerian girls in Europe is the most visible symbol of the wanton rape of generations of youths by badly behaving Nigerian rulers. Unigwe appears however to have no stomach for conflict. Europe harbors a huge contingent of ladies from Edo State in Nigeria. There seems to have been a deliberate attempt to avoid this reality. The chapter named Alek (Joyce) is my least favorite. It reads like an exhausted affirmative action afterthought. The character was developed as coming from Sudan, escaping the war, ending up in Nigeria and then Europe after her soldier-lover got bored with her. Darfur does not belong in this book. The chapter sits like a patronizing ode to the notion that prostitution is universal.

On Black Sisters’ Street is a good story fiercely resisting flight because it is airborne on timid wings. This is a shame because Unigwe has the muscle to communicate proprietary feelings using Standard English. My humble advice is that Unigwe should relax and take maximum advantage of her mastery of loose limber prose and let the words fly recklessly with her imagination. That would be quite a book.

Ikhide Ikheloa lives in the US and is a regular contributor to Literary Magazines and Newspapers.

The 2010 Wigtown Poetry Competition

2009-12-15T04:18:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Wigtown Poetry Competition is now open for entries.

Full details can be found on our website here.

Please forward this email to any interested parties and do not hesitate to get in touch if you need any more details for listings. Just email poetry@wigtownbookfestival.com.

The Wigtown Poetry Competition is the largest in Scotland with a first prize of £2,500, runner up prize of £750, eight additional prizes of £50 each and a Gaelic prize of £500. The winning poem and runner up will also be published in the Scotsman, or its sister paper Scotland on Sunday and the winner will be invited to appear at the Stena Line Wigtown Book Festival 2010.

To download an application form click here, or alternatively email poetry@wigtownbookfestival.com or send an SAE to:

Wigtown Poetry Competition
County Buildings,
Wigtown,
DG8 9HL.

************
Many more poetry and short story competitions are listed in the Eastern Light Clubhouse
http://www.easternlightepm.com/ch/

Congratulations Joe

2009-12-14T12:36:00.000-08:00

All of us at Eastern Light EPM rejoice with Joe McElderry on his great triumph in xfactor 2009. We wish you a long and successful career.

Olly Murs, we voted for you too. Where you got to, you have no excuse not to do well from there. We also wish you a successful career.

Eastern Light Team

Tiger Woods may resent wife in future

2009-12-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

- NNOROM AZUONYE

Tiger Woods announced today that he was putting away his golf club indefinitely as he tries to save his marriage, to try to become a better husband, father and person. This is very commendable. Family should come first. Woods has afterall achieved the highest goals in golf and has made himself a vast fortune. He really has nothing more to prove and could easily retire for good right now.

But it has also emerged that it was his wife Elin, who gave him the ultimatum: 'Golf or me.' It appears that Woods has chosen her over golf, at least for now. Hopefully, and for Elin's sake, the break Woods has taken should be a very short one. Tiger knows nothing else other than golf. It has been his life since his toddler days, and if Elin draws it out and Tiger sits at home, the guilty man fiddling his thumbs, doing nothing but look at her face, he might soon become quite resentful.

It ought to be sufficient for Tiger Woods, after apologising to his wife, to have taken a short break, and then quickly return to what he knows best.

There is absolutely no doubt that he has learnt his lesson, his reputation is in tatters, and so far, with some sponsors not standing by him, limiting or reducing what they do with him, it has also been financially expensive for him, though not as expensive as a divorce would have been. Tiger has also dishonoured himself in the eyes of his children by being unfaithful to their mother. Although they are too young to understand it right now, this is something, given the very public nature of his admission of transgression and the global reprimand, that his children will grow up to know, and he simply cannot explain that to them. The pain that will be in their eyes when they confront him will be far worse than anything anyone else can say to him. It will be far greater than any financial losses.

Tiger Woods is not going to rebuild his reputation by staying at home like a grounded schoolboy, and he certainly would regain the trust of his wife by sitting by her side all day long singing 'I love only you, Elin'. Like the saying goes, if you love something, set it free.

Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition (July 2009)

2009-08-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

The results of the Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition (July 2009) judged by the Teesside duo Andy Willoughby and Bob Beagrie has been announced in the latest issue of Sentinel Literary Quarterly.

The winners are:

First Prize - Miles Cain - "Coffee"
Second Prize - Miles Cain - "Enemy Funeral"
Third Prize - Mandy Pannett - The God of Allotments

For the full information on the competition and to read the judges' report go to http://www.sentinelquarterly.com

On Otiono's reading in London

2008-06-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

After the reading at Waterloo Gallery, as I drove Nduka Otiono back to his cousin's in South London, he reflected on the way things had come together and said, "this is how literary history is made." He was right.

It all began in early May 2008, when Molara Wood wrote an e-mail informing me that Nduka Otiono was to visit the UK in June and wondered if we could organise a reading for him. I thought it was possible. But I had not been informed by Nduka Otiono himself that he was coming to England, so I could not do much. Nduka's e-mail came about 48 hours later and I said let's do it. I checked my calendar and figured I could have the gig on the 20th of June.

Then on the 17th of May, 2008 I attending the premiere of The Asylum - a film directed by my friend Obi Emelonye, at the Odeon Surrey Quays. As I arrived at the foyer, I met actor Anthony Monjaro whom I've known since 2000, and he was chatting with a young woman. Monjaro introduced the young woman as Aletia, and she quickly said her name in full: Aletia Upstairs!. It took me all of 5 seconds to realise Upstairs was part of her name, and I found it refreshing. I also learned that she was a Jazz singer/songwriter, and that she had already released an album entitled "Possibility."Never one to miss an opportunity, I asked her if she would be happy to perform at a poetry reading I was organising for a visiting Nigerian poet. "I would be delighted" she said.

Due to venue problems, the event finally took place on the 18th of June and attracted a small but respectable audience which included film directors Obi Emelonye and George Kelly, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu and his wife Ijeoma, Tim Pardon of the Financial Times, Molara Wood and others I did not get their names. But it went very well. Nduka Otiono's reading was great and Aletia Upstairs was a revelation and I thought immediately I must work with her again soon.

It was indeed a great Literary Evening.

Short Video Clips from the event:

Aletia Upstairs playing at the Eastern Light Literary Evening, June 18, 2008 and Nduka Otiono reads below. (These are short/incomplete clips.

- Nnorom Azuonye

Eastern Light Literary Evening June 18, 2008

2008-06-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

An Eastern Light Literary Evening hosted by Nnorom Azuonye will be held on June 18, 2008 at Waterloo Gallery, 14 Baylis Road, London SE1 7AA. For more details please click on the event leaflet below for a larger image.

Call for Short Stories

2006-05-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

This is a renewed call for submission of Short Stories to "My Trousers Are Longer Than Yours" - a collection of examining shifts in gender roles in the Nigerian family. The collection, the first anthology of new stories to appear on the Eastern Light imprint is edited by Chika Unigwe.
Learn More >>>

welcome to Eastern Light

2006-05-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

ABOUT EASTERN LIGHT EPM INTERNATIONAL

Eastern Light EPM International is an operating style of Opportunity Europe Business Services. Established in December 2005, Eastern Light has specialist interest in Entertainment, Publishing and Marketing Services.

ENTERTAINMENT
Our areas of interest include Film & Video Production and Distribution, Theatre Production, Live Performances & Variety Shows, and Music Video Production and Distribution.

PUBLISHING
Eastern Light also has interests in light transmedia publishing such as Short Story Collections, Poetry Collections, and Anthologies of Cross-Genre literatures, including Essays and Interviews. The publishing division will also include publication of own literary and commercial journals, and other organisations’ titles on a contract basis. We are looking at publishing in addition to conventional books in print, online and print journals, ebooks, and audio books.

MARKETING SERVICES
Marketing Services at Eastern Light are focused on complete event management packages for artists, writers and performers. We arrange everything from planning, choice of venue, design and printing of event brochures, merchandise and press. Events that will interest Eastern Light include Art Fairs and Exhibitions, Book Fairs, Book Launching and Reading Tours, Music Concerts, and Speaking Tours.

This blog will keep you up to date on all projects announced on the website. Some events to or projects may be first announced on this blogspot as it is much easier and faster to update from anywhere.

bookmark the blog and also the website www.opportunityeurope.com/easternlight