tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48470785116516777922024-03-05T19:33:23.523-08:00Writings of Anietie Isonganietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-41635528329594354592016-02-10T06:11:00.000-08:002016-02-10T06:11:00.211-08:00Birmingham and New Delhi<br />
I wrote this <a href="http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/latest/2009/08/28Aug-Delhi.aspx">press release</a> in 2009, when the University of Birmingham announced a special educational initiative for India by opening its first overseas office in the heart of New Delhi.<br />
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The University of Birmingham has announced a special educational initiative for India by opening its first overseas office in the heart of New Delhi.<br />
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The announcement was made at a specially organised event in New Delhi, attended by Sir Richard Stagg, the British High Commissioner to India, leading academics and dignitaries from leading businesses and distinguished alumni of the University of Birmingham in India.<br />
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The Office in New Delhi has been established to maintain partnerships with local providers, support the alumni in India, further consolidate research collaboration and provide local services to those students who want to study at the University.<br />
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Founded in 1900, the University is now one of the world’s leading universities for the quality of teaching and research. Birmingham was England's first civic university, where students from all religions and backgrounds were accepted on an equal basis.<br />
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The University welcomed the first students from India to their Edgbaston Campus in 1909. <br />
Professor David Eastwood, Vice-Chancellor of the University commented, “We have come a long way in developing international relations and are proud that India is the first country that we will have a permanent office presence.<br />
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Birmingham is passionate about working with the Indian education sector and the opportunities the new office will present. Despite the challenging economic times we are facing, India is experiencing its own golden era of change and so we are even more excited by the possibilities of working together at this special time.”<br />
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Birmingham has a number of research collaborations with several institutions across India that are helping to transform lives and to make a real impact on society. The University’s International Development Department has partnered with the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies to look at how faith communities and faith based organisations have engaged with post-conflict situations in Mumbai and Ahmedabadd.<br />
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The University’s Automotive Safety Centre is working with IIT Delhi to explore ways of reducing road traffic accidents in India. The centre has more than 40 years’ experience in traffic accident investigation and analysis and is particularly strong in the study of passenger car collisions.<br />
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Professor David Eastwood adds: “We are privileged to be based in one of the UK’s most ethnically diverse cities with a large population from the Indian sub-continent. This puts us in a unique position to tackle problems like obesity or Hepatitis C that not only affect our city, but also have global consequences. For example, the University is carrying out the UK’s largest study into heart failure in ethnic minority populations, involving more than 1,000 members of the Indian community in the city of Birmingham.<br />
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The lessons we will learn from this work can be applied across the UK, but also potentially in India. We hope our new presence here will enhance opportunities for research collaborations in areas like health, energy, transport and the economy.”anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-38606378611696336942016-02-10T05:57:00.000-08:002016-02-10T05:57:49.560-08:00My Press PorfolioI realized recently that the most of my press releases, written a couple of years ago have disappeared from the web! Very disheartening. So I have decided to post the few I have been able to find. Watch out for these!anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-48922440728622708392015-01-09T09:04:00.001-08:002015-01-09T10:17:10.023-08:00Tweeting AfricapitalismLev Manovich’s <em> The Language of New Media</em> was one of the first books I read on the concept of new media. Published in 2002, the book offered the first systematic and rigorous theory of new media. More than a decade later, many more books on the subject have appeared. These latest publications highlight the digital ethnography of the social media – from Facebook to Twitter. <br />
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As a researcher on African culture and technology, I am particularly interested in the role of Twitter in fostering change in Africa. And so, during Africapitalism Institute’s inaugural board meeting/panel discussion, on January 7, I looked forward to seeing how new media could also complement discussions around Africapitalism – a term coined by Tony Elumelu. It was a mixed multitude at the event. There were diplomats and journalists – plenty of them. Plus politicians too. I spotted Kayode Fayemi, former governor of Ekiti State.<br />
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When the online discussions kicked off, I was over the moon. Journalist Tolu Ogunlesi tweeted: “Attending @AfricapInst panel discussion in Abuja. Distinguished panel, speaking on 'Local Value Creation In #Africa'” – a first in a serious of tweets. Arunma Oteh, DG Securities and Exchange Comission tweeted too. And, of course, the Africapitalism Institute itself was disgorging tweets as Zain Verjee, moderated the panel session. People asked questions too, on Twitter. Professor Calestous asked: “What can be done to strengthen links between entrepreneurship and engineering?”<br />
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These tweets, retweets and hashtags on Africapitalism highlight how the public sphere can help to shape discussions. In the past, the public sphere, as conceived by social scientists was a physical melting pot of some sort, where people converged to discuss matters of public interest. In the era of Twitter and Facebook, the public sphere transcends space. The Africapitalism Institute’s inaugural board meeting gave a voice to many Africans (who could not attend the event in person) by encouraging Twitter discussions around Africapitalism. <br />
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Thought leaders that make up the Africapitalism Institute’s Global Advisory Board include former Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar; notable economist and proprietor of the economic classification terms “BRIC” and “MINT”, Jim O’Neill;Professor Tandeka Nkiwane, Special Advisor to the CEO of NEPAD; Matthew Bishop, globalization editor of the Economist, and Amir Ben Yahmed, Managing Director of the Jeune Afrique Group.<br />
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More about the Institute <a href="http://www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/africapitalisminstitute/">here</a>anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-82168021953261211322013-04-04T04:25:00.000-07:002013-04-04T04:29:00.010-07:00Nollywood@20In the summer of 2000, I graduated from the University of Ibadan with a BA degree in Communication and Language Arts. My final year thesis was on Nollywood. I was excited about Nigeria’s emerging movie industry. During my research, I annoyed respondents with many probing questions. I interviewed movie practitioners and government representatives, including a senior officer with the Nigerian Copyright Commission. Today I am pleased that much more comprehensive research have been carried out on the film industry. Academic essays and texts on Nollywood are now flourishing. A few weeks ago, I met a PhD student from France. She was in Lagos to collect data on Nollywood. <br />
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This month, Nigerian movie practitioners celebrate 20 years of Nollywood. How did Nollywood come from behind to become the world’s second largest producer of films? I was in secondary school when Living in Bondage - a movie touted to have kicked off Nollywood - was produced. The film was in the Igbo language and it wasn’t even subtitled. But everyone was talking about it. Everyone was watching it. I watched it too, though I didn’t understand the language. <br />
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Twenty years is a long time. In Nollywood, a lot has happened. <br />
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In the beginning, movies were shot, recorded and sold directly on the streets – to vendors and video clubs, bookshops, supermarkets and churches. Today cinemas have sprouted all over Nigeria. Silverbird Cinemas for instance has branches in major cities, including Abuja and Port Harcourt. So do Genesis Cinema and Filmhouse. Nigerian home videos are screened alongside American blockbusters. A few years ago, the idea of screening Nigerian movies in the cinema was inconceivable. <br />
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Movie premieres at cinemas are now becoming standard practice in Nollywood. During the Easter holidays, my sister Emem Isong, alongside her friends Monalisa Chinda and In Edo premiered their latest movie – ‘Weekend Gateaway’ in Victoria Island, Lagos. I was there. Friends and colleagues came out in grand style. Monalisa arrived in a limousine. At the red carpet, the stars strutted and posed as a thousand flashlights flushed their faces. <br />
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Nollywood fans who cannot go to the cinema can watch their favourite movies on DSTV – the monopolistic multi-channel digital satellite TV service in Africa. DSTV has at least four ‘Africa Magic’ channels devoted to showing Nollywood movies. The stations are not free, but are among the most watched satelite channels on the continent. That is why some practitioners grumble about the paltry royalties they get from Africa Magic. But truth be told: DSTV has done a lot of good for Nollywood. I know movie practitioners who make movies just to sell to Africa Magic. And this year, the AfricaMagic Viewers' Choice Awards took place in Lagos to celebrate actors from all over Africa. I watched the ceremony in the comfort of my living room. In my opinion, it was one of the best award ceremonies ever held in Africa.<br />
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Twenty years is a long time. <br />
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When Nollywood started, it was made up of mostly Nigerian trained theatre artistes. Over the last few years, many budding artistes have gone abroad to study the art of filmmaking. Some have gone to study at the New York Film Academy. I am on the board of Royal Arts Academy – a film school in Lagos. My sister Uduak Oguamanam who is the academic director of the school tells me they receive countless applications every session. She goes through every single application and is amazed by the determination of the budding actors to broaden their knowledge. Ocassionaly, she gets imperfect applications from people who cannot even spell their names correctly. <br />
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Nollywood has not been perfect. I have seen sloppy storylines and mediocre acting. I have seen poor directing and poor production. But I am an optimist. I believe Nollywood will get better. This is an industry that started with nothing. No big investors. No government support. <br />
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Twenty years is a long time. <br />
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I salute the men and women who remain committed to the industry. Like my sisters Emem and Uduak. I salute the departed who left too soon. Like my friend, brother and mentor Francis Agu. <br />
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Twenty years is a long time. Nollywood will get betteranietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-72515113292564080612013-04-04T04:06:00.002-07:002013-04-04T04:06:44.190-07:00Where have I been?I have been away for so long ... but I am back now.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-73949922800255056042009-11-18T01:35:00.000-08:002009-11-18T01:40:42.106-08:00Short story reviewMy short story, 'Devotion' has been reviewed in the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/roads-ahead-edited-by--catherine-oflynn-1813581.html">Independent</a>. More <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/roads-ahead-edited-by--catherine-oflynn-1813581.html">here</a>.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-10623985664088877072009-09-24T01:47:00.000-07:002009-09-24T02:49:25.535-07:00Roads AheadMy short story 'Devotion' is published in an anthology of short stories, <em>Roads Ahead</em> edited by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_O%27Flynn">Catherine O'Flynn</a>. It is available to buy <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roads-Ahead-Catherine-OFlynn/dp/1906994005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250777157&sr=8-1">here</a>.<br /><br />There's also a review of the book <a href="http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/tindal-street-10/">here</a>.<br /><br />In 1999 a spiky collection of young writing was put together by the <a href="http://www.tindalstreet.co.uk/">Tindal Street </a>imprint, the first on a prize-winning road ahead. Receiving critical acclaim for its energy and variety, and awarded an Arts Council publishing prize, <em>Hard Shoulder</em> kick-started the careers of many young writers, editors and publishers. Ten years on, <a href="http://www.tindalstreet.co.uk/">Tindall Street Press </a>celebrates a decade of publishing – and commitment to the short story and wealth of regional writing talent with <a href="http://www.tindalstreet.co.uk/books/roads-ahead">Roads Ahead</a>.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-83708664372456953092009-09-21T06:30:00.000-07:002009-09-21T06:42:42.760-07:00Kachi Ozumba's Shadow of a SmileKachi Ozumba's first novel <em>Shadow of a Smile</em> is now out. The story: Torn from his father and a loving sister, the young student Zuba is imprisoned for a crime he has not even thought about committing. His misfortune: to live in a world where corruption is rife and honest and law-abiding people are crushed by the wheels of a blind, unscrupulous bureaucracy. More <a href="http://www.almabooks.co.uk/shadow-of-a-smile-the-p-333-book.html">here</a>.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-25884422758448477882009-09-21T06:20:00.000-07:002009-09-21T06:28:44.983-07:00Uwem Akpan humbled by Oprah pickNigerian author Uwem Akpan, who is a Jesuit priest, said he was "humbled" that his debut collection of short stories was chosen by influential U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey for her book club. More <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE58J1UZ20090921">here.</a>anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-20382704747567834132009-06-28T09:25:00.000-07:002009-06-28T09:30:32.735-07:00Now you can talk!You are inches away from God is Good Telephone Centre – a rickety structure with rusted metal roofs. The man inside the cubicle is ranting on the mobile phone. You imagine his wife on the other end, defiant, bellowing back. You picture her at her oven hot home, tapping her foot on the floor, waving at the kids, and urging them to be quiet. Noisy motorcycles rattle past. A skinny dog barks. This is Lagos.<br /><br />In the hotel room, you switch on your television set. The presenter announces that Africa is now the world's fastest-growing cell phone market. The number of mobile users in Africa is growing at double the rate of the rest of the globe. From 1999 through 2004, mobile subscribers in Africa jumped to 76.8 million, from 7.5 million, an average annual increase of 58 percent.<br /><br />The revelation tickles your ears, takes you by surprise. Your cold fingers clutch the coffee table. You have never thought Africans to be great telephone users. How could these people, with their tribal strives and diseases, afford the luxury of a telephone? They were too poor - living on $2 a day or less, they were supposed to be too poor to justify corporate investments in mobile telecommunications outside the more prosperous continents. The newscaster takes you on a voyage, tells you that when African nations began to privatize their telephone monopolies in the mid-1990's, and competitive operators began to sell air time in smaller, cheaper units, mobile phone use exploded. Demand for air time was so strong in Nigeria that from late 2002 to early 2003 operators there were forced to suspend the sale of SIM cards, while they strengthened their networks.<br /><br />In the beginning, people in the remote villages were so eager for service that they built ‘treehouses’ to catch signals from distant mobile phone masts. Beads of perspiration appear on your forehead. You and your Western friends would have invoked the laws of health and safety. Risk assessment. Fire drills. Evacuation. Yesterday, you met an old woman unable even to write her last name, telling customers to call her mobile phone if they wanted to buy the akara she sold. Time stood still and framed for you then. You stood and watched the woman, in her pale blue dress. <br /><br />The sun is setting. The sky wraps around itself a purple hue. It makes you want to weep. You have always known Africans to be ingenious. Look at what they did to the English language. They added a bit of this and that, and came out with the Pidgin language. But you didn’t think that they would carry their ingenuity over to the mobile phones. In order to save calling units, most people in Nigeria resort to a practice called ‘flashing’ which means just to dial a number, let it ring once or twice and then hang up before the person called is able to touch a button. In Kenya, they have introduced a service called M-Pesa. This is simply an extra line on the mobile phone menu that says: "Send Money". With this, people go to an office, transfer funds onto their phone account, and then send them to their friends, or family, or anybody else with a mobile. The receivers then go to an office, show the code on the mobile and some ID, and collect the cash.<br /><br />Music oozes from the TV. You feel comforted, becalmed by the African beats. Analysts have agreed that the technology revolution has come to African countries via the mobile phone, not the personal computer, as it did in America and Europe. And just as the internet encouraged the creation of some dotcom firms, the mobile phone boom in Africa may create the same sort of businesses, but tailored to local needs. <br /><br />You become aware of your heart thumping, of the blood thudding in your ears. By the year 2012, around 485-million people in Africa will be mobile phone users. Increasingly mobile phones firms in Africa are encouraging users to venture online via their handsets.<br /><br />You have always loved literature. In Things Fall Apart, you discovered the rich Igbo culture. South Africans have now launched the first text based entertainment, fiction written specifically for the mobile phone. Novel Idea inspires innovative content creation on the mobile platform. The pilot, which launched on 7 July 2008, is apparently the first time short fiction has been specifically commissioned for delivery via mobile phones in Africa. It has also been a unique way to promote professional South African writers.<br /><br />The mobile phone revolution tells us of the ability of the silenced to triumph over adversity. It tells us that Africa has not been swallowed by history; Africa too knows how to swallow history!anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-87018914452481396842009-06-22T05:11:00.000-07:002009-06-22T05:13:48.231-07:00Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prizeA debut novelist who says he's never really had a proper job has won the world's richest literary award. American writer Michael Thomas beat authors including Philip Roth, Doris Lessing and Joyce Carol Oates to take the €100,000 (£85,000) Impac Dublin prize with his debut novel, Man Gone Down. More <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jun/11/debut-novelist-impac-dublin-prize">here.</a>anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-40334078881793159022009-06-22T04:59:00.000-07:002009-06-22T05:02:41.434-07:00Oyeyemi's White is for WitchingAnyone who has read those earlier books, The Icarus Girl and The Opposite House, will find themselves in familiar territory, as Oyeyemi revisits a few of their themes: haunted houses, unquiet memories, female insanity, twins, eating disorders. More <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jun/20/white-is-for-witching-oyeyemi">here.</a>anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-80304085052877370382009-04-21T02:10:00.000-07:002009-04-21T02:12:13.161-07:00The Penguin Prize for African WritingPenguin Books has announced a new literary award for writers from the African continent. The Penguin Prize for African Writing has two categories: a previously unpublished full-length work of adult fiction and one of non-fiction. The prize in each category will be R50 000 and a publishing contract with Penguin Books South Africa, with worldwide distribution via Penguin Group companies. More <a href="http://www.penguinbooks.co.za/african-winners/index.php">here</a>anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-2003438518562556422009-03-06T07:52:00.000-08:002009-03-06T08:13:20.421-08:00The JacksonsSeems to me that the Jacksons will always be in the news. <a href="http://www.channel4.com/bigbrother/housemates/profile.jsp?housemateId=55">LaToya</a> featured in this year's <a href="http://www.channel4.com/bigbrother/housemates/profile.jsp?housemateId=55">Celebrity Big Brother</a>. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/feb/17/jacksons-star-planning-slavery-memorial">Marlon</a> is involved in a controversial development to turn a former slave port into a luxury resort that will house a Jackson Five museum, five-star hotel and slavery memorial. The king himself Michael, has announced a series of comeback <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7925914.stm">concerts</a> at the O2 arena in London. Stepping through the red curtains at the O2 arena in London to the hysterical screams of his loyal fans, the King of Pop almost seemed like his old self once more.<br />There were broad smiles, sparkling silver and jewels adorning his black jacket, and waves and peace signs for his army of followers. More <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7927424.stm">here</a>.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-50343693684646759242009-03-06T07:37:00.000-08:002009-03-06T07:40:30.800-08:00Dialogue Among Civilisations“Dialogue among Civilisations” forms the basis for a new initiative by Art for Humanity. It involves collaboration between artists and poets from Africa and those countries who participated in the 2006 Soccer World Cup. The participants will be invited to create work on the theme of identity, land, object and belief. <br /><br />More details <a href="http://www.afh.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=278&Itemid=116">here</a>anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-66502832989892881522008-11-06T02:02:00.000-08:002008-11-06T02:11:00.425-08:00Es'kia Mphahlele: And the Man DiedEzekiel (Es’kia) Mphahlele, African writer, teacher and arts activist, was born on December 17, 1919. He died on October 27, 2008, aged 88. Mphahlele’s writings had a strong autobiographical strain: he was persecuted and driven into exile himself, experiences which provided the material for his art. This was reflected, above all, in his second and most popular work, Down Second Avenue, published in 1959 — a vivid account of growing up in rural northern South Africa and in a bustling Pretoria black township before the Second World War. More <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article5050292.ece">here</a>.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-42345509817412222042008-11-06T01:57:00.000-08:002008-11-06T02:02:23.383-08:00African Writers and the InternetI gave a talk recently at the Institute of Creative Technologies. I looked briefly at the mobile phone revolution in Africa. Jess reported it <a href="http://www.jesslaccetti.co.uk/labels/africa.html">here</a>.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-79315087525838436032008-10-08T13:57:00.000-07:002008-10-08T14:00:06.165-07:00New Media Writing and Publishing, 22 Oct 2008, IOCTEvery autumn, First Year CWNM students spend a week on campus at DMU. This year Campus Week includes a day of discussion open to DMU students, staff, and the general public. <a href="http://www.hum.dmu.ac.uk/blogs/cwnm/">More here.</a>anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-67095205584002388482008-07-17T03:28:00.000-07:002008-07-17T03:34:59.598-07:00More on "Say You're One of Them"This astonishing first collection of short stories marks the arrival of a major writer - The Independent. Read more <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/say-youre-one-of-them-by-uwem-akpan-864387.html">here</a>.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-35060301811444333182008-07-17T03:21:00.000-07:002008-07-17T03:27:28.764-07:00Uwem Akpan: "Say You're One of Them"Uwem Akpan is a Nigerian writer whose debut collection of short stories "Say You're One of Them" has been well received. In 2004, when the Rev. Uwem Akpan applied to the graduate program in creative writing at the <a title="More articles about the University of Michigan." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/university_of_michigan/index.html?inline=nyt-org">University of Michigan</a>, his folder attracted a lot of attention. He was both a Nigerian and a Jesuit priest, and the program was unused to applicants from either category. And though Father Akpan’s talent was abundantly evident, if a little raw, Eileen Pollack, the director of the program, recalled recently, there was some hesitation on the part of the admissions committee. “There were discussions about having a priest be part of workshops where students would be writing about sex and drugs,” Ms. Pollack said.<br /><br />Read more <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/books/03akpan.html?ref=africa">here</a>anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-64498105940295691422008-04-14T09:57:00.000-07:002008-04-14T10:03:20.770-07:00Call for Papers - New African JournalAnnouncing the launch of a new journal on African studies entitled Africana: A Journal of Ideas on Africa and the African Diaspora, a bi-annual (two issues per year) targeting an audience of scholars, practitioners, and other parties interested in African issues. The journal is meant to be multidisciplinary with a global distribution. We are currently seeking submissions and invite you to consider writing an original and unpublished article or book review to be included in our next volume. We are also interested in submissions from colleagues working in organisations similar to your own and kindly request that you circulate this Call for Papers among your own networks.<br /><br />Submissions should be made to Editorial Co-ordinator, Yilma Tafere Tasew, at editor@africanajournal.org in Microsoft Word format. A brief biography and contact detailsshould be included with all submissions. Alternatively, you can mail submissions to:<br />Dr Christopher LaMonica<br />Senior Editor, Africana Journal<br />Political Science & International Relations Programme<br />Victoria University of Wellington<br />PO Box 600<br />Wellington 6001<br />New Zealand<br />Tel: +64 (4) 463-5760<br />Fax: +64 (4) 463-5414anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-37131183828083727242008-02-26T13:48:00.000-08:002008-02-26T13:55:13.858-08:00"Playing Games" (New Short Story)Nene, my cousin, called the gossip session the real meeting. I watched her closely as she mingled with the other women. I noticed for the first time how bony her hand was, how all the veins that ought to have been covered with healthy flesh stood out like the drawing of a school child. But Nene was not an old woman. It was too much hard work that had aged her. As the bread winner, she supported her family with sales of akara and other petty goods. As in my own case, her husband had left her for the world beyond. <br /><br />To read more, click <a href="http://www.gowanusbooks.com/Playing_Games_Anietie_Isong.htm">here</a>anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-51530557019583814012007-12-06T07:39:00.000-08:002007-12-06T07:54:41.539-08:00Chika UnigweChika Unigwe is on reading a tour. If you reside in Lagos, please don't miss this event. Chika is a great writer. Visit <a href="http://www.kachifo.com/general/news.php?id=2&page=story">here</a> for more details.<br /><br />Here is an excerpt from Chika's story, <em>Alek: </em><br />"Alek had never heard her father sound like that: timid. Servile. She felt embarrassed for him, this efficient policeman. Maybe on his knees. “Please, Sir…” the faltering voice. Begun but not finished. A shot amputating the rest of his sentence. A stillness. Inside the cupboard, the smell of fear. Rising and rising. Then, a wail. Ma sounding bigger, louder."<br /><br />Read more <a href="http://www.sentinelquarterly.com/1-1/chika_unigwe.htm">here</a>.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-13812234041763659652007-11-22T08:22:00.000-08:002007-11-22T08:24:22.401-08:00Adieu CyprianIn my primary and secondary school days, I devoured Cyprian Ekwensi’s adventure series: <em>Samankwe and the Highway Robbers</em>, <em>Samankwe in the Strange Forest</em>, <em>Passport of Mallam Ilia</em>, etc. I recently discovered his <em>Survive the Peace</em> at the University of Leicester library. The slim book vividly portrays the aftermath of the Biafra civil war. Many years ago, (I cannot remember the exact year) at the University of Ibadan Theatre, I played the role of Mallam Ilia in a stage adaptation of the <em>Passport of Mallam Ilia</em>. The writer himself, Cyprian Ekwensi was present. RIP Cyprian.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847078511651677792.post-64326302063985169862007-11-13T09:08:00.000-08:002007-11-13T09:23:07.370-08:00Inclusion and ExclusionWhat is the fate of immigrants in today's Britain? How well can an African integrate into the way of life here? There have been talks about "Equal Opportunites" and "British jobs for British people". My short story, "Strangers" deals with the immigrant experience in contemporary Britain. It is published in <a href="http://www.farafinamagazine.com/">Farafina</a>.anietiewriteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07071397138673092773noreply@blogger.com3