A flight into the world of poetry

By EVELYN OSAGIE
(Culled from The Nation 17/9/2008)

*Sage Has.Son

Poetry and music are two of a kind; it seems there is an invisible knot tying them together. It was in the spirit of creativity that poets thundered their poetic essence last Saturday, under the Samarkand Tree at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. People from all walks came to listen to the poets’ rhymes at the second edition of WordSlam tagged: A feast of poetic flights. Evelyn Osagie reports.

Under the Samarkand Tree at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, Mainland, was where the bards and poetesses met, dined and wined with "Mother Nature" and "Father Creativity".

It was at the WordSlam II, which turned out to be a poetic feast, garnished with rhythm, rhymes and chants. The word truly came alive as the poets took turns to render their lines.

* AJ Dagga Tolar
The National Theatre, Lagos never had it so good. The audience left there soaked and deeply immersed in the creative muse. Folks from all walks of life turned out in their numbers to celebrate poetry.

In the first edition at the German Cultural Centre on Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, the audience was thrilled to rounds of poetry renditions by frontline poets, such as Odia Ofiemum, and young ones who kept them glued to their seats. The latest edition was quite refreshing; staying out with nature seemed to do the audience a lot of good. Not minding the flight of time, they allowed themselves to be taken on a poetic spree.

* Cornerstone

Poetry is as old as man; what keeps changing is its mode of performance. Little wonder the organisers said of their initiative that they were merely experimenting with the newness in the mode of performance of the genre, and not with the creative impulse.

They, however, warned: "One of the errors to make in the case of engaging poetry on the African continent and in pre-literate cultures is to assume that it is read."

* Awoko

With WordSlam II, they believe that they are again on the terrain of their forebears; this is a journey back to the beginning of poetry; and that is why, once more, they brought together some of the best chanters of the spoken word whose performances were backed by exotic tunes played by Biodun and Batik Band who played their hearts out.




But they are not alone in such experiment for an age of poetry is born - the rise of the era of poetic monologues. Various poetry slams have begun to take-off across the country, from one geo-political zone to another; and the genre is beginning to enjoy the recognition it deserves. One of such is the popular Abuja Slam which is an annual poetry feast where the lords and ladies of poetry meet and challenge one another on a poetry arena. With events, such as this, the new found prominence and attention the genre has stated to receive will be sustained. Fresh talents would be discovered and encouraged until it becomes a way of life.


*Dede Mabiaku and the Batik Band


* Dede and Aiyeola Mabiaku with the compere Ropo Ewenla

It appears that this new mode of performing poetry is wading its way through the entertainment industry. And it is likely to continue until it becomes a brand.

On parade at event were five of those who featured at the first edition – Marxist disciple Dagga Tolar; Awoko, the oral performer who combines the beats of gongo with his renditions; Cornerstone, the fabric designer-turned poet and musician; Edaoto, the Afrobeat musician and actor and Sage Hasson who would do well as a rap artiste.

New poets found their way on the poetic runway. They included the young voice with a mature message, Ayodeji Akinpelu; Lanre Ari-Ajia, the poet in the mode of traditional pun masters; Aye-Ola Mabiaku, sister of the Afrobeat eccentric Dede Mabiaku who was also at the event to watch his sister perform; Segun Eluyemi, the multi-instrumentalist with an incredible ability to make sound out of the most improbable objects; Ajankoro, lord of traditional Yoruba play-on-words-style; Prince Wale Laoye from the ancient town of Ede; Uche Nwadinachi who makes one think he has seen the first real performance from the West African region, particularly, Benin Republic; Segun Ola and Seun Beckely, among others.

* The Priest of the proceeding Ropo Ewenla with members of FootPrints who were also in attendance
There pieces centred on themes, such as life, death, history, love, pain, success disillusionment and so on.

Each bard had his unique style and mode of rendition. Some from Yoruba blended their oral traditional poetry, like Ewi, Isorokewi, Iforodara (pun) and the likes, with modern style of renditions. Some maintained the modern genre though with various styles of rendition while others, such as Sage went a step by having a fusion of rhythm and poetry. They spoke poetry in various languages but were united by the genre.



Whichever medium of rendition, the power with which they read their poems and highlighted their themes aroused various emotions in the audience, who were carried along in the Flight of Poetry to the land of inspiration. The themes treated by each varied from life, death, love, hate, pessimism, optimism, history, religion, erotic, romantic, as well as current themes in our national polity. Like drama, each session was engaging as most of the poetic renditions were interactive, involving the audience.

* Wale Laoye and the drum poetry

The audience was flooded with highly elevated language. Among the poets that performed, Aye-Ola’s performance was striking.

With the likes of Aye-Ola, women now have a voice to speak out on their behalf through a more refined medium – poetry.

* Aiyeola
Some members of the audience said her rendition scared them; others said it was exotic. Whatever emotion that she stirred, on stage, she carried on with passion and became a voice for the women folk. Each of her renditions bordered on women as the subject matter: her strength, weakness, joy and pain. I don’t wish to be a man, Passion of the mind and When a mad man died were some of the poems she performed.

"My genre of poetry is the ancient kind. In English, it is called pun," said Ajankoro who played with words in Yoruba. He treated the audience with a session of Iforodara.

His major rendition warned people that while enjoying the things of the world, they should not forget living a life of purity and intergrity. Ema je doo gbagbe ododo and Jabata Labata were the two Yoruba poems he presented.

The poets were not the only ones that entertained. Dede Mabiaku played one of Baba‘s songs entitled Wahala which was an interactive session; the audience was compelled to sing along.

For everyone present, it was an opportunity to join in the Felabration which is already in the air as the world remembers the late Afrobeat King, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.


* Uche Nwadinashi

Footprints, a group of upcoming and young poets, also performed at the event.

The slam has ended but the memories lingers. Those who graced the occasion left with high expectation for what the next edition would bring and which poets would feature.