Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Africa's year ends,LRA horror, and more websites of interest

On the radio today, it's the end of Britain's presidency of the EU and the G8 and they're trying to do some kind of summary- Bob Geldof and the UK Secretary for International Development trying very hard to convince listeners that progress has been made, some development activists more skeptical- with the hodge podge WTO deal that emerged in Hong Kong and the news that the IMF is putting barriers in the way of some of the poorest countries debts being written off...it's not hard to see why. I suppose it's a bit like optimism versus pessimism- do you measure on the basis of what could have been (and therefore lament the missed chance of using the renewed focus to push as far as possible) or do you celebrate the fact that there has even been renewed focus and whatever little you are able to achieve......From where I'm at right now- feeling very low and sad about Nigeria- I feel pulled towards the importance of grand gestures, even if they end up achieving very little in the long run....I've been here before but recent events in Nigeria have focused my mind........perhaps in a month or two, I'll be back to my cynicism or pragmatism (whichever you choose to call it) but for now I feel very vulnerable............I suppose the cold dark weather does not help matters....

Also on the radio- BBC Radio4 Today programme this morning, a haunting account of the atrocities being committed in northern Uganda by the Lord's Resistance Army- the report was read over the monotonously eerie song by a boy freed from the army who describes how he was made by his captors to slit the throat of another boy after attempts at beating him to death had failed....there was something about the quiet way in which he recounted the story that made me want to throw up- what sort of world is it that we inhabit where atrocities like these happen for nearly twenty years but never really make the global headlines?

Have stumbled across a few websites of interest recently- the Nigerian-Belgian writer-Chika Unigwe's http://users.skynet.be/chikaunigwe/en_main.html , a Nigerian-American online entertainment magazine http://www.nigerianentertainment.com, the Nigerian-American slam poetry artist Bassey Ikpi's http://www.basseyworld.com/

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

and as the year ends, another call for entries:Call for Submissions 20/12/2005



My Trousers Are Longer Than Yours

Short stories on shifting gender roles in the Nigerian family.

Edited by Chika Unigwe



Eastern Light EPM International plans to publish in March 2007 “My Trousers Are Longer Than Yours” - an anthology of short stories written by Nigerian authors on the real, hypothetical or imagined shifts in gender roles in the Nigerian family. The subject families could be resident in Nigeria or abroad. Authors may approach the story in any way they like: is the Nigerian family still dominated by men or have women taken over and now call the shots? Does an equal partnership exist between Nigerian men and their wives? If authors believe such equal partnerships could build a better society or destroy it, let them explore the themes according to their convictions. Writers are encouraged to be prophetic. Based on current state of affairs in the Nigerian family, what might the typical Nigerian family look like in 10 years time? Is there any thing as a typical Nigerian family? If a story manages all at once to provide a glimpse of the past, the present and the future of the Nigerian family, it could be exceptional.



10 Stories of no less than 3,000 (maximum 5000) words will be included in the book.



Deadline for submissions: July 30, 2006



Submissions all typed, double-spaced, should be sent as Microsoft Word attachment to: chikaunigwe@yahoo.com



Unaccepted stories will be deleted, please don’t send your only copy. Always copy your e-mail submissions to yourself so that you have a copy.



Any Nigerian, in Nigeria or abroad may submit stories to this anthology.



Every author included shall be paid a one-off amount of £50.00 + 2 copies of the book in the first two years, and a royalty of 2% of the list price for any copy of the book sold from the 3rd year onwards. Royalties shall be paid half-yearly.

If a second or revised edition appears within the first two years, then the royalties will apply before the 3rd year.



Copyright: Eastern Light EPM International shall retain copyright and reprint rights to the stories from the moment they are accepted for publication until March 31, 2008 when the rights should automatically revert to the individual authors.





Nnorom Azuonye

Publisher & Chief Operating Officer

Eastern Light EPM International

easternlightepm@yahoo.com