Emokpaire Faith was born on December 10th, 1998 in Okigwe Main town, Imo state. She is currently studying biochemistry in Federal University, Otueke, Bayelsa state. Her love for words draws inspiration from the likes of great poets and authors like Justin Blanley, Chinyere .M. Ugokwe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Between June and August 2018, there was a call for submission for the Sprinng Literary Movement annual poetry contest. The prompt of the contest was to: "write a simple poem on any theme of choice, between 5-10 lines."

Out of the 238 submissions that we received for this contest, we have found Emokpaire Faith worthy to be the winner of the SLM 2018 Poetry Contest. She will be receiving the N25,000 cash prize plus N10,000 gift-card to shop for books at Roving Heights.

See the winning poem below:

Between June and August 2018, there was a call for submission for the Sprinng Literary Movement annual poetry contest. The prompt of the contest was to: "write a simple poem on any theme of choice, between 5-10 lines." Out of the 238 submissions that we received for this contest, we have found the following writers worthy to be on the shortlist, and have the possibility of winning the N25,000 cash prize plus N10,000 to shop for books at Roving Heights.

Please note that the names and poems are not presented in any order of priority. The shortlisted writers are:

Temitope Omamegbe
Tamilore Oladipo
Emokpaire Faith
Adeleye Mariam
Eyimofe Okuwoga

See their poems below.

Recently, I was struggling with making certain decisions in marketing myself, my poems, and books. I expressed my concern to my “board of trustees” which include some of my closest friends, both non-writers, and writers.
 
Particularly the conversation I had with three people: Kukogho Samson Iruesiri, Tolu Akinyemi, and Kanyinsola Olorunnisola helped me to make the best decision. I had to decide between keeping a new social media account with more followers in addition to the two that I already had which had fewer followers.
 
Upon republishing To Bee a Honey, with Jeanius Publishing, my knowledge about book publishing increased. With Pierre Jeanty’s suggestions, I learned why a writer’s social media posting and presentation matters and how to engage my audience. With every new knowledge that I gained, my social media accounts slowly became more of a responsibility than a platform where I post things for fun. The fact that I had 3 Instagram accounts did not make the situation better. I started slacking in posting and often when I posted something, I would delete it in a few days out of disgust at my inconsistency.
 
I had three accounts – One for postings about my blog, book reading progress, and pictures of me, one named To Bee a Honey, for feedback about my book and photos of To Bee a Honey and another account for my poems only.
 
What was more frustrating was the lack of engagement through feedback on my posts. As someone who has grown so much from receiving feedback through mentorship and writes book reviews, I was craving comments. I was not satisfied by likes on a poem or a picture.
 
The first time I had a conversation about having multiple accounts, it was with Kukogho, who had raised a friendly concern that having multiple accounts, and especially a new may affect the community I already built online and then my works. I understood him well, and I was open to his suggestions. However, I wanted to hear multiple perspectives.
 
I spoke to Tolu Akinyemi who further analyzed social media content building and the difference between a community and an audience. I learned a lot from our conversation and here is an excerpt of the notes that I took during my conversation with Tolu Akinyemi.

You woke up this morning still slightly depressed by the thought of what transpired between you and Mama Labake. What is most saddening is that statement. That statement you have come to hate profusely. And you call yourself a pastor’s wife! You did not want those words to keep ringing, but, they did the exact opposite.

Because it is Sunday, a day that doesn’t permit you to be your true self, you cannot afford to be sad for long. So, you wrap your feelings and leave the remnant for the night, where darkness and silence will encourage you to be true.

Your husband comes in from the study and begins to complain that you have not started dressing for church. You know your gele takes time, he says. You do not respond, because you are angry.

You mount the pulpit to lead prayers; to make the path straight for the man of God who will come up after you to preach. You start by singing. You always start singing. Then, the tears pour. Although the congregation joins you to sing tearfully, you wish your reasons were the same.

The steps of people walking from the congregation toward the pulpit slowly jerks you back to reality. You check your note and stare at the title of the message; then you look up to watch as healings occur. You sigh, not for the thought of needing healing yourself, but how impossible it is for you to be in that line, with the congregation.

You decide not to stay to see people after the church service. As you head out towards the other wing of the auditorium, you remember that you should apologize to Mama Labake, to maintain the sanity of your conscience.

Love is blind they say.
Well so is Stevie and he still makes me wonder
So is Cobhams and he still has a fine dame.
We should all be blind!
Blind to those who undermine us, dig into our mine and make them mime.
Blind to doubts so we can win the bouts of life. 
Be blind so you can see.