 How to win?
Read the current publications on the SLM website for April 1-30, 2019. Write a comment on 2 or more of the publications posted on the SLM website for April 1-30, 2019. Please add your name and email address when filling the comment box. Note: Email address will not be made public. See the guide to providing good feedback below TIPS FOR WRITING GOOD FEEDBACK The goal of providing feedback is; 1. to invite another reader into the world of beauty you have seen in a work 2. to provide a very brief summary of what you read. 3. to give your interpretation/perspective of what has been written. 4. to provide suggestions for improvement. We encourage that your comment meets at least 2 of these goals. The SLM team will evaluate the comments and select the winner of the book at the end of the month. Note: Comment on the poems, book reviews, articles, interviews and guest posts.
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 The annual Sprinng Literary Movement Poetry Contest is here for you. The prompt is easy: Write a simple poem (5-10 lines) on any theme of your choice. Eligibility: only Nigerians Living in Nigeria are eligible for this contest. Prizes include a N25,000 cash prize and a N10,000 gift card to shop at Roving Heights Bookstore. All submissions must be sent via email to sprinngliterarymovement@aol.com.
The subject of your submission via email must be “SLM 2019 Poetry Contest: Your Full Name”. You can either attach your submission or include it as the body of your email. Submission deadline is June 15, 2019.  The #3000BooksIn30Days was sparked weeks ago by a conversation with a brother-friend who recognized the impact of CTCTW in the lives of numerous children across the world, beginning from Ogbomosho. He said, “I can recognize the impact of what you are doing with CTCTW" and asked to know how he could volunteer while highlighting glaring literacy challenges children face in Ogbomosho and beyond.
You, just like this brother-friend are as crucial to the fulfillment of the #3000BooksIn30Days for children of Ogbomoso as a book is window for children to see beyond their limited spheres and reach the world just at their fingertips when they dare to dream. The launch of the #3000BooksIn30Days challenge has been paired with the World Book Day holding on the 23rd of April, 2019. Just one book from you can make a child's day, and even more books can be the key to unlocking their imaginations to potentials and achievements beyond their limitations. Powered by CTCTW (Children That Change the World) For more information on how to participate and donate books to a CTCTW center near you, visit: www.ctctw.org  Some years ago, I fell in love with poetry. Not long after, I sadly realised many people do not share this love for poetry. It was even more startling, discovering that a lot of such people were already avid readers. Poetry to them, is often like a restaurant menu item — the one you wrinkle your nose at and skip with your finger as you run it across the page.
Soon, I found a very simple reason for this ‘hatred’ of poetry. These people often find it ostentatious, intimidating, boring, and obscure. This rings truer especially when they struggle to understand or enjoy what is conventionally considered as brilliant poetry. In 2015, visual artists; Sara Goldschmied and Eleonora Chiari had an exhibition at the Meseion in Bolzano, Italy. It was called ‘Where Shall We Go Dancing Tonight?’. The exhibition later became news. After the event, the museum cleaners went in and got rid of the entire ‘work of art’— but considering the context, I’m sure most people wouldn’t blame the cleaners for throwing the installation away. What’s the average person’s first, second or even tenth impression, on sighting scattered empty wine bottles and strewn party decorations after an event? It isn’t “Oh! What a beautiful art installation; a recreation of a party aftermath”. Yet, this was expected of the unassuming cleaners. An EXCERPT FROM "BUT HERE YOU ARE" Tonight, instead
of planning dinner, a mother planned her daughter’s funeral. Like it is done to sacrifice, she dissected her heart and served her memories to the longing ears of consolations. As her teeth grated seasonings of darkness she tries to scrape out God from all the corners of this moment that she could find. Maybe God needed to pick a few of our sorrows from earth and this mother’s child's feet were the perfect set of f(or)(uc)ks for it. A Discussion about Values: Selfishness and Individualism betweenTolu Akinyemi, Author of "Your Father Walks Like a Crab" & Oyindamola Shoola, Author of "To Bee a Honey" This conversation with Tolu Akinyemi that led to discussing the idea of individualism started from a prompt on millennial values, how it is changing and their extremism. In a recent event at a leadership group, one of the ice breaking questions that a team of about 5 of us answered was, “how many children do you want to have?” We were all millennials in the group. Only one person was certain that she wanted to have children while the rest of us, some uncertain and others declined stating our reasons including “feeling as though taking care of a whole human being is too much of a responsibility.” Another reason was that some of us as high achieving individuals spent a lot of our late teenage years and early twenties taking on adult responsibilities including taking care of other people. So, we want time for ourselves. Another reason was that the world was already terrible enough with numerous children up for adoption, “why bring a new one to this world?”
At the core of all these reasons we gave for not wanting to have children in the future was a form of selfishness or self-centeredness that I could strongly identify with. At this point, Tolu and I elaborated on the consequences of this ideology that being self-centered is profitable which many motivational speakers preach. I have heard stories of speakers who decided to quit their day job, leave their family and travel to many places just to please themselves. I have heard and read about some feminists recently who state that because men have benefitted from women’s oppression for so long, any man that can’t meet the needs of a selfish and self-centered woman - who only wants isn’t worthy of having their time or attention.  Title: What a Time to Be Alone
Genre: Quotes, Essays, Memoir Author: Chidera Eggerue Publisher: Quadrille Publishing (August 7, 2018) Year of Publication: August 2017 Number of Pages: 192 ISBN: 978-1787132115 Reviewer: Oyindamola Shoola I have been stalling on writing a review for What a Time to Be Alone by Chidera Eggerue for over two months now, first because, it is taking me time to accept what the book offers, digest it, reevaluate myself and my life and fix things where necessary. Second, I don’t think there can ever be a review that fully captions and evaluate all that What a Time to Be Alone by Chidera Eggerue offers. Just imagine a combination of all your favorite motivational speakers in one book but from an extremely raw perspective and unapologetic voice. As a reader, What a Time to Be Alone has the power to unseat almost everything that you have thought wrongly about yourself, other people and that other people have thought about you. I read What a Time to Be Alone by Chidera Eggerue shortly after New Year celebrations, and while recommending it to other people, I simply told them to ditch the other New Year resolutions books to pick something real like this book.  Pamilerin Jacob is a young Nigerian poet & mental health enthusiast. His poem was shortlisted for the Ken Egba Prize For Festival Poetry 2017. Some of his poems also appear in the Best “New” African Poets 2017 Anthology (as Olawale Ibiyemi). He made the winning list of PIN Food Poetry Contest 2018. Author of Memoir of Crushed Petals (2018) & Gospels of Depression (2019); he is a staunch believer in the powers of critical thinking, Khalil Gibran’s poetry & chocolate ice cream. This interview was conducted by Uduak-Estelle Akpan. What inspires your writing?
Mortality. Why is poetry your choice genre? I always say, Poetry chose me. & even when I dabble into other genres, you can see the poetic impulse, floating in between the words. Why are you passionate about mental health advocacy as it is evident in your writings? I have a mental illness, & have tasted of what stigma does to healing. How it ruptures the process. How it renders hope inept. I find it a personal responsibility to dismantle the culture of silence surrounding mental health. Does one need any special attribute to be a good poet/ what in your opinion is that special thing? Thirst. There has to be a perpetual thirst for the betterment of the craft. Vulnerability too. In poetry, the poet rather than the tongue, speaks with the heart. You studied accounting in your first degree, is there any clear relationship between that and your work as a poet? I would say, the ability to search for imbalances & attempt to rectify them. The accountant balances the books, the poet balances the soul. Do you care about distinguishing your work from that of other writers/how do you make sure of that? Personally, I feel that a good poem is in itself unique. Doesn’t have to struggle to distinguish itself. A poet’s voice is sharpened through constant tonguing of self-truths, however frightening. & the reader will always recognize such a voice, though blindfolded. How do you balance your day to day engagements with the demands of writing? Honestly, I have no clue. But I guess it has to do with the fact that, there is thirst. So regardless of my activities, I always come back into a poem to marinate. Who are the five Nigerian writers that inspire you? This is a hard one. I have lots of them. Niyi Osundare, Servio Gbadamosi, Shoola Oyindamola, Logan February & Adedayo Agarau. (there are lots more though! Romeo Oriogun, Kanyinsola Olorunnisola, Saddiq Dzukogi, Odia Ofeimun, Christopher Okigbo, Jide Badmus, Chrisstie Jay, Kormbat, Obafemi Olatunde etc) Which are your top five Nigerian books? Waiting Laughters by Niyi Osundare A Tributary in Servitude by Servio Gbadamosi To Bee A Honey by Oyindamola Painted Blue with Saltwater by Logan February For Boys Who Went by Adedayo Adeyemi Agarau |
Are you a Nigerian Writer in need of mentorship or do you know a Nigerian Writer in need of mentorship?
The Application for the 2019 SLM Mentorship Program is now Open. Application Deadline is April 15, 2019 FREE E-BOOKs (CLICK THE BOOK COVERs BELOW TO DOWNLOAD)
THE WINNER OF FEBRUARY 2019's BOOK GIVEAWAY COULD BE YOU. POST TWO COMMENTS ON ANY OF OUR CURRENT PUBLICATIONS TO STAND A CHANCE OF WINNING.
Winner of March 2019's book giveaway is CeeJay.
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