Philosophical Poetry I TIV Ason ShandeIor mba ve whum mbelaVe hemba ga, ka Aonda ahembeKwaghi adi wihin we zeoIta wan kpev ju yoMba Mongo hembeMan tume nom yongu nguharKpev ase aseo Tor Labe Gyuse tar u hegenWangbian kanan lu sha pywigwau va ieren.M va me dzor ieren. ENGLISH Ason Shandethose who locked me are notabove […]
On Saturday, January 31st, Kinora Restaurant by the Assembly in Ogbomoso hosted the first-ever slam poetry competition in the city. Branded the Motoni Olodun Slam, the event marked the 4th anniversary of the rebirth of Open Mic Ogbomoso, a community that has steadily grown from casual expression into a more intentional creative space. Hosted by […]
Over the past decade, I have read poems that were, in many ways, memoirs of everyday people. Not memoirs in the traditional sense, but little records of ordinary life: poems about growing up, falling in love, losing someone, being broke, leaving home, finding faith, questioning God, navigating friendship, surviving heartbreak, watching a country change. Some […]
An Open Mic Ogbomoso Anthology: Volume I, Year Four EWÌ ’MOSHO is the first official anthology from Open Mic Ogbomoso, curated in its fourth year. It documents poems that have lived on the mic—works spoken aloud, tested before a listening audience, and shaped by live performance. ARCHIVE AND ELIGIBILITYVolume I was open to poets who […]
Four years ago, I was out of a job and had just relocated from Maiduguri to Ogbomoso. It was a difficult season. In the middle of that uncertainty, I returned to spoken word poetry, something that has steadied me in my darkest moments. Through Vic’Adex Concepts and Aesthetic Resources, I scraped together Open Mic Ogbomoso. […]
Men, Not gods – Vic’Adex I see men dangling Upon the pikesOf a sentence called lifeMan treating her like a despicable imprisonment And in prison good behaviour gets you paroledMaybe that’s why good people die early Too often we pray to a god to pay our priceWhile we poise poignantly to proclaim the PrizeWe trade […]
A battle with unappreciated brilliance and a poet’s self-reflection on a great poem falling flat on stage. “If you want to evoke emotions and a response from people, give them something relatable.” — Dike Chukwumerije There is a particular kind of heartbreak that comes when a poet steps offstage after delivering what they know is […]
The blank page can be poetry’s greatest enemy. Many aspiring poets find themselves paralyzed by infinite possibilities, unsure where to begin or how to transform the swirling thoughts and emotions in their minds into coherent, meaningful verse. After completing 365 days of daily poetry writing and working with countless emerging poets, I’ve learned that the […]
The difference between a forgettable meeting and a transformative creative workshop lies not in the activities you choose or the materials you provide, but in your understanding of how creativity actually works and your ability to create the conditions where it can flourish. After facilitating dozens of creative workshops across diverse industries—from corporate innovation sessions […]