Dairo Goodness wins the Motoni Olodun Slam on a night that tested talent, depth, and direction 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 […]
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 […]
OPEN MIC OGBOMOSO · VOLUME I · YEAR FOUR The Room, Gathered into a Book EWÌ ’MOSHO is the first official anthology from Open Mic Ogbomoso. It gathers writing that first lived before an audience: poems spoken aloud, carried through the room and preserved beyond a single performance. 24 poems Selected for the 2026 Reader […]
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. […]
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 […]
Submitted poem After the Fire Poem by Gideon Adeyeye — 2025 There are things fire cannot destroy. I know because I have lost things I thought would survive me. Plans Friendships. Money Certainty People. Versions of myself I once believed were permanent. Some burned slowly. Some disappeared in one afternoon. Some left smoke in rooms […]