By Namse Udosen
I came across Poetic Wednesday on Facebook. It was refreshing to see young people telling their stories in verse. During the Covid lockdown, I followed keenly as Eclectic voices sang tunes that ranged from despair to hope.
Poetry is a beautiful part of literature often not paid deserved attention in this climes. It breathes colours and creates philosophy.
Immersing myself in the words of the poets of Poetic Wednesday provides me with a refreshing view of life in Northern Nigeria.
Asides from providing an outlet on social media for budding poets they have organized a series of offline creative writing workshops for more than 300 secondary school students in Kano, Katsina, Yobe And Kaduna. These workshops provide opportunities for non-formal education in creative writing. These workshops also expand the thinking range of these students and them better in their academic work. Many young writers have participated in and won writing competitions which are important for building confidence.
Poetic Wednesday has used its online presence to drive narrative around pressing societal issues in Arewa. The works have been bold and daring covering issues ranging from domestic violence, Almajirci, Drug Abuse, and Girl Child Education. The conservative toga around Northern Nigeria is regularly broken by the strength of the poetry published.
I have also had the opportunity of attending some of the physical poetry events. Asides from the big players in Kaduna, they have one of the best poetry events in Kaduna. The energy within those halls lacks joulage.
They have been able to collaborate and partner with several literary organizations such as The Art-Muse Fair, Open Arts, Ahmadu Bello University Arts Festival (ABUFEST), Poets In Nigeria (PIN), Creative Writers Club, ABU Zaria, Minna Book and Arts Festival (MinnaBAF), For The Love of Poetry, Campus Watch, The AlhanIslam Tutoring Center, Chapter One, Open Arts, Hausa International Book and Arts Festival and several others to support and promote literary activities.
I am glad to be part of their growth and successes. I don’t know where they get their drive from but I appreciate the sacrifices of the young men and women behind the initiative. Long live Poetic Wednesday.
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