'Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read!' William Faulkner

Sappho (trans. by Anne Carson):

“Nonfiction writers are second-class citizens, the Ellis Island of literature. We just can’t quite get in. And yes, it pisses me off.” —Gay Talese buff.ly/4a9hemO

“To be alive at all is to have scars.” — John Steinbeck

Poetry is contagious.

"More is lost by indecision than wrong decision" — Marcus Tullius Cicero

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

“I don’t want to sound like a misanthrope, but there’s something wrong with us.” —Ishmael Reed buff.ly/3OT0lD4

I have a new essay out. it’s published on Afapinen and considers the myth of Lagos from the perspective of four great artists from different generations. read & let me know what you think afapinen.com/2024/02/21/lag…

I am pleased to share that my very personal essay titled 'Departures' has been published by The Republic Read here; republic.com.ng/february-march… Enjoy! ❤️

Beautiful. Just beautiful. ❤️ Jon Fosse - Nobel Prize lecture nobelprize.org/prizes/literat…

Are you an African writer looking for submissions opportunities? The Doek List is a directory of literary magazines with a track record of publishing African voices—have a look through its list and see which magazine would provide a home for your work. doeklitmag.com/the-doek-list/

Our latest issue offers new perspectives on feminism under the theme of Black Feminism as a Vehicle for Global Solidarity. Our February–April 2024 magazine issue, An African Feminist Manifesto, is now available! Order here: republic.com.ng/product/the-re… Cover by Diana Ejaita

They never last. Those who murder the moon and offer us an eternity of darkness. Those who pray for the demise of the king. Those who bury the songs of the nightingale. Those who mask the glow of the sun and force us to dance to a dirge. They never last.

The more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know. The less you know, the more you think you know everything. Knowledge is humbling. Ignorance is arrogant.

Happy World Poetry Day!

Instead of waiting for the gift of the universe, think of what you can gift the universe.

"Time, which decays and then destroys us, is even more merciless in obliterating weak novels, poems, dramas, and stories, however virtuous these may be." – Harold Bloom

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older." — Mario Andretti