Again, Toyin Adewale-Gabriel serves up Bitter Chocolate

The event saw Dike Chukwumerije raising the curtains with some scintillating poetry touching on contemporary themes which greatly roused the audience and earned him rapturous applause. Dike’s three takes, ‘Borders’, ‘Laws of Prosperity’ and ‘Dividends of Democracy’ mesmerized the audience and set the mood for what would eventually turn out to be an inspiring evening […]

The event saw Dike Chukwumerije raising the curtains with some scintillating poetry touching on contemporary themes which greatly roused the audience and earned him rapturous applause.

Dike’s three takes, ‘Borders’, ‘Laws of Prosperity’ and ‘Dividends of Democracy’ mesmerized the audience and set the mood for what would eventually turn out to be an inspiring evening for the arts enthusiasts gathered.

Lola Shoneyin, convener of the event, introduced the guest writer, going down memory lane to narrate her first encounter with the writer when women writers were still lurking in the shadows.

Taking the podium, Toyin, probed by the compeer, Dapo Oyewole, expressed optimism about the revival of poetry in the public space and read a couple of poems from her collection, Naked Testimonies.

Before serving her main course for the evening however, Toyin explained that her short story collection, Bitter Chocolate, was inspired by the ordeals of  Chris Anyanwu, a former journalist incarcerated during the Abacha regime for allegedly being part of a conspiracy to topple the government.

The story touched on the ordeal of a woman in prison and the peculiar challenges her imprisonment presents to her person and family. It was a masterful poetic narrative and Dapo, like most of the audience, noted the lyrical flow of the story and asked the author about it. Toyin explained that she is first of all a poet and that shows in her work.

She went on to impress with two other short stories, ‘Flickering Flames’ and ‘Weeping Child Laughs Again’, the first an uncommon take on the perpetual fuel scarcity in Nigeria, the second dwelling on domestic violence. The audience was mesmerized.

Regardless, Dapo observed that from the stories she read, her characters seem not to have names. The author herself was surprised and admitted that it was not deliberate. But her stories flow with such intensity that one hardly notices.

To bring the evening to a close, Age Beeka raised the roof with some improvised songs to the accompaniment of his guitar much to the delight of the audience.

Toyin had been a guest at the Abuja Writers forum Guest Writer Session earlier in the year. Bitter Chocolate has been received to critical acclaims locally and internationally.

Infusion, a monthly event comes up every last Thursday of the month and features artists in various fields.