Rainbow Book Club hosts Uwem Akpan

The Oprah’s book club author Fr. Akpan, who is also a catholic priest, was present at a reading and drama performance which held on the 25th of January 2015 at the Hotel Presidential.A panel, made up of students from Rainbow Book Clubs in Secondary Schools in Port Harcourt, interacted with the author in a discussion […]

The Oprah’s book club author Fr. Akpan, who is also a catholic priest, was present at a reading and drama performance which held on the 25th of January 2015 at the Hotel Presidential.
A panel, made up of students from Rainbow Book Clubs in Secondary Schools in Port Harcourt, interacted with the author in a discussion moderated by Daniella Menezor of the Port Harcourt World Book Capital project office.
Uwem Akpan, a catholic priest, started by asking everyone to close their eyes, while he read a portion from Luxurious Hearses (one of the stories in his book). The portion he read narrated an incident where the hand of Jubril ( a young boy) was going to be chopped off because he stole a goat and Jubril expressed how he felt about the consequences of his deeds. This dramatic scene set the tone of the evening.
The book is a collection of five stories about children in various parts of Africa and some of the tragic and traumatic situations in which they find themselves. These stories provoke questions such as ‘How do you react to the ‘stories’ you hear and see in the media?’ ‘Do you understand that these are real life situations?’ ‘Can you imagine yourself in the shoes of the people in the stories’ ‘Can you really Say You’re One of Them?’
The University of Port Harcourt Institute of Arts and Culture, gave an enthralling performance of An Ex-mas Feast, a story in his book about child prostitution. Reacting to the performance, the author commended the UNIPORT troupe and added “when I was writing the book, I never imagined something so visual and creative could come out of it.” The Port Harcourt World Book Capital outing was an eye opening and thought provoking one.
Next month, the Port Harcourt World Book Capital adult book club will be reading Children of the Revolution by Dinaw Mengetsu. Make it a date with us at the Atlantic Hall, Hotel Presidential by 3pm on the 22nd of February 2015 for our usual discussion and drama performance.