When Abuja residents learnt creative writing

Both George and Horne started the fiction module, which they described as being for beginner writers. The approach adopted by these two instructors was, according to the participants, innovative. The dream process that Atim George taught as a means of sourcing materials for writing was instructive and eye-opening. The instructor showed how characters and symbols […]

Both George and Horne started the fiction module, which they described as being for beginner writers.

The approach adopted by these two instructors was, according to the participants, innovative. The dream process that Atim George taught as a means of sourcing materials for writing was instructive and eye-opening. The instructor showed how characters and symbols that a writer sees in dreams could prove valuable in writing.  

The second session had Dr Barbara Jones, a retired librarian and presently a library consultant, as speaker. She spoke on grants and residency programmes for writers. Pointing out that Nigerian writing and writers are respected in the U.S., she enumerated the means by which writers could access grants that would assist them in producing quality work and get published.  

The fourth and last session had Dr Idris Okpanachi, a lecturer from the University of Maiduguri, teach a module on poetry. A lecturer of many years standing, Okpanachi made the art of writing poetry that many perceive as difficult an easy one as he taught on the domain of poetry and how to write it. He surprised all by stating that poetry is in many of the day-to-day things people say or write. For instance, in obituary announcements, sentence such as “with gratitude to God, we regret to announce the death of…” The contradictions present in the words: ‘gratitude’ and ‘regret’ to the instructor make such an announcement poetic. The workshop ended with the evaluator, Unoma Azuah, serving questionnaires to participants. Many of them declared the workshop timely. They also expressed the hope not to miss subsequent editions.

This is the third edition of the monthly creative writing workshop which holds on the same day with Guest Writer Session. The workshop holds in the morning while the guest writer reads in the evening. August 29 is the next edition of both events with Macleisha Horne and Gabriel Okara, who would be the guest writer, as resource persons.