Chika Unigwe at the Igbo Conference held @SOAS London, 6th April 2013

I was opportuned to attend the 2nd Igbo Conference, held two days ago @SOAS in London. The theme of the conference was focused on the relationship and relevance of language and culture in performance.

Chika Unigwe was there live! She read excerpts from her two novels, On Black Sisters Street (which btw, won the NLGN prize last year) and Night Dancer.

This is Chika Unigwe smiling away after that lunch was really really something to write home about! 

Unfortuantely, I didn't get a close shot of her unique necklace made from different coloured buttons.

Signing copies of her book.

                                                          Mission accomplished!

Chief Sir E.E.(Enoch) Onunkwo

I lost my uncle two weeks ago, and I still can’t get over the fact that he’s gone. He was ‘a nwadiana’ in Oraiffite but hails from Oba in Idemmili LGA of Anambra State. He was a man of great principles, kind-hearted and cared a whole lot for his family- not just his nuclear family, but trust me, the extended one which included cousins, nephews, nieces, inlaws, inlaws - inlaw, yes, he represented. Akpo ya, oza. Once he was called upon for anything, he always came.

He meant so much to me.

I remembered (childhood memories) when he used to come to our house, wearing his green and white sports outfit- Marshall was his trade name. He would jog to 'the round-about' and back which was about 6miles altogether. This was back in the days when people were not so health conscious.

I also remembered when just before Christmas, we would go to his shops at Iweka Road and Fegge in Onitsha. He would instruct his workers to take our measurements and sew Christmas clothes for us. We always felt like grown- ups as which we picked the styles from trendy fashion magazines.

Strangely enough, I had him a lot in mind this year. I was going to buy a calling card and speak with him. Procrastination they say, is the thief of time. I wanted to tell him about life in London. I wanted to tell him how bitterly the cold has been. But I never did. I didn’t even call to say ‘Happy New Year’. I don’t know how I can get over this...

Uncle Enoch was active and fit. That is why his death still shocks me. He was a devoted Christian. He could even wake his guests up at about 5.30 or 6am to join his family for morning prayers in his house at Oba. He was a knight.

Uncle, you were always there. You always called. Even when I was unavailable to take your call, you would leave messages on my voicemail. You would ask after everyone, praying we were all right, hale and hearty.

(Disclaimer. this picture is not mine unless stated otherwise)

                                                               The Last Time

                                                          by Kate Iffy Chukwu

The last time you called

I didn’t know

it was going to be.

If I’d known

I would have told you

how much I appreciated you

how much you were loved

I would have thanked you

for always being there

In my quiet time

I would have told God to keep you

“Protect him Lord,” I would have prayed. “Protect him”

He alone knows why

Your absence is a pain I have to bear

Because I hold you so very dear

Though my heart is heavy

Though my tears is flowing

My memories of you

is sure to linger on

Goodbye great Uncle

Until we meet again

(Grieving death by Kate Iffy Chukwu 2013)

I pray God gives Aunty C., Okwunna, Nnenne, Dozie, Ikenna, Ebele and Nonso the fortitude to bear your loss – a great loss.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kate Iffy Chukwu and kateiffy@blogspot.co.uk with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain (2012)

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain

This is an engaging novel about love and friendship, about choices and decisions that will make you race to through pages to finish.

Nineteen year old Travis made a choice to raise his baby daughter on his own. Later, he loses his house, his job and is left with a small change in his wallet. Things spiral out of control and Travis is offered a chance to commit a crime for his daughter's sake. Even it means losing her... What would a good father do?

I totally enjoyed reading this 380 paged novel. The characters, setting, scenarios were so believable that left me wondering what must have going on the author's head during her work-in-progress.

Well done to Diane Chamberlain for another brilliant read.

Igbo film, Onye Ozi, by Mr Obi Emelonye

Onye Ozi, new Nollywood film

Onye Ozi (The Messenger) is a Nollywood film that was acted in Igbo language - mostly central Igbo dialect. Even the white British characters had to learn their lines in Igbo. Funny eh! It will be subtitled in English though to gain a wider audience.

Set on various locations in London, Onye Ozi tells the story of a Nigerian Igbo man, Metu (played by Okey Bakassi) who has just arrived London from Lagos after a quick marriage to Mkpurumma (played by Ngozi Thompson). Metu has a two year plan to return to Nigeria very rich. But in the course of his stay in London, he becomes involved in scenarios that would shock him and make him realise that you can run but you cannot hide...all that glitters is not gold...the journey of a man blah blah blah.

Other artists in this one-of-a-kind movie include Adesua Atuanya (Adaugo), Ngozi Igwebike (Mkpurumma), Nekky Agu (Paramedic), my humble self, Iffy Chukwu (Pastor) and many others who as I write this are working hard to bring the movie to the point where they'll hear, "it's a wrap!"

Onye Ozi proves to be a hilarious but serious movie.

This movie is directed by Mr Obi Emelonye, a Nollywood film writer and director based in the UK. This is not his first, neither is it is last. In fact, his last two movies Mirror Boy and The Last Flight to Abuja drew rave reviews in the Nigerian entertainment industry and the Diaspora. Other movies to his credit are Echoes of War, The Asylum, Quiet Storm.

His desire to project something new to the Nollywood entertainment industry and beyond is contagious.

Onye Ozi  is the first Nollywood Igbo film produced in London. FACT.

I will be posting details of the premiere, interviews ...I’m not promising any gossips though...seriously.

These are pictures from Day 7seven of the shooting.

Okey Bakassi as Metu

Camera man with Mr Emelonye

I've finished reading The Spider King's Daughter

OH my goodness!!! I finished reading Chibundu Onuzo's The Spider King's Daughter. I  didn't want the novel to end as I powered through it in a day and a half (with of course, a trillion other commitments...wink!)

I haven't reviewed the novel yet, as I need few days to digest the memorable characters, unique setting and brilliiiiiaaannt plot.

So what will I read next? I picked up Jagua Nana by Cyprian Ekwensi from my library. The title brings back memories of my secondary school days, not that I'm old or anything...anyway moving on...I first read this book when a senior prefect punished me for sleeping during 'prep'. Rather than join my mates for our house sports, she sent me to the library to arrange books on the shelves. That's when I started to read this book. I  did not finish it that same day but made sure I was sent to the library (for other reasons) to complete it...haha. That, anyway, was also the start to my passion for reading... another story for another day.

Words (A Poem by Kate Iffy Chukwu)

 

 

I was afraid of words

then you made me afraid

your words stabbed into my chest

like a double - edged sword

wounding my inner soul

and splitting my flesh

your words gushed liked a river

following its slope with no feelings

towards what it destroyed

your words made me feel

like a tree bent low from the heat

of the sun but i said nothing.

I knew there was power in silence

healing in silence yet i was broken...

in silence

I was afraid of words

then you made me afraid

but when you left with your charm,

arrogance, My money, you left

with your words.

i began to read

words that inspired me

write words that inspired me

from my heart torn apart by your words

which became my life, my strength, now

i know there is power in words

healing in words

and life in words

words make me feel like a tree

renewed from the rays of the sun

a tree that stands tall after a heavy storm

words kind of remind me of a little bird

which learns to flap its wings

it doesn’t matter where

or how high but someday

that little bird will fly

Kate Iffy@ October 2012

Stigma from the Past (A Very Short Book Review )

Stigma from the Past is a novel written by Anuli Ausbeth-Ajagu. It tells the story of Mercy, a kind and caring nun, who decides to leave the convent and start a different life in her hometown. She soon realises that she has to deal with pain, harassment, loneliness, blackmail, gender prejudice, fear and the stigma from her past. However, Mercy is determined and hardworking and seeks to deal with what life has thrown at her. This is a beautiful story set between two African countries: Ghana and Nigeria. The characters are very believable and this can be seen in their actions and the way they speak. The plot is gripping, filled with twists, suspense and mystery. The novel has a lot of ‘big grammar’ that a dictionary would be needed to explain some of the words. The picture on the front cover is captivating. The chapters are short and encouraging. The author does a brilliant job in building up suspense in most scenes and adding inspirational messages here and there. Yet I wanted to read more about Mercy’s life as a university student. I also wished the author didn’t give much away in the blurb of the novel. The suspense would have been even greater. All in all, it is a great read that will leave you wanting more. Kate Iffy