It is with deep satisfaction we announce our maiden residency anthology: The Ibinabo residency, our brainchild with Iko Africa ran from April to August this year, and facilitating the residency has been one of my finer achievements this year. On timely achievements, that is what this anthology is. A culmination of talent, hard work, and inspiration. We hope you receive it in the way it was...
The pain we don’t survive There is pain we perform The one we dress up nice enough for everyone to see There’s pain we gauge we can take So we take that one and hold it So that we don’t swap it for a new one There’s pain we know, pain that we can trust because it’s familiar Sometimes we even preempt it and then sabotage until we get the same results But there’s pain in its true form Unexpected...
Sneakers you did what my former lovers Couldn’t. you stayed you stuck through the mud the torrents and the seas until there was no space to hold my feet. you stayed with till you were old battered and worn out just like our unspoken vows for better and for worse. until there are no holes to lace. Author’s Bio: Melody Tobi-Makinde is a freelance writer and poet who enjoys reading and writing...
Hello everyone, long time no see! This has been by far our busiest and most successful year in the House! Kicking off with the residency, the Ibinabo residency ran from March to June and we had 11 participants. Partnering with Iko, this brilliant initiative brought so much excellence to our roll call and we are pleased and proud to be able to run it every year. The residency has also produced an...
I GUESS THIS IS HOW I’M GOING TO DIE I She prayed for this day. She had dreamt about it for years, her mind weaving fantasies where he was more than just a memory. In those dreams, he was the sky, the earth, the very air she breathed. His husky voice lingered in her mind, his presence so vivid it made her body tremble. And now, here he was, no longer a figment of her imagination, but flesh and...
I open my bag for some change to pay the fare. It’s missing something- my purse. My little one is looking at me as I ransack the small leather thing, upturning its content on my lap. A piece of wax crayon rolls to the floor. She doesn’t pick it up. I look at her and say with my eyes, where’s my purse? She looks innocently back at me. I take her bear-shaped bag...
SINCERELY, NONSO BY OMOWERO AGBOR Sade’s greatest weakness will always be her expectations. She expects her friends to see through her thin attempts at happiness and still let her be. She expects that kindness and inquisitiveness will speak for interest and determination. She wants her lovers to be kinder, her reflection to praise, not haunt. She hopes the books she reads will heal her; the shows...
UNRAVELLING THE LAYERS OF SELF HATRED BY OLUWASIKEMI Self-hatred It feels like a familiar ride. I’ve been on this ride a couple of times, and I know the sharp bends and turns like the back of my hand; it no longer phases me. Unlike the “stages of grief,” this ride doesn’t come with stages; it’s a loop of relentless spinning and jumping out is a gamble. Will you land safely, or will the impact...
My brother was going to be beaten to death today, and I wish I didn’t have to go home to watch this. Jama was always quiet but he was life itself. He would laugh at every joke, funny or not, and smile 5 minutes into a conversation with anyone. Mind you he wasn’t trying to be nice or considerate. It was just who he was and everyone loved him for it, everyone but him. My father. He considered Jama...
Dani is sat in a train unsure of whether he is doing the right thing or not. You see, the thing is that Dani never does anything merely half thought of or only one foot in but recently he has been possessed with the spirit of trying to reach for something. Three days ago, his world started to spin and felt so small and claustrophobic. He was confused because he had had this life for eleven...
