EBEDI 2014

It is an all-female affair at the Ebedi International Residency, Iseyin, Oyo State as its January-February 2014 edition opens. The writers are Jumoke Verissimo, Gertrude Uzoh, and Funmi Aluko. Based on the relationship between Verissimo and Aluko, both poets, one can indeed say it is a session of writer-friends. According to the profiles given in a statement signed by Uche Umez, Verissimo has participated in festivals across Nigeria and in Europe. Her poetry book, I am Memory, won two national awards and got an honourable mention from the Association of Nigeria Authors Poetry prize. She holds a Masters in African Studies (Performance) and is a recipient of the Chinua Achebe Centre Fellowship. She will be working on a collection of short stories.

“Gertrude Uzoh is a graduate of Computer Science from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Her debut novel One Love , Many Tears garnered rave reviews when it was released in 2012. In pursuit of her passion, she will be working on her second novel at Ebedi,” it adds.

Known mainly as a performance poet among her peers, Funmi Aluko has participated in P.L.A.Y. 2009, P.L.A.Y. 2010 – a pan-Nigerian Poetry Festival; Black Heritage Festival 2010 and 2012 respectively, etc. She has a Masters in Performance Studies from the University of Ibadan and will be completing a new poetry collection at Ebedi. Umez also notes that the Ebedi Board of Directors has appointed Kofi Sackey, as an administrative manager to oversee the day-to-day running of the residency. Kofi is a Ghanaian and alumnus of the Ebedi Int’l Residency. His latest poetry collection is Verses from the Wilderness, which he completed at Ebedi.