Festival Poetry Calabar 2019 beckons with ‘Poets in the Digital Age’

Poets in Nigeria (PIN) will celebrate its annual fiesta of poetry, culture, and tourism in the city of Calabar from December 18 through 20, 2019. PIN has also announced the programme details for the fifth edition of Festival Poetry Calabar (FPC). It has as theme ‘Poets in the Digital Age: Bytes and Heights.’ Festival Poetry Calabar is held to coincide with Calabar Christmas Carnival. A keynote address exploring the theme of the festival will be delivered by Mr. Peter Onyekachi Onuoha of the University of Calabar.

The 3-day event will host poets, writers, artists, literary critics, social commentators and lovers of literature from different parts of the country, thereby elevating arts and literature above ethnic and geographical barriers. For the fifth year running, all activities of the festival, including poetry reading, writing and performances, Calabar Welcomes, Sights & Sounds of Calabar, Teens Forum, storytelling, music, dance, poetry workshop, book chats, panel discussions and Live Photo Booth will take place at James Ene Henshaw Foundation and Transcorp Hotel, Calabar.

Sights and Sounds (Poetourism) and a Walk for Poetry are slated for Day 1 – Wednesday, December 18. On the second day, Kolade Olanrewaju Freedom will manage a workshop on Chapbooks and Digital Promotion of Poetry. Notably, this edition of FPC will examine how poets can utilize the digital space to aid their growth.

Also, the organizers have revealed Pearls of the Mangrove by Dr. Obari Gomba, To the Sun at Sundown by Mr. Obo Effanga, The 47th Year of the 21st Century by Mr. Felix Ayuk and Micah (Top 100 Poems of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize) as featured publications for the Reading Session.

Precocious talents, Ade Sunny Bright, Antigha Dorothy, Favour Along and Ruth Along will feature in Teens Forum while young performers, Sunday Roselyn and Genevieve are expected to stage some poems excerpted from Sir Eriata Oribhabor’s collection of poems, Colours and Borders.

Chairman of FPC Volunteers’ Group, Mr. Bassey Asuquo, has assured that this edition of the festival will merge arts, culture and tourism to give participants a highly remarkable experience. Commenting on the theme of the festival, he said, “The digital space is very pivotal to the promotion of poetry. We want to expose writers and artists to the opportunities that are available to them via digital technologies.”Since its inception in 2015, Festival Poetry Calabar has been championing a literary renaissance in the city of Calabar.