So, we told you guys a few weeks ago about our first book meet. It happened people, but not without your support. We were truly awed by how much love you showed us, and we are quite yet to recover. Too bad if you missed it, just make sure you make it for our next one 😉
The event started with a spoken word titled: ‘EJIRE’ by a Muser –Iretomiwa Akintunde, throwing some light on the theme of the book meet. The event was structured to be an interactive session revolving around six major discussants (Uche Ani, Ibukun Akinnawo, Ezim Osai, Justin Irabor, Yemi Johnson, and Adejoke Are) supervised by a moderator- Oladimeji Ojo. The discussants were specifically chosen to share their varying views on the issues raised. The discussion revolved around excerpts from books (quotes taken from the books in view) based on the theme which were read out and then thrown open for discussion. A brief roll call of the books used were: ‘Americanah’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, ‘Yellow Yellow’ by Kaine Agary, ‘On black sister’s street’ by Chika Unigwe, ‘Second Class Citizen’ by Buchi Emecheta, ‘The secret lives of baba Segi’s wives’ by Lola Shoneyin and ‘Black skin, white masks’ by Frantz Fanon.
After the introduction of the discussants and the moderator, the discussion started. The moderator read out the excerpts from the books and the well rounded and diverse panel hashed it out in a orderly and precise fashion, they were truly engaging. When the issue of bleaching came up, the girls took over, the audience was lively, locked and loaded and ready to contribute. Trust the guys not to be left out, there were guys who had no problem with their girlfriends bleaching while some vehemently attacked the idea, even threatening the ‘dump’ word if their girls tried it. We also had hair experts in the house sharing their stories and arguing for and against the natural hair issue. The issue of language was also raised and some strong opinions were voiced by the panelists.
We also got starstruck. Kaine Agary and Lola Shoneyin, two authors, honored our invites and showed up. They answered eager questions, giving genuine insight laced with personal experiences on issues raised.
When you have a passionate panel, an equally, if not a more opinionated audience, add an enagaing topic and voila!!! you get what we had that day. Sadly all fantastic things must come to an end. After such exacting, vocal gymnastics, the audience went out for refreshments. To say the day was just beautiful, would be an understatement.
The Musers team, are more than grateful to everyone who supported this project, everyone that Retweeted, Reblogged, sent out messages etc. Big thank you to our friends Fope, Edwin, and Justin for their thoughts on the topic. Thank you Latte for the graphic designs, and Tosin, for the photos. We are also grateful to 9jeducation.org for their publicity.
We also have to thank Patabah Book store for their support and remarkable understanding. We had the space for free, do visit them for books. We are humbled that Lola Shoneyin and Kaine Agary graced us with their presence; and for those who came, we cannot thank you enough, thank you all for honoring our invitation. It was a success because you decided to try something different. Thank you again, we are grateful.
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