New book published ‘Broken Pens’
LATEST POETRY ANTHOLOGY ‘BROKEN PENS’ NOW AVAILABLE ON KINDLE OR DIRECT FROM WAYout. Pay £12 (£2 postage) through paypal info@wayoutarts.org and drop us a line with name and address to that same address quoting Broken Pens. This anthology also includes drawings from women in the prison, photographs from Nathaniel Sesay and beautiful illustrations from Mamady aka Rasta Youth
There are two previous poetry compilations- Written Off and Street Rhymes which are also available on Amazon Kindle or directly from us.
And the last poetry slam we organised was a great success
“Girl Force: Unscripted and Unstoppable” was the code last evening at the Way-Out Spoken Word Slam, where yours truly was a member of jury. It was an amazing time for me, seeing my hope for young people to embrace poetry as a means of expressing themselves being actualized. I had been using every given opportunity when talking to young people, to cite especially young Nigerians and the passion they were displaying in the art.
Listening to our young people speak out against common ills currently taking hold in Sierra Leone: rape, corruption, early marriage, FGC, maternal mortality and exams malpractices among others, was an evidence that they were ready to change the status quo. They are challenging perpetrators, especially those who get away with impunity and those who let them.
My happiness increased with the outcome of the competition with girls occupying the first two of the three winning places. They both spoke of the discriminations the girl child has going against her. They both delivered their lines with so much emotion, good diction and vivid imageries that got me tearing up. Their determination to beat the odds set against them, was the icing on the cake Way to go, girls!
Congratulations, Hazel Chandler and team at Way-out. You guys are doing a splendid job with our youths, who would otherwise seem seamless. Last night was great and I’m grateful you allowed me to be a part of it.
