Eyin'juOdu

By Akeem Lasisi Each time some of her friends want to make a mischievous poem of her surname, Verismo, they pronounce it as ‘very-small‘. Actor and culture activist, Ropo Ewenla, is particularly guilty of this. What they play upon whenever they pronounce the name so is the modest frame of the Lagos-based writer, Jumoke Verisimo, who is also a copywriter with a Lagos-based advertising agency. Despite such a joke, however, many people know that in her is the promise of a good poet, one of those who should shape the future of literature in Nigeria. After about 10 years of active poetry writing and performance, Verisimo had a great day in Lagos on Saturday, when the just-concluded Lagos Book and Art Festival featured her as reading poet of the moment. The fact is that apart from providing an avenue to celebrate books, LABAF, organised by the Committee for Relevant Arts, promotes virtually all areas of the arts. This is one of the factors that differentiate it from other book fairs. Amidst

DAY 1 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2008 7am: Exhibition already set up 9am : Formal Opening of CHILDREN FESTIVAL VISUAL REPRESENTATION FROM ‘THINGS FALL APART’ :Exhibition and comic Workshop. 10am : “My Encounter with the Book” by Funmi Iyanda 11am: “Green Graffiti” Workshop – Karo Akpokiere & Chukwuma Ngene “Green Tales” Workshop – Obari Gomba & Adeleke Adeyemi Theme: “Lagos on My Mind”- [Organized by LC3 in collaboration with CATE/CORA]. 11.30am: The Festival Tour (where kids and their teachers are taken round the grounds of the Fair). Children on duty at the festival last year 12 noon: YOUTH ON LITERACY Theme: WHAT DO THE YOUTH DESIRE TO READ (Panel Discussion on “Youth, Creativity and Development”) with established artists and active young people such as: •Mrs Nike Davies-Okundaye: (Director, Nike Centre for Arts and Culture) •Dr. Hope Eghagha: (Lecturer, Dept. of English, Unilag) •Odion Ogogo: (Director, Heritage Ceramics) •Tunde Abod