•By Halimah Olamide
Journalist and Poet, Akeem Lasisi is set to host a poetry exhibition at the MUSCON center in Lagos.
The programme is slated to hold on the 10th of December 2023 in Lagos with the theme; ‘African Citations.’
According to Lasisi, “it is an exhibition of multimedia poetry tributes to outstanding dignitaries and institutions from different parts of Africa.”
The project is a continuation of his engaging and strategic journey in oral forms as it experiments with the Yoruba’ oriki praise poetry – according to Afrocitations, on the platform of which the exhibition will be launched.
“AFRICAN CITATIONS pollinates the past with the present, the traditional with the modern,” it noted in a statement.
It is also about celebrating icons who have positively impacted society.
“In some instances, the poet has had memorable encounters with the subjects. In some others, he only pays tributes from a distance, with their services to humanity being the bridge,” Afrocitations added.
It recalled how Lasisi had experimented with some other Yoruba poetic forms. In WONDERLAND, for instance, his projects ijala, the hunters’ social poetry, while his award-winning NIGHT OF MY FLIGHT is a recreation of the Yoruba bridal poetry called ekun iyawo.
The African Citations series, which echoes oriki, is thus a continuation of the trend.
Afrocitations said, “Of course, his musical and video poetry works that include ELELETURE, UDEME, ORI AGBE (For Wole Soyinka), JANTOLO and JANGBALAJUGBU are also an engagement with Yoruba oral forms.”