Chimamanda Adichie’s Special Abuja Event - By Tunji Ajibade
Abuja Writers’ Forum, AWF, in collaboration with the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy will host Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, on May 15, in the nation’s Federal Capital, Abuja . As part of the day-long programme, Ms Adichie will conduct a creative writing workshop for a selected group of young aspiring writers in the morning. Later in the day, by 4pm, the multiple award-winning writer will interact with the public in an open reading session at the Cyprian Ekwensi Centre, Area 10, Garki, Abuja. Ms Adichie will be reading essentially from her debut collection of short stories, The Thing Around Your Neck. In his review of the collection, John Madera writes thus: “A good story is like a good meal. You know immediately when you’re about to eat something wonderful.

Not only does it fill you up, it engages all of your senses. Its aromas tantalize. Its arrangement on your table inspires you. Arrested by its visual beauty, you pause before eating. A good meal’s flavors dance in your mouth. Sweet flavors are balanced with tangy ones; succulence is in counterpoint with drier textures. So if storytellers are cooks, then Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Jhumpa Lahiri, and, especially, Chinua Achebe are just some of its master chefs. ....Adichie’s stories are elegant evocations of family, loss, and sadness, albeit translated into a different milieu.”

Both of these events have been generating intense interest across the nation, more so as the writing workshop conducted by Ms Adichie on a yearly basis through her Foundation, Farafina Trust, which provides an opportunity to event to learn from this multiple award-winning write, is usually held only in Lagos. This is one of the special cultural collaborations between this dynamic writers body and the Embassy in recent times. Last year, Dr Barabara Jones and others were part of a creative writing workshop conducted by the AWF under the auspices of the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy.

The Abuja Writers’ Forum (AWF) is a leading literary organisation committed to the promotion of the country’s literature and its writers through a variety of interventions and collaborations including a monthly Guest Writer Session, workshops, critique sessions, literary contests and an annual literary festival. It is currently engaged with a television network in developing a literary programme which will be a further boost in giving prominence to the nation’s literature and its producers.

Ms Adichie’ first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), won the Best First Book award in the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. Her second, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), set during the Biafran war, won the Orange Prize. She is a 2008 MacArthur Fellow (otherwise known as the genius award) and her books are set texts across the world.