Don’t stop.
I know you’re tired.
I know you are broke. Very broke.
I know that all your friends are making it, but things are not just working for you right now.
I know you are annoyed.
There is no fear.
There is no fear except the one we make up.
The fear we harbor is us.
On this planet, there is nothing to lose.
Some of the artists
These are some of the artists at the Akodi Orisa, Ile Ife, Nigeria, taking a minute off for a photoshoot. They paint, sculpt, do installation works, perform and design in several mediums.
They are a garrison of creative spirits, using art to express the joy and struggles of being Nigerian.
They are awe-inspiring pioneers.
When you walk
When you walk, you are telling the story of your life with your body language. The way you move your feet tells others who you are if they pay attention to you as you place one foot in front of the other. I did not realize this reality until after my accident, after I could no longer walk on my own two legs, without the use of crutches.
Farewell to Nigeria.
Farewell to Nigeria.
It’s been 3.5 months since I’ve been here.
Every day was a wonderful experience.
I’m now at the airport, on my way out.
Potter
Potter:
What wants you from us,
One legged man?
Me: I’m here to study with you
the ancient art of terra-cotta.
Potter:
You, a university professor,
Coming to us to study,
We humble peasants and illiterates?
When a man is talking.
“When a man is talking, the woman must shut up,” the young bricklayer was yelling. His colleague confirmed, “Yes, this is man to man talk. You need to keep quiet and let us settle this matter.”
My jaw was hanging in disbelief. I’ve been away too long from Nigeria. Nobody spoke to and about women like this when I was growing up. Now these young men drooling blasphemous vomit, where did they drop from? Am I hearing these statements, or am I dreaming? Is it just my imagination, or what?
The carpenter is singing as he does the roof:
The carpenter is singing as he does the roof:
Ẹ̀yin tẹ́ ń lóyún lé rodo-ríndín, hẹn-ẹn
Bọ́mọ bá yàgbẹ́ o
Baba rẹ̀ ní ó ko.
Translation:
You who conceive while your infants are mere suckling babies
When your infants mess their pants
Their daddies will change their diapers.
When I arrived…
When I arrived the United States in 1992 to start a doctorate at UW, Madison, I had only $98 in my pocket.
My professor, Henry Drewal, quickly came to my assistance. He immediately paid my school fees for the first semester, and gave me $1,000 in cash to start me off. Then he provided me with free accommodation in the posh part of town for the first year of my studies, while I found my feet.
The things we take for granted.
The things we take for granted.
I wanted to plant some flowers. Ordinarily I would simply jump up, grab the seeds, and plant the flowers.
But things are now different.
Without a serviceable leg, I had to think carefully of the strategy that would enable me to plant the flowers.
My friend
My friend—for whom I was chasing the snake when I fell yakata off the ladder—just made…
It is not an okada o.
It is not an okada o.
It’s a long tori.
It started with a green snake.
It entered the house and crawled into bed with my friend.
I was in the other house, painting, when my friend came running in. “A snake! A snake. Quick!” She said, breathless. “Come, quickly. Please! Come and kill it!”