IT was a night when poetry from across two continents, Africa and Europe met. Specifically, poetry from Nigeria and those from Italy converged in a night that was inspired by The Black in the Mediterranean theme of the ongoing Lagos Black Heritage Festival. It was a near perfect night graced by an audience, which had two choices ' listen to the readings or sip from the bottles in front of them. The glow from a big bulb bathed the faces of the poets as their voices rose and fell, delivering deep thoughts, and taking their listeners on fictive voyages across seas and deserts. Going by the generous applause which greeted a number of the poems read, it seemed apparent that the audience was well rewarded for the attention it gave.Writing a great poem requires a craft of its own. Reading a great poem in a way that would connect, and touch the emotions of the listeners requires a different kind of skill. A number of the poets who read on this night fell short on this score; the themes and imageries in their poems did not seem to have reached their audience well enough, due to the hastiness with which they read, and quickly left the stage.Much of the spark on this night was provided by Ben Tomoloju whose performance poetry, back up by instrumentals in the band led by the legendary actor, musician, Jimi Solanke, electrified the night. His poem titled This Bridge draws its primary material from history. It is gripping because of the optimistic and hopeful mood that the poet projects all through the poem.What might have been lacking in paunchy delivery by a number of those who read on the night was made up for by the depth of their thematic preoccupation.A number of the poets were keen to beam the searchlight on the stark realities resulting from the foolhardy migrations by African migrants to Europe in the quest for a better life.Jumoke Verisimo'sSighs of the Mediterranean Sea falls into this category. It is a penetrating and heart rending musing about the lives of African migrants who put their lives at the mercy of an unfriendly sea in their bid to cross over to Europe. This poem provides terrifying imageries right from its first line. It talks of how the 'seas harbor the evaporating breathe/Of destinations and travelers; all who failed/To say goodbyes to their hearts before journeying'' Verisimo further evokes the paradox and tragedy of the African continent by depicting how 'travelers swim with haste into awaited heavens.'Tolu Ogunlesi in his A never-ending flood takes this theme of voyaging without return from a broader perspective deploying the twin images of the desert and the sea. Again, stubborn determination or foolhardiness plays its part ensuring that there is a constant flood of Africans attempting to make it to Europe. This attitude is described in Ogunlesi's poem as agidi, the Yoruba equivalent of sheer recalcitrance by which many of the migrants arrive in the poet's symbolic town and outpost of 'Agadez.'Agadez, a city in Niger Republic is akin to a runway from which the journey of no-return is made. Ogunlesi goes on to present the fatal nature of these audacious voyages by asking, 'How would you like to go,/death asked the stranded/bloated, or burnt by a desert sun'While the younger poets dwelt on the dark sides of the movement of Africans through unorthodox routes Professors Wole Soyinka's and JP Clark's poems similarly dwelt on the theme of migration, but in a slightly different sense. Soyinka's, which was read on his behalf by the writer, Lola Shoneyin, at the Nights of Poets, is titled Migrations. The Nobel laureate seemed interested in demystifying the whole idea of the 'prosperous' life that has attracted many into making risky voyages to the fabled promised land.The poem explores what comes across as the culture shock and the extreme loneliness that come with subsisting to eke out existence in a cold and distant land. It is filled with imageries that capture the dilemmas and fears of migrants who have managed to pass through the eye of the needle to arrive Europe. This crossroads at which many who migrated with the thoughts of a rosy life, find themselves, is captured in the following lines of the first stanza: 'So many hands await that first/Remittance home. Will there be one'' The unbridle materialism that motivates many to take to the road, only to end up with false and unfulfilled lives is aptly captured in the second stanza thus; ''Rolexes jostle for space on glazed/Side walks. The outspread rugs entice, but/No embossment reads'WELCOME.'Similarly, in Travelogue Odia Ofeimun explores Italy in an inter-city voyage that sees the poet abandoning Rome to discover 'the inner tapestry/of another dialogue with a memorable past.' The poet's familiarity with Italian history and literature comes across with the towering presence of figures like Garibaldi and Montale. There is thus an attempt by the poet to create a nexus between poetry, and politics of the patriotic hue.Voices from Italy....The night was not just for Nigerian poets. There were also a number of poems in Italian by poets, which had been submitted as part of the collection of 16 Nigerian and 16 Italian poets, which the coordinators hinted would be published in a Coffee Table book format before end of the year. Christanah Ali Farah read her poem -- both in English and Italia. Italian co-coordinator of the project, Alessandra Di Maio of University of Palermo, Italy, gave elegant and dramatic reading of works of some of the contributors to the project. The two readers/performers from Italy succeeded in making the crucial connection with the audience. Even though most in the audience did not understand a word of Italia, they nonetheless enjoyed the rhymes and the rhythms as the poets voiced their lines into a calm night.And the voice that was present but absentHowever, while many of the poets who were slated to read at the event either did so, or asked some emissaries to read on their behalf, there was one who was denied all options by the cruel hands of fate. Ify Omalicha, a performance poet with three poetry books to her name lost her life in an auto crash, while preparing for the very event she was never to attend. Her poem titled To Him Who Will Never Return was read on her behalf by the actor, dancer, Segun Adefila.Other poets who wrote on the theme of migration include; JP Clark, Ogaga Ifowodo, Richard Ali, Razinatu Mohammed, Gimba Kakanda, Uche Peter Umez, Deji Toye, Olufunmi Aluko, Tade Ipadeola, and Chiedu Ezeanah.The night ended with the poets taking to the dance floor; they were led by an initially reluctant Odia Ofeimun. His efforts were soon overshadowed by the coalition of willing poets-dancers, who moved excitedly to music of Jimi Solanke.
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