Behold The Power and Money Issue From Saraba Magazines
Saraba magazines has released a new issue that will make every writer think deeply about what their true motivation towards this beautiful art form is. Trust me, you will love this issue. See an introduction below;
The power of numbers, in the first place, is always self-evident when we talk of money. IfeOluwa Nihinlola, among other writers in the new Power & Money Issue of Saraba Magazine considers that most important medium of exchange. In “The Curious Case of Nigerian Literary Ambition” he writes about the perils of the artist who prizes the dough above making art that possesses soul. He writes: “Money, as in every other aspect of Nigerian life, has become the defining metric for success. Make dough, and we do not care about your artistic nous, or lack of it.”A different kind of lack is lamented in Inalegwu Alifa’s poem “Despoiled,” though their conclusions are strikingly similar: that you cannot always convert money into greatness. Inalegwu Alifa speaks of a “land rumbling with natural resources but not making a great nation.” And in Akin Adesokan’s story, “We Deserve A Share Of Our Kinsman’s Money,” we find several characters who are embroiled in a plot “writ micro, in the script of money.” Money, it is said, makes the world go round; no one is spared that is caught in its whirl.
Another kind of power evident in numbers is in their quality as the most important signifier of the past—through dates. Sada Malumfashi traces a history of Hausa literature and language, from 950 A.D. to the present day, in “Historical Echoes:The Literature of Hausa Women.” Afolabi Boluwatife’s poem, “A Game of Numbers” considers—and herein lies its crux—how sometimes those all important markers are pointless in places where the collective memory have no uses for them. Even when they are not explicitly dated, the pull of the past—hence its power—is the theme of many other pieces in this issue. Yemi Adesanya’s “I Am Stuck in That Room,” is a case in point. In sum, this issue finds its several contributors exploring the entwined themes of power and money, what narratives or poetry they inform. Photographs are also informed by these themes as the issue’s cover by Aisha Daniels attests to. See also the photographs by Femi Amogunla.
Accompanying the release of the Power & Money Issue is a new episode of Saraba Talk. In this episode, Saraba senior editors, Arthur Anyaduba and Adebiyi Olusolape, discuss the new issue. Emmanuel Iduma speaks with Ayobami Adebayo, on her newly released book, Stay With Me. (Stay With Me, which is currently out in the UK, can be preordered here). Also, Dami Ajayi shares a playlist of songs (by Fela, Rex Lawson, Wizkid, Patoranking, and Timaya) to accompany the new issue.
