African World Poetry Movement coordinators: Our Earth, Our Responsibility

Six African national coordinators of World Poetry Movement: Dr. Ayo Ayoola-Amale, Ashraf Aboul-Yazid (Ashraf Dali), Hannu Afere, Patron Henekou, Mpesse Géraldin and Rethabile Masilo 

By The AsiaN Editor

CAIRO: An online meeting was attended by six African national coordinators of World Poetry Movement drew a plan map for the movement in the continent.

The meeting, on March 10, had an agenda to give an induction of the coordinators on the work and programs of WPM. The introduction was given by Dr. Ayo Ayoola-Amale , a Poet, Artist, Author and Founder / Director, Splendors of Dawn Poetry Foundation, She is acknowledged as the Muse for Peace and a Poet for positive social change.

Dr. Ayo focused on the nature aspect of poetry and WPM, as members are all volunteers and have their professional life, so they don’t seek money but a social change, and finding a vital role for poetry in this change, and this would be the core of the Movement.

A poster for action in April

The meeting had Mpesse Géraldin, who is a poet, writer, translator, Spanish teacher and founder and director of the cultural magazine Lepan Africa.

Géraldin writes in French, in Eton and in Spanish. Many of his texts are translated into English. Author of the book of poems The cry of pain, 2016, his poems and stories have been published in numerous magazines and literary anthologies in Africa, Latin America and Europe. He is a member of the literary association CLIJEC, since 2015 he is one of the coordinators of the African Festival of Emerging Writers (FESTAE).

There was also Rethabile Masilo (Lesotho) who was born in Lesotho in 1961. He is a poet and editor. He left his country with his parents and siblings to go into exile in 1981. He passed through the Republic of South Africa, through Kenya and the United States, before settling in France in 1987.

There was Hannu Afere who is a co-author of the graphic novel Trinity and the animated series Short Fuse with a collection of poetry called Harmattan Wolf in the works and an animated miniseries Ajantala in tow. He is currently the managing editor of Wow Magazine and writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

Another meeting colleague was Patron Henekou, a poet, playwright, and professor of English at Université de Lomé in Lomé, Togo. He is president and co-founder of Nimble Feathers and director of Festival International des Lettres et des Arts.

From Egypt, there was Ashraf Aboul-Yazid (Ashraf Dali) who has been the editor of various journals and magazines, most recently the Silk Road Anthology. Some of his 40 books have been translated into Korean, Persian, Turkish, Spanish, German, Sindhi, English and Malayalam. He is the winner of three major awards: Manhae Grand Prize in Literature, South Korea, 2014; Arab Journalism Award in Culture, UAE, 2015 and the Gold Medal in the Eurasian Literary Festival, Istanbul 2021.

Online Zoom meeting of WPM Africa in progress

The group of meeting coordinators agreed upon finding programs and events to be conducted together, going beyond the only coordinating circle to call wider range of African poets, keep promoting the WPM through forums and other activities, show the real heart of Africa as a rich country with talents and resources, as well. The next project for April will be devoted by WPM to save our Earth, and protect the nature. our Earth, Our Responsibility is the slogan raised by the WPM to act in all continents by world poets.