Osadolor Williams Osayande, Fortune Ben, and Oladimeji Adam Adedayo have emerged winners of the April-May 2020 edition of the prestigious Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest (BPPC). The edition was themed ‘Covid-19’.
SEVEN FLOWERS OF GRATITUDE by Osadolor emerged overall best out of over 300 entries. Ben’s ‘Letter To The Ball With Spikes’ finished in second place while the last edition’s first-runner-up, Oladimeji, placed third for ‘The Duopoly’. The trio will be awarded a total of ₦30,000: ₦15,000 (first), ₦10,000 (second) and ₦5,000 (third).
The other poets in the top 10 of this edition are Akor Agada Nathaniel, Ogedengbe Tolulope Impact, Ukpanyang Kingsley Ayi, Afolabi Oluwatobiloba John, Inalegwu Omapada Alifa, Adedamola Jones Adedayo, Divine Inyang Titus.
The TOP 20 poems of the April-May edition are published in a chapbook titled ‘SEVEN FLOWERS OF GRATITUDE‘. It is available for free download.
WINNER’S PROFILES
OSADOLOR WILLIAMS OSAYANDE is a Nigerian storyteller, poet and essayist whose literary works seek to humanize through the elevation of consciousness. Osadolor was longlisted for the 2018 Babishai Niwe Poetry Award. His works have appeared on the African Writer, 1888 Center and Origami. He enjoys reading Maya Angelou, Gbenga Adesina, Warsan Shire and Chinua Achebe.
FORTUNE BEN is a Nigerian poet, calligrapher, singer, and girl child advocate. He was the President of the Press Club in his school. Fortune is a certified instructor with LEDS Writes organization and a member of Kings Homes Charity organization. He lives by the mantra, “a life without vision is a life full of friction”
OLADIMEDI ADAM ADEDAYO is a Nigerian writer from Okuku, Osun State. Oladimeji was shortlisted for Ken Egbas Poetry Prize in 2018, the Albert Jungers Poetry Prize (AJPP) in 2019, and emerged first-runner-up of the Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest (February/March 2020). He takes special pleasure in the works of writers like Chinua Achebe, Amos Tutuola, and Lesley Nneka Arimah.
DOWNLOAD THE “SEVEN FLOWERS OF GRATITUDE“ CHAPBOOK TO READ THE TOP 20 POEMS:
The BRIGITTE POIRSON POETRY CONTEST is a writing contest aimed at rewarding the under-appreciated talent of young Nigerian poets. It was instituted in February 2015 in honour of Brigitte Poirson, a French poet and lecturer, editor, who has over the years worked assiduously to promote and support African poetry. The BPPC is one of Nigeria’s most popular, especially among the younger poets.
