Forget Medicine, Literature is the Thing

In June 2008, I took my family to visit a friend. We were not the only visitors in the house of our friend that day. The daughter of one of the visitors took my camera from me and began taking lots of photographs. She was 6 maybe 7 years old. When she returned the camera to me, I was astonished at how wonderful the photographs she had taken were. I did not hesitate to commend her for a job well done. The girl’s mother was very proud and said she had a very strong feeling her daughter would become a photographer. I was going to second that, but I kept my mouth firmly shut when the girl’s father – a Medical Doctor reprimanded his wife for mouthing such an abomination. He asked his wife if she felt their daughter was incapable of becoming a doctor or an accountant.

Full Editor’s note>>

Benjamin Beresford is one of the four fiction writers featured in this issue of SLQ with his story, “The Clinic.” The other three are Angela Nwosu “Mindscape“, Abayomi Zuma “The Manual“, Gregory Lawson “The Interesting Case of Joseph Sangala“.

Akinlabi Peter

walls of cactuses, a dark path:

an invasion of shadows

announces identities of arms and whispers 

A Walk on the Plateau>>

Lola Shoneyin

After So All the Time I was Sitting on an Egg and Song of a Riverbird. Shoneyin’s third collection of poems; For the Love of Flight is due for release in October.

Three poems from For the Love of Flight>>

Don Pedro Obaseki

Playwright, Theatre & Film Director Obaseki talks to Nnorom Azuonye about his work and Nollywood.

Interview>>

The Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition (July 2009) is now open for entries.

Andy Willoughby and Bob Beagrie will judge. Learn more>>