Jaachi Writes

Love is undoubtedly humankind's most exploited subject matter. And yet every year, all year round, the reproduction of "love" in art, literature, music, and a diverse array of many other fields, continues as if the subject, after all this time, has yet to be exhausted.  This month, the traditional celebration of Saint Valentine's Day guarantees that the subject be brought to the foreground and be taken up yet again. As people gather in couples and whisper worn-out phrases to each other in their attempts to make the sincere, albeit recycled, words meaningful and different, one begins to wonder whether we have lost the essence of loving amidst all its typical expressions and its usual commercialized trappings (roses, chocolates, cards, etc.). In this light, Poemify Publishers is putting together a love-themed anthology. Founded by its editor Stefn Sylvester Anyatonwu, Poemify Publishers is dedicated to publishing works by African writers as well as curating anthologies ...

For today's Literary Devices, we'll play on words and learn how to play on words. Have you ever heard someone describe a phrase as “punny” ? Punny is a blend word, or portmanteau, which combines “pun” and “funny” to describe a funny pun. This is an act of wordplay. What Is WordPlay? In simple terms, wordplay is the act of rearranging a word in a creative way to change, emphasize, or mock its meaning. Wordplay is a creative act which allows writers and readers to flex their thinking muscles. Wordplay has been employed by greats like Shakespeare to create entirely new words, modern poets to hide interesting messages, and quirky comedians to show off witty thinking. One may want to ask, 'of what importance is Wordplay?' Much of poetry and comedy makes use of wordplay to emphasize beauty, intelligence, and wit. It is also a way for wordsmiths to sharpen their creative-thinking in crafting words in new and unique ways. Wordplay serves as proof that literature is evolving,...

TOPIC: LITERARY APPRECIATION Many writers know little or nothing about this. Some can’t mention the Genres of Literature and Elements of each Genres. What is Literary Appreciation? Literary Appreciation is simply the ability to understand and evaluate works of Literature. Evaluate here means to make judgment about the quality or value of literary work. Evaluation is usually an opinion about a given work, but it must be based on facts There are a lot of definitions of literary Appreciation. A common and easy one definition of literary appreciation comes from Will Martin, Literary Appreciation it is the ability to study, understand and appreciate the famous or noteworthy literature works. Ogenwelle (2006) said that “Literary appreciation works towards an understanding of writing styles and the use of literary devices within writing, such as imagery and alliteration”. ELEMENTS OF POETRY Diction: It is the choice of words of a poet. A good diction passes its message with suitable words Rh...

A haiku ( pronounced high-koo ) is short three-line poem that uses sensory language to capture a feeling or image. Haiku poetry was originally developed by Japanese poets. They are often inspired by nature, a moment of beauty, or poignant experience. Before I dive deep, I'd love to say this: I believe some of us here know what haiku is and what 'rules' there be that guide haiku writing. That's beautiful. We are here to learn, unlearn and relearn. So, I'd rather you keep your knowledge aside and learn something new today. Alright? Okay, let's walk over Jericho. Haiku is a Japanese verse in three lines. Line one has 5 syllables, line 2 has 7 syllables and line three has 5 syllables. Haiku is a mood poem and it doesn't use any metaphors or similes. Usually when haiku is taught, poets are only given the restriction of the number of lines and syllables. However, for good haiku poetry, more explanation needs to be given. This lecture is for poets who are willing...

Types Of Poetry  Poetry is literary expression in which language is used in a concentrated blend of sound and imagery to create an emotional response; essentially rhythmic, it is usually metrical and frequently structured in stanzas.  This is to help you get acquainted with the various forms of poetry existent and help broaden your art.  There are more than a hundred types of poetry. I will break them into 10 bits. I'll do this alphabetically. We start with the As. For sake of time, I couldn’t give examples of ‘all’ types listed. But there are few examples given.  1. Abecedarian poem - As the name implies (ABCD), it is a poem having verses beginning with the successive letters of the alphabet.  e.g:  After a long stare at shooting stars Bolade shut his aching eyes calling on dead gods like a dying priest dangling from his gallow. - Stefn Sylvester Anyatonwu Noticed how each line of the above poem begins with the successive letters of the alphabet? 2. Abstr...

Hello, I believe the first series of this article tasted like finely brewed wine. Here's the continuation.  But before we dive into the main course, I have a few questions for you.  Were you able to write, at least, a poem over the weekend? If yes, what challenges did you encounter? What inspired your poem? Do you think you did your best? Mind sharing the poem with me? If yes, send me a message via Facebook messenger, let's discuss. Alright, on to the next series. Revise, Revise, Revise! I don’t think people talk about revision enough. I have never been used to revision, and it caught up to me.  Whatever you create, right off the first go, is usually not a masterpiece .  Some people say that the rawness of a first draft is indicative of its true power. Well, true. But a poem is made of a few parts, one being heart and one being craft, I think.  What you write first is the heart of the poem. And then craft is where technique comes in. This is when you finesse it,...

This is going to be lengthy. So please, settle down in your favourite position (lie down, sit, stand, squat, hang mid air... whatever suits you),and then, grab a cup of coffee and let's get started. In today's Vocabulary class, we are going to learn some new literary words to spice up our poetry writing.  In many writing exercises, whether they be writing a job application, creating a speech, orbusiness writing, you will probably have been told to use everyday words and keep your language simple. That is often very sound advice, and helps keep communication simple and effective.  In some contexts, though, you may wish to use a less common, more elevated word. This list of words below would largely be used in writing that was intentionally seeking a literary tone. For us, it is a poem.  Here we go, literary words. A abode - a home access - an outburst of an emotion adieu - goodbye afar - at a distance apace - quickly argosy - a large merchant ship arrant - utter asunder - ...

Poets are an odd, beautiful breed. Constantly observant and obsessed by details, we speak a language that can transcend time, cultures, religion, ideologies and places. My poetic life started before I was even born, I believe, but really I’ve been a part-time poet for about a decade. At first, it was painting and drawing. I would imagine things, people and places, and then create those imaginations as pictures, comics and just anything painting. Next in line was music. I'd compose songs and sing along. Write songs and record them over my dad's cassettes.  As a child, I’d notice things the other children didn’t; I saw the world as a place filled with secrets hidden in trees and the birds of the air, in-between colors of the sky, stagnant water bodies, frogs, people's eyes and my skin. I see beyond the texture of fabrics, furniture and everything around me. Even whispers could mean something else to my arty ears. I could make a world out of the smallest moment. I still do.  B...