SYNW AND IHRAF’S ENDSARS NATIONAL POETRY ANTHOLOGY, ‘ENDSARS RHYTHMS’ HAS FINALLY BEEN RELEASED
The Society of Young Nigerian Writers, (SYNW) and the International Human Rights Art Festival (IHRAF) has finally released the highly anticipated poetry anthology tagged ENDSARS RHYTHMS.
ENDSARS RHYTHMS is a product of SYNW and IHRAF’s keenly contested EndSARS National Poetry Competition that took place in the year 2020. SYNW and IHRAF has taken the bold step to publish some of the most outstanding entries received in the collation, selection, recognition and award of very remarkable pieces from deserving participants in the contest.
Literature and arts owe society the duty not just to entertain and educate but also to document the history of the people as well as mirror and x-ray the society. The collaborative efforts of the Society of Young Nigerian Writers, SYNW, and the International Human Rights Arts Festival, IHRAF, to harness the thoughts, feelings and responses of Nigerian artists as well as creative writers and the international writing community on the theme Police Brutality, Assault And Battery by organizing a national poetry contest tagged ‘EndSARS’ National Poetry Competition, 2020 is indeed timely and commendable.
Globally, police are notorious for their corrupt tendencies of bribery, extortion, high handedness, brutality and human rights abuses, sometimes leading to extra judicial killings. The Nigeria Police has not been an exception to this global anomaly. In 2017, a Twitter campaign using the hashtag ‘#ENDSARS’ by Nigerians to demand the disbanding of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS unit of the Nigeria police by the Nigerian government started. In October, 2020, there were renewed calls for the disbandment of SARS generally. This time, the online and social media campaign championed by young Nigerians was followed by widespread protests, marches, demonstrations, online activism and civil disobedience in some cases.
Selecting few entries for award out of more than a hundred beautiful entries from very creative and talented poets across international borders is by no means an easy task. The pain of having to eliminate some fine entries to arrive, even at a Longlist of twenty, let alone a Shortlist, is by far one of the most excruciating and unsung aspects of the job of a judge and editor; especially, a contest whose central theme touches on a global and sensitive aspect of our shared humanity. It is therefore, a huge source of consolation to SYNW and IHRAF for the opportunity to publish additional pieces out of the vast pool of amazing entries received during the call for entries to the EndSARS National Poetry Competition in 2020.
SYNW and IHRAF are happy therefore, for this unique opportunity to make available for your reading pleasure, a significant number of pieces out of the more than a hundred entries we received. It is also hoped that this modest gesture will placate and further console additional number of writers who sent in entries for the competition. We also hope that this compilation provides a rich reading resource and reference material to a variety of readers.
To download your copy, kindly log on to https://ihraf.org/endsars-poetry-competition or https://endsarspoetryanthology./2021/01/20/end-sars-rhythms-poetry-anthology-on-police-brutality-assaults-and-battery-finally-out/