Chukwunyere Chukwu out with new books

 Lagos author, Chukwunyere Chukwu has come out with seven new books. These books, Owanbee: One good Turn Deserves Another, Dan Iska! The Place of Exploit, Escape, among others, were officially presented to the public at a private gathering held penultimate Tuesday at the Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, Akoka.

Chukwunyere Chukwu, a member of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) , who also launched nine of his published works the same day, says “ANA Lagos is also part of the society in which her members live, work and writes.” ANA is determined to reposition the association to be on top of social, economic and all issues that affect our members, whether resident in Lagos or any other part of the country.

Chukwu says his nine published books never started in a day, but it took a while before he could put all the books together, saying “I am presenting seven books which I just published and the previous two books I had published earlier, making it a total of nine books. These seven books I am presenting today didn’t just come. It is something I have toyed with, slept with in my marrow. It is a gift from God, not my own making.”

According to the author, the books are available at affordable prices – apart from Songs of Wisdom, which is more expensive, saying the books were not launched as the previous because of poor finance.

“The money used to publish the first book was not recovered, so I am not launching the present books now. The fear am having now is piracy and who among us will take this books to be published elsewhere. From the lesson I have learned, it is much better for me to show myself to the public first, if I am appreciated people will come for the work. So, I chose not to follow the way others have been going so that piracy does not become the other of the day. All my inspiration has come from what I see, the environment, the type of people I meet, and God,” the author states.

The launch of Chukwu’s new books also serves as a good platform for members of the ANA Lagos chapter to discuss the way forward for the association. Most of the speakers at the event observe that in spite of the lull in activities in recent years, the ANA, the Lagos chapter, remains one of the vibrant branches of the association in the country.

Before now, the ANA Lagos was a beehive of activities with the Lagos chapter’s organisation of poetry festivals, patrons’ day and special readings, hosted by renowned writers from within and outside the state.

To bring back the old glory, Folu Agoi, a one-time chairman of ANA, Lagos, says the leadership of the ANA is seeking to reposition the association, saying “if you take a look at ANA, and where ANA is, where ANA should be, you will know that a lot needs to be done more. I came here to lend my support into reviving ANA Lagos; I was the chairman of ANA for four years. It was as if nothing could be done to revive the house, but within a few months we did things to restore the house beyond activities. 

 

MARY OCHUGBUA