Excelling in Poetry Despite Limited Resources in Nigeria
Since the pandemic started, we’ve all become more dependent on the internet and the connections we’ve made there. And we’ve all become acutely aware of the limitations of the internet and the profound effects of slow speeds. But the technological difficulties felt in places like my town in suburban Pennsylvania are nothing like the ones T.S. Piriye endures daily.
This episode Christoph welcomes T.S. Piriye to the show via WhatsApp. Piriye shares the daily struggles of being a poet in a city where internet is hard to come by. To post online, he needs to get up at 5 am - 6 am so the servers aren’t overwhelmed. He’s welcomed to the stage in church, where poetry is valued as a religious experience rather than a recreational activity. Part of his biggest challenge, he explains, is showing people poetry’s value for their lives. He believes that with access to better equipment, he’d be able to produce more work and demonstrate its value more clearly to his community, which is rich with a small group of poets trying to make a change. The love of poetry, Piriye tells us, motivates him to persevere despite the roadblocks in his way.
To grow the poetry community and his reach, we wanted to give you an opportunity to help him out. Here are his needs and the cost:
1) Photo Shoot / Advertisement= $37.99
2) Hiring of cameraman= $12.23
3) Lights = $6.12
4) Logistics= $12.23
5) Gate fee for location= $6.12
6) Laptop for better communication= $146.78
7) Voice recording = $24.46
8) Mifi for better internet= $24.46
9) 2 dozen one color T shirt and printing= $288.71
10) Payment for the Video Director= $48.93
Total =$594.50
If you want to make a difference for this poet and his town, please consider donating to Piriye through the PoetLife Cash App = @$ThePoetLife—just specify in the subject that this is a donation to Piriye. Every dollar you give gets their community closer to their goal of advancing their poetry community. For more about his story, listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast app.
T.S. Piriye is a poet, spoken word artist, and event planner in Rivers State, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Follow him on IG for more about his story and poetry: @ts_piriye