It is Saturday and I read
that you are putting down
a coupe attempt, I hope

it goes well but that is not
the reason I am writing

to you. The Nigeria Liquefied
Natural Gas Prize
for Literature has awarded

another award to someone
who is not South Sudanese

but somehow someone
thought that “Nigeria Liquefied
Natural Gas Prize” seemed

like a good title for a literary
award. Poetry is symbolic, it
can’t stop bullets or feed

starving children but it will draw
the world’s eyes to anything it touches.
It is time that the South Sudanese

have their own poetry movement,
artists drawn from every village,

every city, every refugee camp
who will let the world know what
is happening. I am not Sudanese

but I do know how to say “Mwen
renmen pwezi” in Juba Arabic.

A nation of poets will capture
the imagination of generations to

come. If there is anyway I can
help in bringing this about please
let me know. Blessings and cheers.

Z