SPOKEN WAVES (ISSUE 8)
Bankole Kolawole (BankHALL) is a poet whose mastery of consonance is jaw-dropping. He plays on words with ease, like he plays the Ludo game. He is best known for his impeccable dancing prowess while performing poetry with the infusion of African musical instruments which has earned him the appellation “African Michael Jackson”. A graduate of Accountancy from the University of Lagos, BankHALL also thrives as a Master of Ceremonies.
BankHALL is the convener of SoundOfSages (SOS) Poetry Slam; a competition created to discover upcoming spoken word poets in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
WHY SPOKEN WORD?
I do spoken word poetry to educate, entertain and chastise.
WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO ACHIEVE WITH SPOKEN WORD?
Smiles… Make poetry ‘danceably’ accessible to every age-grade, first in Nigeria, then outside the shores of Africa and other continents of the world with indigenous use of words in collaboration with other spoken word poets who can do poetry in multiple languages, according to a target audience, at a given period of time, employing the most appropriate musical instruments, as may be required.
I strongly believe in the power of words, if you ask me ‘what can words do?’ Sooner than later, with unity among every literary platform in Nigeria, we will take poetry via spoken and performance to every institution of learning, even beyond the tenets of what is being taught in schools.