Poetic Wednesdays Initiative marked 10 years of literary and cultural work in northern Nigeria on Saturday, June 6, with an Eid Pop-Up event in Kano that poets, artists, literature enthusiasts and members of the public for an afternoon of performances, reflection and open conversation.
The milestone gathering at Alliance Française, Kano also served as the platform to announce “Reclaiming Languages” as the theme for KapFest 3.0, the third edition of the Kano Poetry Festival.
The pop-up featured poetry performances, spoken word presentations, and a panel discussion that explored the significance of language as a repository of memory, identity, history, migration, trade, and imagination. The panel featured Poetic Wednesdays Executive Director Naseeba Babale and Nana Sule, and was moderated by Misbahu El-Hamza. The conversation centred on the importance of preserving and revitalising indigenous languages in an era of increasing linguistic homogenisation, while also examining the role of artists, writers, educators, and communities in keeping languages alive.
Poetry performances were delivered by Hidaya Mahmud and Mujahid Abdulaziz, alongside other featured voices, offering audiences a powerful and reflective artistic experience that underscored the themes of the gathering.
The theme, Reclaiming Languages, invites participants to engage with questions of belonging, heritage, power, and cultural continuity. It challenges communities to consider what is lost when languages disappear and what becomes possible when people reclaim the words, stories, and knowledge systems that have shaped them.
Speaking at the event, the founder of Poetic Wednesdays, Salim Yunusa, reflected on the organisation’s ten-year journey from a Facebook hashtag into a vibrant creative community that has nurtured writers, poets, artists, and cultural practitioners across Northern Nigeria and beyond.
“For ten years, Poetic Wednesdays has created spaces where people can tell their stories, share their experiences, and encounter new ideas through the arts. As we celebrate this milestone, we are also looking ahead. The theme Reclaiming Languages reminds us that language is more than a means of communication—it is a living archive of who we are, how we understand the world, and how we continue to engage with it.”
The anniversary celebration offered an opportunity to honour the poets, volunteers, partners, audiences, and supporters who have sustained the organisation over the past decade and helped shape its growth.
The unveiling of the KAPFEST 3.0 theme marks the beginning of a new chapter for the festival, which continues to serve as a platform for critical conversations, artistic experimentation, and cultural exchange. Through this year’s theme, the festival seeks to promote dialogue about language, identity, translation, oral traditions, memory, and the future of African languages in a rapidly changing world.
As Poetic Wednesdays enters its second decade, the organisation remains committed to fostering literary culture, supporting emerging voices, and creating spaces where art can inspire reflection, connection, and transformation.
KAPFEST 3.0 will take place in October 2026, bringing together writers, poets, artists, scholars, and audiences from across Nigeria and beyond for conversations and creative engagements around the theme Reclaiming Languages.
Poetic Wednesdays Initiative is a literary and cultural organisation dedicated to promoting literature, poetry, storytelling, and critical dialogue. Through readings, workshops, festivals, mentorship programmes, and community engagement activities, the organisation creates opportunities for creative expression, learning, and cultural exchange, particularly among young people.
More at www.poeticwednesdays.org
