Letters & Opinions

Since its launch in 1961, Transition has been a vibrant, international forum for the exchange of ideas and our Letters to the Editor section featured some of the most impassioned and memorable expressions the journal had to offer. While the Letters section was dropped from the journal’s lineup many years ago, we are pleased to revive this forum and welcome letters for publication. Letters and Opinions up to 1000 words in length can be submitted to transition@fas.harvard.edu for consideration, with the subject line Letter to the Editor.

Christopher Okigbo Foundation Launches in Nigeria with Artist Retreat, Year of Events

Dear Editor:

As Transition was home to many of Christopher Okigbo’s poems and contributions in the magazine’s early days, I am writing to bring your attention to the activities of the Christopher Okigbo Foundation (COF). Our goal is to restore to Christopher Okigbo the place he deserves internationally and to further the poet’s humanist vision and ideal through promotion of contemporary artistic expression in Nigeria and cultural exchange worldwide.

As Christopher’s brother Pius Okigbo said of him in 1992, “He was born bearing the sign of war; he died in a war in which he was engaged in defending the values which he held most dear—honour, courage, truth, justice, fairness, integrity, and above all, freedom. In his memory we have a duty. It is to keep alive these values because therein lies his true testament and the tribute to be paid to his genius.”

Elegy for Alto

. . . the glimpse of a dream lies smouldering in a cave, together with the mortally wounded birds. Earth, unbind me; let me be the prodigal; let this be the ram’s ultimate prayer to the tether . . .

an old star departs, leaves us here on the shore Gazing heavenward for a new star approaching; The new star appears, foreshadows its going Before a going and coming that goes forever.

—Christopher Okigbo, 1966

Since its creation in Belgium in 2005, the Foundation has flourished and has established itself as an edifice to the memory of an African hero. The historical and literary greatness of Christopher Okigbo’s legacy is slowly being unburied. New projects have bloomed as others have progressed throughout various travels, encounters, and readings. The Foundation is expanding, strengthened by the precious contribution of an always-multiplying group of art lovers and Christopher Okigbo supporters.

A Retreat for Artists, Scientists, and Poets

We envision creating a base in Ojoto, Anambra state, Nigeria—COF MBARI—as a retreat offering adequate working conditions (artist residencies, research facilities, exchange workshops, prizes, etc.) for artists, philosophers, scientists . . . and poets (see illustration, p. 3). Our guests will be immersed in the surroundings in which Christopher Okigbo was brought up as a child, which inspired him as a poet, and which he finally gave his life to defend.

This retreat will take the form of modest dwellings based on traditional Igbo architecture and culture offering views onto the green rolling hills typical of the Eastern Nigerian landscape. At the heart of this complex, a larger public building will house a research center accommodating a library with up-to-date-communication technology, a gallery, an auditorium, and conference facilities.

By providing this space, COF will provide space, time, and support to encourage and promote creative individuals of all disciplines. We hope to generate opportunities for artists to interact and collaborate with local and regional communities and to enhance the visibility and cultural impact of the host city and nation in order to contribute to the restoration, development, and preservation of the local cultural heritage. We also aim to encourage the development of research and interaction between the Sciences and the Arts.

Publications

Besides the construction of COF MBARI’s space dedicated to art and nature, the Foundation also aims at the promotion and recognition of Christopher Okigbo’s work. One major success was attained in 2007 when his unpublished papers, assembled under the title The Okigbo Papers, were included in the UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register (for more information www.christopher-okigbo.org/unesco).

We have also been involved in the launch...