"I WILL BE SILENT", A Poetry Work By Valentine Okolo Is Out.

The Logo.

Valentine Okolo was a magazine editor and writer. He recently published his book, a poetry collection, I Will Be Silent on Amazon. Nigerian Writer, Valentine Okolo launches his Book, I Will Be Silent in Amazon.

 

Nigerian poet, former editor of Arts and Self Expression for Know Yourself Magazine, Valentine Okolo has published a didactic poetry collection, I Will Be Silent.

Genocide. Sex Slavery. Women Rights. Activism, are the elements embedded in the pages of I Will Be Silent, which is currently available on Amazon. 

Okolo, who is also known as Poetval, is a filmmaker and a social activist who speaks for those whose voices are drowned by oppressive task masters. He is also the author of the poetry book: I Will Be Silent.

Valentine's literary inclination, which he has applied in the media and publishing industry started many years ago.

In 2005, he was the editor of Arts and Self Expression for Know Yourself Magazine, a self-help publication based in the United Kingdom.  He co-created and was the Creative Director / Director of G-Planet, a musical gospel TV Show, which aired across Africa and the United Kingdom for 4 years. G-planet was one of the first ever shows in Nigeria that interviewed and showcased the talents of upcoming and established gospel artists in the country. 

He also extended his Directorial duties to the TV show Divas Dynasty, a show aimed at celebrating successful women from different walks of life. The Show aired on HiTV in Nigeria and the in United States. In 2009, he co-founded and became the editor for BusinessIQ magazine, the Pan Africa magazine for entrepreneurs in Africa. 

After a hiatus from entertainment and Television from the years 2010 to 2014, he returned to the silver screen in the year 2015 when he was instrumental in bringing to technical and creative life the homegrown TV game show Nairabet Sports Challenge. A show which aired in Nigeria for a full season and was much loved by sport fans in the country.

In the same 2015, "I Will Be Silent," the titular poem of his poetry collection became the most googled poem about genocide on the Internet. A poem he casually posted on an online poetry sharing forum, where he was briefly a member, for feedback. To his surprise the poem became the most popular poem on genocide on the web and was searched for and read in over 25 countries worldwide. Which was quite an unusual feat for a poem rendered not as a spoken word video but as text. His other poetic works have featured in respectable literary journals based in the United States. Journals like Apogee, Origins, and Shot Glass.

Okolo's poetry collection ‘I Will Be Silent’ is divided into three main sections: Pain, Perseverance and Pleasure. 

The first section, Pain, echoes the voices of those who were exterminated in various pogroms and conflicts, those sold into sex slavery, and those whose innocence were taken advantage of and used as angels of death. Represented aptly with lines from the poem "Without a Name" : 

On this day 

innocence was drowned in water,

and puberty terminated 

by the blade of the guillotine.

Every crisis has its collateral damage.

They called you collateral damage 

and made clones of you,

a platoon of expendable soldiers 

in the command of an executioner.

In the second section, Perseverance, the poet celebrates the resilience of those who have gone through the battles of pain and remain standing to bear witness to the living. This he represents in the  poem "Ode to Women's Rights" with the words :

I am balancing

your name

on the blade 

of my tongue,

a needle

on the navel

of a hurricane.

You are 

a magnificent storm,

terrible and calm,

the ingredients

of social revolution.

Or acknowledging a woman's self worth in the same section with the exultational micro  poem "Birthright" :

Woman,

may you always 

remember your birthright.

For you are salt;

the jewel of the sea,

the maiden 

with a thousand 

shimmers.

The third section, Pleasure, talks of sweet, romantic, and sometimes the erotic memories of pure love. The likely aftermath of persevering through trials. This section is highlighted here by the sublimely erotic poem "Metaphor" : 

You begin by calling yourself the mug

which holds my rising steam

and the breath

of my rejuvenation.

Since you are the mug

I’ll be the spoon

that goes in and turns

and keeps on turning

until your heat clings to my metal.

Poet, Valentine Okolo, is no stranger to the literary arts and the entertainment world. A consumate artist, he has thrilled audiences, though, behind the scenes with some of his creative inputs . And it's our hope that he will continue to thrill us with his creative mind many years from now, both from behind the curtain, and in the spotlight. 

Get his book: I Will Be Silent on Amazon:  www.amazon.com/author/valentineokolo 

You can connect with him via his Twitter handle: @poetval.