Peju Alatise Launches New Book 

Yinka  Olatunbosun

A warm reception was held in Lagos last week as the much-anticipated collection of short stories by the artist Peju Alatise was presented to the public at the Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi. The gathering, comprised of friends and associates of the author, was a beautiful cascade of performances and short film screenings.

Titled Silifat, the new book centres on the stories of Nigerian women and their struggles in a male-dominated society. In her opening remarks, Alatise recounted the brief history behind the character development of the book.

“Silifat was first featured in my earlier book titled ‘Oritameta,” she began. Dissatisfied by her depiction of the Silifat character, she decided to dedicate a whole new book to her. I wrote Silifat in 2006. It is a collection of twelve short stories about Silifat. It is the story of many young women in Nigeria and the challenges they face. The thingification of women is something many women can relate to. I wrote this book in order to redeem her and shed more light on her journey.

In a ceremony anchored by the writer and media personality, Wana Udobang, Alatishe described how the world of the book is shaped by the ambition of every girl child and how the stages of womanhood can be shaped by societal pressures and expectations. Designed to be a coffee table book, Silifat contains photographs taken by Adeyinka Akingbade, a collaborator on the book and art project.

“It is not a perfect book. But it is a story that needs to be heard. The stories are written in a way that you can add to them, and I can come in and out of the book. The stories are open-ended, and I leave it to your imagination. Someone said that there is a bit of Silifa in every household.’’

The event was punctuated by the screening of two short films, which were directed by Remi Vaughan-Richards and drew upon the writer’s childhood and aspirations. Also, a dramatic sketch titled Sugarcane was staged to highlight the issue of sexuality and the plight of women in a patriarchal society.

On Sunday, July 9, a collection of paintings and photographs by Peji Alatise and Adeyinka Akingbade was unveiled at the Nike Art Gallery at Lekki Phase I, Lagos.