Eleven poets will join Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka at the 2026 ProvidusBank World Poetry Day Café scheduled for March 19 in Lagos.
The event, themed Power & Order: Freedom & Illusion, will hold at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly the National Theatre, Iganmu, from 5pm.
According to the organisers, four foreign based poets will join seven Nigerian counterparts to reflect on the theme through readings and spoken word performances before an audience that includes corporate executives, members of the creative community and the public.
The guest poets from outside Nigeria are Yolanda Castano, Valter Hugo Mae, Maryam Palizban and Mohsen Emadi. Nigerian participants include Dike Chukwumerije, Abdulalazeez Sirajo Alli, Ayomide Fasedu, Nwani Emmanuel Chidera, Pacella Chukwuma-Eke, Tobi Abiodun and Hafsat Abdullahi.
The annual World Poetry Day was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999 to promote linguistic diversity and create opportunities for endangered languages to be heard. It also highlights poetry’s role in expressing human experience, challenging injustice and inspiring communities.
In Nigeria, the celebration has been hosted since 2020 by Providus Bank under its corporate social responsibility initiative, Providus Bank Poetry Café. The programme is curated by the Culture Advocates Caucus and directed by Jahman Anikulapo under Soyinka’s supervision.
Past editions have focused on themes such as environmental preservation, education, youth and female empowerment, migration and cultural diversity.
Organisers say this year’s theme will explore the forces that shape society, the nature of order and freedom, and the illusions that sustain power in a conflicted world, while reinforcing the role of creativity and the arts in national development.
