James Eze Crowned “The People’s Poet” At Landmark Awka Poetry Night

A Night Where Poetry Became Public Memory

IT was an evening where words did more than echo — they stirred memory, invoked conscience, and bridged the divide between the university and the wider community. In a landmark literary gathering in Awka, the English Department of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University formally conferred the title of “The People’s Poet” on James Eze, celebrating what it described as his “poetic excellence, laced in memory and conscience.”

The event, themed “Fire & Memory: Celebrating the Poetry of James Eze,” was held in the Anambra State capital and drew an eclectic audience of scholars, students, writers, journalists and art enthusiasts from Awka, Lagos and Enugu. It marked what organisers described as a first-of-its-kind poetry evening for the institution — a deliberate town-and-gown initiative designed to collapse the distance between academic study and lived literary culture.

Town Meets Gown in a Rare Literary Convergence

The ceremony stood out not merely for its ceremonial honours but for its immersive engagement with poetry. Students of English and literature were given front-row access to the creative process: they watched Eze read and perform his works, listened as scholars deconstructed his verses, and witnessed interpretations that transformed poems into spoken-word performances, dramatic renditions and even songs.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Kate Azuka Omenugha, attended in person, underscoring the institutional significance of the occasion. Her presence, alongside faculty members and literary scholars, lent academic weight to what was equally a cultural celebration.

For students, it was an opportunity rarely afforded in formal classrooms — direct engagement with a contemporary poet whose work they study. In interactive sessions, Eze fielded questions about inspiration, symbolism, and the emotional landscapes that birthed his verses. The exchanges offered insight into both craft and conscience.

Reading from Dispossessed

At the heart of the evening was a reading from Eze’s debut collection, Dispossessed, a work that has matured over the years into a text of considerable resonance.

Structured around three thematic pillars — Innocence, Transgression, and Atonement — the collection provided a framework for the night’s readings.

From the Innocence segment, Eze delivered the introspective “Searching for Myself,” a deeply rhetorical meditation on identity and belonging. The poem’s quiet intensity invited reflection, its layered metaphors opening space for multiple interpretations.

Switching tonal registers, he read “Rainbow,” a tender love poem drawn from Transgression, offered in recognition of Valentine Week. The warmth of its imagery contrasted with the gravity that followed when he performed “Biafra,” a searing tribute poem that adopted a call-and-response structure. Students chimed in with the refrain, transforming the hall into a communal chorus of remembrance.

The moment crystallised the evening’s theme: poetry as shared memory, not solitary expression.

A Symbolic Crowning

The climax of the night came with the presentation of the award plaque formally designating Eze as “The People’s Poet.” The honour was bestowed by Honourable Ebuka Igwe, a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly representing Idemmili South, alongside Dr. Ikechukwu Asika, Head of the Department of English.

The title was both symbolic and declarative — an affirmation that Eze’s poetry transcends academic boundaries and resonates with ordinary readers.

The Vice Chancellor also contributed to the literary spirit of the night, reading a chapter from her forthcoming book manuscript, further reinforcing the university’s commitment to creative scholarship.

A Poet of Conscience

With this recognition, Eze joins a select group of Nigerian poets whose works have achieved both critical regard and popular resonance. Dispossessed, now over six years in circulation, has continued to gather relevance rather than fade with time — a testament to its thematic depth and emotional reach.

The gathering of literary scholars, culture journalists, novelists, poets and students affirmed that poetry in Nigeria remains not merely an academic pursuit but a living, breathing art form.

By crowning James Eze “The People’s Poet,” COOU did more than honour an individual; it affirmed the enduring power of poetry to speak to memory, identity and collective conscience.