Greetings Glocal Citizens!
As we hit the halfway mark on 2025 our treat this week is a thought-provoking conversation with Wana Udobang, a multifaceted writer, poet, performer, curator, and storyteller based in Lagos, Nigeria. I met Wana last year during the Pa Gya! Literary Festival in Accra where she faciliated her own unique writing workshop - “Comfort Food” a storytelling and poetry workshop that uses food as a conduit to explore memories, history, joy, and healing which was born out of her culinary quality time during the pandemic. In this lively conversation we cover Wana's extensive body of work which encompasses her journey of becoming a creative professional in Nigeria, her spoken word albums and how she has honed her craft building a framework for entrepreneurship using various storytelling platforms.
00:00:23 Introduction and Opening Remarks
00:04:02 A Short Story About ECG
00:07:56 Introduction and Background
00:11:53 Wana's Creative Journey and Achievements
00:16:00 Life in Lagos and Cultural Insights
00:19:42 The Art of Storytelling and Poetry
00:23:38 Why the Where: Career Path and Returning to Nigeria
00:27:32 Comfort Food Workshops and Creative Collaborations
00:31:43 Glocal Speak
00:35:31 Organizing for Success: Tools and Techniques
00:39:27 Balancing Creativity and Economics
00:43:22 Mindset Hacks as an Ethos
00:47:30 The Role of Fellowships in Professional Growth
00:51:20 What's New and Next?
00:55:15 Reader, Watcher, Listener?
00:59:25 Final Thoughts
Where to find Wana?
wanaudobang.com (https://www.wanaudobang.com/about)
On LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/wana-udobang-16063776)
On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mswanawana)
On YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/misswanawana)
What’s Wana reading?
Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun (https://sarahladipomanyika.com/work/like-a-mule-bringing-ice-cream-to-the-sun-book.html) by Sarah Lipado Manyika
All Fours (https://mirandajuly.com/all-fours/) by Miranda July
The Big Leap (https://hendricks.com/resources/big-leaps/the-big-leap/?v=0b3b97fa6688) by Gay Hendricks
What’s Wana watching?
Conclave (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conclave_(film))
The Substance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Substance)
What’s Wana listening to?
Florence and the Machine (https://florenceandthemachine.net)
Other topics of interest:
About the Ibibio people of Nigeria (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibibio_people)
Def Poetry Jam (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Def_Poetry_Jam)
About Nnedi Okorafor (https://nnedi.com) and Akata Warrior (https://www.instagram.com/p/DJhM9rQJxFr/) as seen in the new Forever series on Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/forever-judy-blume-show-announcement)
Special Guest: Wana Udobang.