Pawners Paper Magazine, Issue 01: "From Our Grandest Offering Of Uncharted Narratives"

"From Our Grandest Offering Of Uncharted Narratives"  “To create is likewise to give shape to one’s faith.” Albert Camus believes,...

"From Our Grandest Offering Of Uncharted Narratives" 

“To create is likewise to give shape to one’s faith.” Albert Camus believes, as written in his 1942 essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. Indeed, I believe it’s even more compelling and gracious to create, narrate and reveal what positively shapes others' beliefs. The urge to tell stories, capture experiences and examine artistry without bounds culminates our Grandest offering as a magazine.

It is surreal, yet quite fascinating to reach this significant point in the journey of our magazine. Even more pleasurable it is, for the things we ought to and will offer as time goes on.

At the inception of Pawners Paper, the crude idea was to create an online mini-hub for writers to share their stories and bask in the reception of the audience’s sincere remarks and the enjoyment of their works. Over the years, we stumbled; we really did fade away into the lurks of our own doubt and uncertainties. We were uncertain if we were merely driven by the floaty desire to create a space that writers and readers enjoy being in, or to be more. To be a creative magazine.

We went through several stages of reforms and rebranded into a team with the same burning interest—to create, curate, and expose. Our idea was to herald storytelling as the proper medium for narrating artistic experiences, ideas, beliefs and feelings as it is evident in different creative genres. We aimed for the clouded, raw, disjointed, and even clumsily revealed—imperfect, but true and humane—stories that fascinate and which people resonate with.

While we are still forming, retracing our steps, and building the magazine into an inclusive publication for creatives in the categories of writing, filmmaking, music, visual art, etc., we are committed to sharing stories that liven and refine our standards of creative works and experiences, and how they are resonantly perceived.

In this issue of the magazine, our desire is to reveal a bit of the unknown through the lens of the theme, “uncharted”—the art of new discovery. Each story and piece curated in this issue is made to feel like a safe haven for experimentation, with the resources we’ve gotten. As you flip through the pages, I implore you to take your time to have each word etched on your minds.

On the feature list, we have Orimogunje Damilola; a man whose cinematic works brush the frames of African indie filmmaking with colours of vulnerability, unconventionality, and homegrown experiences. We gained exclusive insights into his ways of art and what drives him.

Also, we covered editorials on Victony and Mavin Records, as well as their progressive impacts on the growth of Afrobeats on a global scale. 

Cropped from our recently concluded competition which was sponsored by the Intellectual Property Institute Nigeria, we have poignant poem, short story and essays that drew inspiration from the theme. We also offered a literary tribute to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and Koyo Kouoh following their passing this year.

I’m more grateful to God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (The Trinity), who have been the very source of our strength and inspiration, and the team and readers who have consistently shepherded our growth. Your support fuels our existence and growth as a creative magazine and reminds us why resonant stories matter.

Our journey will continue. We will cover interviews, feature precious stories that rekindles, and remind creatives of the spark of passions in this adventurous journey of storytelling.

We will create resonant storytelling.

Love and Light,

Adedeji Adebusuyi

Founder and Editor-in-Chief

Pawners Paper Magazine

Download Issue 01