By Nehru Odeh
MICHAEL Archer, publisher of Guernica defies description. Not only does he wear many distinguished hats, his platform has given a voice to many writers across the globe. And he has done so much not only for writers and artists, but also for himself by virtue of his strength of character, courage of conviction and sheer hard work. And his reputation precedes him.
It was for these and many other reasons that when this multiple award-winning writer, academic and publisher visited Lagos recently he was given a rousing reception by the literary and art community.
One of such literary parties that held in his honour and which will linger in the minds of many for a long time took place on Sunday 22 July, 2025 at Angels and Muse in Ikoyi Lagos. Angels and Muse partnered with Guernica magazine to host the event
It was an evening of readings, poetry performance and conversations. It was also an evening of reunion, fun and laughter as many used that occasion to meet and bond with old friends.
However, the highpoint of the evening was the conversation between Molara Wood, Michael Archer and Victor Ehikhamenor themed “Building Bridges: The Journey of Guernica magazine.” Molara did a good job engaging Michael and Victor in that intellectual discourse, which was enlivening and informative.
Still, it was fun galore. And the atmosphere was convivial. Evelyn Osagie, who was the guest poet, regaled the audience with two poetry performances titled “Eko Dance” and “Life is a Dance”. Toni Kan and Som Adebayo read excerpts from their works. Elohor Egbordi read “Okey Ndibe’s Testament, while Roli O’tsemayo read Chika Unigwe’s story, “The Transformation of Mama Paulina” as her favourite Guernica piece. And Jahman Anikulapo gave a brief speech about the making of the movie, The Man Died.
Tade Ipadeola, award-winning poet and lawyer, who was also the Master of Ceremony, set the ball rolling when he welcomed everyone and introduced Archer, whom he described as the big masquerade.
“Michael is many things in one. He is a publisher. He is a writer. He’s taught writing for decades and by reputation one of the most impactful. He is the big masquerade who has brought this portal to our midst. We are lucky to have him in our midst in person, in flesh today,” Ipadeola enthused.
Archer, for his part, introduced Nigerian writer and academic, Okey Ndibe, the first Nigerian writer to be published in Guernica whom he said came into magazine’s orbit in 2005, a year after it was founded.
He also told a funny anecdote about Ndibe ‘s first time in the United States and the hall erupted with laughter. “Meeting Okey and getting him into our orbit sort of got this connection and synergy rolling,” Archer said.
Archer also recalled the day Ndibe saved him and his colleagues from embarrassment at an event on Nigeria he and his colleagues were asked by the United Nations to organize at the University of Manhattan. The guest that was invited, for some reasons, didn’t show up.
“So we were panicking. ‘What do we gonna do?’ Okey just stood up and said ‘I got this, I’m Nigerian. He walked to the front of the room, in front of everybody and started telling this story about his first time coming to America. He had all these people rolling in the floor and sort of saved the evening for us,” Archer recalled.
During the conversation, Archer spoke about Guernica’s modest beginning, how it started as a small group, before growing into a monthly, then twice a month and then daily.
“Our first issue took us quite a while to put together because we decided if we were going to do this we were going to make a very good first impression. And so we edited like crazy…if you had told me that 21 years later we would still be going I would have laughed hysterically,” Archer reminisced.
Victor Ehikhamenor, for his part, spoke about how he got to hear about Guernica magazine, the literary frenzy of the early 2000s and how everybody wanted to get published in one literary magazine or the other. And how he finally got published in Guernica after close to 20 years of trying.
“So a lot of my friends had published there and we took a look at them. I was also doing my MFA back then as well. So I think I may have sent a few that got rejected and I switched to non-fiction and that got accepted in 2020 So it took me close to 20 years of trying. But it was something that spoke to me as an artist, and writer, ” Ehikhamenor said.
Archer also said Molara had introduced him to so many interesting people such as Kunle Ajibade, Toyin Akinosho, Jahman Anikulapo and had had a lot of interesting conversations. “Nigerians are deeply passionate about art. They are political. So there have been a lot of those great conversations that are vast and too wide to mention,” Archer remarked.
Then Molara now chipped in. “Victor was talking about trying many times before getting into Guernica. And I think he’s a fine company. I think we ll have those little stories about sending something to that submission pile and eventually getting rejection, And he kept trying.”
However, the hall roared with laughter when Archer said “It wasn’t me” while responding to Ehikhamenor’s speech about his earlier futile attempts at getting getting published in Guernica.
Ehikhamenor also cracked the audience up when he said it was important to show up for Guernica magazine because it;(the magazine) had also showed up for Nigerian writers
“There is a saying in my place. ‘If you give me snuff to smoke, I will give you snuff to smoke too. So you do for me I do for you. And I just felt that it’s good for us to make it possible for him to see where those stories are coming from…
“But it is also good to have people come and see. It is not always good to yearn to go out there.That has always been my dream, to make sure that we bring people. So the goal is that we bring them here. We shouldn’t always be yearning to go. Let them come and see what we are able to put together here,” Ehikhamenor submitted.
Speaking about his experience of getting one of his pieces published in Guernica, Ehikhamenor said he is always thrilled whenever his story is published.
“I always tell my friends that the thrill I get from accepting my story to be published is way higher than probably having a work of mine sold. There is some certain thrill that comes with being able to move an editor with your works and probably accept your work to be published,” he noted.
Molara also shared the same feeling. “I always say when I get an acceptance I feel a pride and a sense of accomplishment I cannot describe. And I always say that when someone sometimes across the ocean, who doesn’t know me, doesn’t owe me anything and doesn’t owe me any favour reads this piece and say we would like to publish it, it’s such validity that is priceless, you can’t buy it. And it also gives the affirmation that maybe you are on the right path on this writing journey,” she opined..
Conversation – Building Bridges, The Journey of Guernica Magazine
Asked what were the highlights of heading Guernica all those years and what the challenges were, Archer said being hosted at the moment in Lagos was one of the highlights.
“This is one of the highlights. Honestly we’ve received a lot of awards. We’ve got American best this American best that. Obviously EC Osondu winning the Cane Prize was amazing. Those things were great because they were raising our profile, not because we were getting a lot of money or any other stuff,” Archer maintained.