Flarf Festival in Lagos?

The Flarf Festival committees have been moving around Argentina visiting possible sites for the proposed Festival. The differences between the Nigerian Flarf poets and the North American Flarf poets remain unresolved. While great quantities of meat and wine have been consumed, the real issues have not been addressed.

The Nigerians have, however, been working behind the scenes. They are proposing that the Festival be held in Lagos. Reading venues, hotels and night life are all in place. What's not in place, though, is an agreement that accommodates the Nigerian claim the Flarf poetry is to a significant extent a Nigerian invention.

Are the North Americans dragging their feet? From this distance and with undoubtedly biased sources, it is impossible to say. What is believed to be true is that the Nigerians are offering to charter a plain from the U.S. to Lagos. Other inducements have been rumored, such as book contracts from a Nigerian press that will be dedicated to Flarf poetry. This is seductive for the lesser known Flarf poets and maddening to the Flarf poets with fat book contracts.

The general loss of control -- location and story of origin -- has unnerved the North American Flarf poets. An International Flarf Festival may be postponed indefinitely. The Nigerians have countered with the proposal of a Lagos Flarf Festival with North American invitees. As of this writing, the North Americans are considering the offer. The proposed festival includes the chartered plan but not the book contracts.