Apiorkor Seyiram Ashong-Abbey

Adulthood was supposed to be the prize, but for many of us, it’s a journey of survival, identity, and finding ourselves in the middle of the noise. In my new book collection, “The Gospel According to Adulting,” I explore the raw, bold, and unapologetically human side of what it means to grow up. Whether you’re navigating love, loss, or ambition, your story lives here. Ready to feel seen? Grab your copy at these locations: • 🛒 Amazon (Global) • 📚 CityReads, Adenta • ☕ North Ridge Café • 📖 BookNook.store #TheGospelAccordingToAdulting #Apiorkor #GhanaianPoetry #Adulting #NewBookAlert #PoetryCommunity

“The language you use can either open doors; or quietly close them in your face.” In Ghana, we speak many tongues. We code switch, blend, improvise. But in professional spaces, clarity, command, and confidence matter. Like it or not, English remains the language of opportunity, policy, and leadership. So let’s not be ashamed to sharpen our skills. Let’s be intentional. I’m partnering with the University of Ghana’s Department of English to offer Short Courses for Professionals: • Effective English Communication • Public Speaking • Mastering Grammar for Professional Success 12th–22nd May 2025 | GHS2000 per course (Discounts available for organisations enrolling 5+ participants) Why me? Because this is my everyday life; as a communicator, performer, writer, and media professional. Also, an alumna of the department, I believe in bridging academia and the real world. This is more than grammar. It’s about Power. Presence. Persuasion. Whether you’re writing a report, presenting to a board, or negotiating a deal - your words matter. Own your voice. Master your message. Command the English Language. To register: click link in bio #ShortCourse #Education #Professionals #UniversityofGhana

Smiles shimmer. Secrets breathe. And love remembers more than it should. Are you ready for the drama, passion and intrigue of Apiorkor Seyiram Ashong-Abbey’s debut novel? Like and follow this page for more details. #newbookalert #readmorebooks #author #poet #debut #Ghana

טוב אז מסתבר שגם לבשל אני יודעת 🤪🤪 היה כיף אדיר להכין שקשוקה ואלדיקי של סבתא שלי בגאנה (!) תוך כדי שכל הצוות רוקד ושר שירים שלי בעברית 🥳 ולספר להם על הארץ דרך האוכל והמוזיקה. צילומים של שעתיים לקחו לנו חמש שעות כי פשוט היה כל כך כיף על הסט. והמנחה המהממת @apiorkor משוררת ואומנית בעצמה. בקיצור, נראה לי שהתאהבתי בפורמט אז אני פנויה לתוכניות בישול😂 התוכנית תשודר הערב בערוץ הראשון של גאנה ואני כמובן אשתף לכם לינק ♥️ הלכתי לחזרות להיכל התרבות🎉🎉🎻💃🏻

"How do we protect truth without undermining freedom?" That was the burning question at the center of the dialogue I MC’ed this week for World Press Freedom Day 2026. Hosted at the British High Commissioner’s residence, the evening brought together a powerful collective of senior journalists, media practitioners, fact-checkers, and policymakers to tackle the complex intersection of information integrity and democratic resilience in the digital age. The British High Commission in Ghana and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands served as our hosts, fostering a vital space for constructive dialogue. As the UK takes on the global co-chairship of the Media Freedom Coalition, this event demonstrated that protecting the press is a shared international priority. Key Moments from the Discourse: - Honoring the Brave: We observed a minute of silence for fallen journalists, a sobering reminder of the ultimate price some pay to keep the public informed. - Combating Manipulation: We dived deep into how misinformation and foreign information manipulation (FIMI) pose growing risks to public trust and social cohesion. - Action Over Statements: We explored practical ways to strengthen journalistic capacity and digital literacy to ensure Ghana remains a democratic leader in the region. We cannot allow a "culture of silence" to take root when our collective future, and the accountability of our leaders—depends on a free and vibrant media landscape. Grateful to have steered this conversation as we work toward an information ecosystem built on integrity and peace. #WPFD2026 #MediaFreedomCoalition #GhanaMedia #TheCostOfSilence #TruthMatters #InformationIntegrity #Apiorkor #UKinGhana #NLInGhana

A special cultural and culinary experience awaits on What’s Cooking this week. @taniavinokur , a virtuosa violinist joins @apiorkor in the kitchen to prepare Aldiki and Shakshuka amidst storytelling on cultural diversity, and great musical experience. Don’t miss it this Tuesday, 12th May at 7PM only on Channel One TV. #what'scooking #food #ChannelOneTV #shakshuka

MOTHER OF OUR MOTHERS Before the streets forgot the sound of a woman’s moan, Before her voice was swallowed by rooms that are full of empty of prayers, They knew… It was never just a simple thing, To give life and call it another’s. Do we remember? When they held her like she was an ocean and they; they were her sand. Every wave was a pain, And all of those pains were a reminder of all the lives that are built into her body… In those moments, a choir of grandmothers sang and pulsed through the veins in her blood, Pushing new life into this world. Not like now, where we discard her blood like borla…rubbish…trash… The salt of her tears have sanitised the sterile rubbish bins, and filled them up Now… No women gather, no arms hold and steady her waist, No hands carve the hushed circles over her belly, No one is whispering, “Stay Strong, my daughter, you are not alone.” Now… She grips the empty air, And the walls hold her body upright, While the weight grows inside of her, A weight that is heavy, with unspoken names. There was a time, when they understood. Do we remember? The boiled eggs which she would swallow after the battle had been won, The bowl of etor that the mothers pressed into her palms, Not because of hunger, not to satisfy her appetite, jee noko ni abaa sanaa k3k3 - not something merely to tickle her taste buds… But they did these things, because the old and wise women knew That a woman’s spirit could leave her In the hours between contraction-pains and the first cry of that ball of miraculous life, which has been catapulted from her womb! At that time, when a woman’s bones might crack beneath the weight of a name being born. Do we remember? The elders, who rubbed her arms, Their fingers were tracing quiet, ancient paths over her skin, As if to tell her… “Here is the way back… This is the way home…” For who knew if she would return?

Weekend plans? Start with a beautiful book. 📚✨ From the authors of the Lioness Communications Pride: ✨ Apiorkor — the Matriarch of modern poetic verse: • The Matriarch’s Verse • When The Person Who Is Called COVID Came • The Gospel According to Adulting Available now via Amazon, Book Nook Store, City Reads, and North Ridge Café. 📖 Looking for Yaw Pare’s hauntingly beautiful photo-book, Remnants of a Haunted Past? Call or WhatsApp 024 999 3425 to order. At Lioness Communications, we believe African stories deserve beautiful shelves, eager readers, and global conversations. Follow us for new literary releases, author journeys, and bold African storytelling. Lioness Communications: write the book, we’ll do the rest.🦁📚✍🏾 #LionessCommunications #AfricanLiterature #GhanaianAuthors #BookstagramAfrica #WeekendReads #ReadAfrican #AfricanWriters #poetry #photography

Meet our sponsors: Breathing Art Studio: Breathing Art Studio (BAS) Ltd. stands at the vanguard of Ghana’s creative renaissance as a premier Creative Entrepreneurship Hub and Cultural Policy Think Tank. Led by renowned poet and media practitioner Apiorkor S. Ashong-Abbey, BAS functions as a sanctuary for sustainable creative practice and a laboratory for cultural diplomacy. By leveraging art as an instrument for policy influence, this women-led organization has built a pedigree of high-impact partnerships with UNESCO, the EU Delegation, and the High Commissions of Barbados, Britain, and the United States. The studio’s flagship initiative, The Matriarch’s Verse, is now in its eighth year as Ghana’s largest single-artist-led multidisciplinary festival. This immersive movement fuses poetry, theatre, and culinary arts to explore identity and advocate for social justice. Complementing this is the BAS Virtual Residency, an academic-creative hybrid facilitated by University of Ghana scholars, which works alongside Shine Studios to provide specialized training in oratory and creative writing for the next generation of African visionaries. “We are not just making art; we are building the infrastructure for African stories to breathe, thrive, and lead,” says Apiorkor. From intensive institutional workshops to global consultancy, BAS invites you to join a movement that is actively reshaping the global African narrative. Contact us today to explore our 2026 festival calendar and strategic partnership opportunities

THE MECHANICS OF LOVE Living with the person you love is not what everyone thinks it is. It’s not waking up early every morning to make breakfast and eat together. It’s not cuddling in bed together, until both of you peacefully fall asleep. It’s not a clean home and a homemade meal every night. It’s the fights about who has to put the dishes away. It’s shouting and crying, because you’ve had a hard day and came home to the laundry not being done even though you asked them to do it, 5 times. It’s your lover waiting until you get into the shower to decide they need to bath too, or worse - that they need to use the toilet to do a number 2! It’s falling asleep on separate couches, because the day has left you too exhausted to move to the bed. It’s fighting over financial problems. It’s waking up to all of the chocolate you bought for yourself, having already been eaten. It’s someone who steals and pulls all the bed covers, on a cold night. It’s slammed doors and harsh words, serious quarrels and name calling, it’s wondering if you made the right decision to live with this person. It is, despite all of those things, the one thing you look forward to every day. It’s coming home to the same person that you know loves and cares about you. It’s laughing about the one time that you accidentally did something stupid. It’s the pain that cripples you and keeps in bed all day, when you suspect that your lover is cheating on you. It’s when you have an emotional breakdown and your love lays on the floor with you and holds you and tells you everything is going to be okay - and you believe them.

The stage felt like home, and the energy in the air was thick. I had the absolute pleasure of opening up the space with my poetry, MCing the event and setting the tone for what was about to be a truly spiritual night at Zen Garden. Watching Rocky Dawuni take over was a masterclass. The man of the moment stepped into the spotlight and delivered a performance that was raw, powerful, and pure Afro-roots magic. It’s one thing to hear the music, but it’s another thing entirely to feel the weight of a legend in his element. What a night for the culture. 🇬🇭✨ PC: @lifeinlens_journal #Apiorkor #RockyDawuni #ZenGarden #LiveMusicGhana #AfroRoots #PoetryLife #AccraNights

A QUEEN FROZEN IN TIME To Grandma Ellen (1932-2001) Out of nature’s breathing palace of mango trees, coconut shells and hibiscuses that look as though they could be the blood in our veins, You emerge; You loved to commune with your garden, In the Accra morning-sun… Your chunky, kinky coils are half wet from your queenly bath And the other half of the balmy wetness comes from how the early morning dew kisses the Crown of your head and your shiny black skin of lacquered West-African earthenware. I recall how you would scrub your kitchen clean at 4:30am And then adorn yourself in royal beads and rich, drapey fabrics, Like the Queen that you were. Your crying-singing voice would echo for miles And all of the birds, beasts, women, men and children Would awake to your herald; But we were not to be fooled, As that screaming would turn into yelling, in an instant, As you screamed us into shape; For her grandchildren must behave properly - a proper example, for all to see. As I close my eyes, My tongue begins to swim in the garlic, onion, ginger, cayenne pepper and kpakpo shitɔ-spiced palm oil, In which you fried your famous tatale - your perfect, golden plantain pancakes - every Saturday… Then, long before I would dress up to embrace my sexy at a bar in Accra, with my college girls-girls and boys-boys, You would have us cleanse our palates, With your herbal lemongrass, ginger and coconut cocktail. I can smell the peppermint on your breath, Grandma; And even in death, as you laid there - a queen frozen in time and your skin so clammy, in your white gown, embellished with Ewe kente, and with that shiny, beaded tiara on your crown of a head, You weren’t to be mourned. So we celebrated and hailed you, like the Queen that you always were. ©APIORKOR 2021 [Published In the “Sisters Across Oceans” Anthology ©2022]