My Poetry, My Art, By Nine Literature Prize Finalists

Today,the two-month Committee for Relevant Art, CORA's Book Season begins at the Goethe Institut, at 2pm. Themed Book Party, it will celebrate the nine poets on the long list (some say it is shortlist) for the Nigeria Prize for Literature
sponsored by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited. The event, says CORA is purely to generate public interest in an otherwise purely intellectual event, while drawing attention to the nominated works, which, "by merely making of the short-list, have registered their significance in the emerging body of literature of Nigeria", says the CORA. The party to be staged at the lagoon-front garden of the German Cultural Centre is the first in a series of programmes lined-up by the arts advocacy group aimed at sensitising Nigerians on the 11the edition of the yearly Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) slated for November 13 to 15. The poets being celebrated today are all the finalists in the 2009 Prize competition, which attracted 163 entries. The finalists are: Omo Uwaifo (Litany); Ahmed Maiwada (Fossils); Lindsay Barrett (A Memory of Rivers); Odoh Diego Okenyodo (From a Poem to its Creator); Hyginus Ekwuazi (Love Apart); Musa Idris Okpanachi (The Eaters of the Living); Ademola Dasylva (Songs of Odamolugbe); Nengi Josef Ilagha (January Gestures) and G'ebinyo Ogbowei for Song of a Dying River. The event today will feature short reviews of each work, interspersed with performances, readings, photo-ops and writer-audience interactions. KAFAYAT QUADRI of Poetry Digest, who is part-coordinating the event of today with the CORA Collective conducted interviews with some of the poets through email. These are reproduced here:
1. AHMED MAIWADA: I Don't Read Poems... I Study Them'
What does it feel like to be on the long list for the Nigeria Prize for Literature?
I felt very surprised indeed. Surprised in the sense that I thought my eclectic style and symbolism in Fossils might not find favour in the eyes of the judges. Besides, I thought only the connected gets rewarded in the Nigerian scheme of things. I am not connected. I don't seek favours. Besides, I come from a part of Nigeria not generally associated with excellence.
Do you have previous commendations and awards?
Not in Literature. I don't write for awards. I write to win hearts; and I have a barn full of hearts won by my writing. I think my peers think highly of my works. My publisher entered Fossils for the Nigeria Prize in Literature without my knowledge. I would have told him not to bother, especially because of my disenchantment with the Nigerian reward system.
How many of your poetry collections have been published?
I have only two poetry collections, namely, Saint of a Woman (Hybun 2004) and Fossils (Hybun 2008).
In your opinion, what are the attributes of a good poem?
A good poem is one with the right poetic ingredients, which are called tropes or figures of speech. Those figures of speech must not be tired; they must be fresh and original. Breaking it further down, a good poem must have new and original metaphors and sounds. It is a high poem that achieves a good balance of metaphors and anti-metaphors (or ironies); and that is very rare in Nigerian writing. And it is the highest poem that is elevated to the symbolic level. Poems loaded with proverbs have been celebrated in Nigeria for a long time; and I think that is the reason why we have remained stagnant in the comity of global poetry. Proverbs are worn-out imagery and unless a poet is able to defamiliarise them, to impose his personality on them, he has no business using them in his works for they are not his original creations. Using them amounts to cheating.
When did you start writing poems?
I started writing poems in 1988, or thereabout. I started with romantic poems in the style of William Wordsworth for my girlfriend that time.
Do you write any other genre apart from poetry?
Yes indeed. I write fiction and essays. I write short stories and novels. My first published novel shall be released shortly, entitled Musdoki. I have several manuscripts awaiting polish and release. Most of them are historical novels; and I think historical novels take the highest regards in fiction writing, just as symbolic poems in the poetry genre.
Can you mention five foreign poets that you love to read? What makes them peculiar?
I don't read poems; I study them. And I loved studying the following foreign poets: William Shakespeare, for his superhuman puns, metaphors and ironies; E. E. Cummings, for courage to take as much license with syntax as possible; and for his love to play with forms; Lord Byron, for the depth of his imagination and perfect control of diction; T. S. Eliot, for his innovative forms and deep imagination. He is mentioned in terms of modernist writings, and John Donne, for his revolutionary metaphysical works laced with lyrical brilliance.
Can you mention five Nigerian poets that you love to read?
I hope I can have up to that number. Let me try, though: Gabriel Okara, for his symbolism; J. P. Clarke, for his lyricism; Uche Nduka, for his avant-gardism; Ahmed Maiwada, for his eclecticism (apologies if I seem proud), and Mu'azu Maiwada, for his surrealism.
What does your daily activities look like?
I drive myself to work at Abuja Business District in the morning, around 9am. I attend to my clients either in my office or in theirs. Once in a while, I attend to my writings and browse the Internet. I have lunch sometimes, alone or with friends. I close from work by 6pm and then drive myself back home.
Is the ability to write poetry innate in every human being?
It is just like asking: Is the ability to sing or dance or manufacture cars innate in every human being? No! Poetry is a tradition of high art. It requires more than being a human being, even more than being a human being with talent. While many people may have the promise to be poets, very few achieve that status, because of the demand for originality and craft.
2. ADEMOLA DASYLVA: 'Poetry Gives Me Fulfillment'
What does it feel like to be on the list?
I feel fulfilled that, since I teach poetry, among others other courses in the university, I regard my being shortlisted among the best nine in the current NLNG assessment for the award as a proof of my success in poetry teaching and writing. I feel fulfilled that, at least, I have succeeded in reaching out to people, out there, who understand and appreciate my message and poetry. It is of no use, for example, if you speak in poetry and nobody comprehends your message. I feel fulfilled that as many people as care for meaning and beauty in poetry will want to read my poems, and as such the reach of my poems increases on daily basis in scope and horizon to conscientize the target-audience, especially, by means of the kernel of my message. I feel fulfilled that all my life I have appreciated good poetry and celebrated great poets, now, NLNG prize for literature has afforded me also, a place to be celebrated like the great poets before me.
Award and commendations
Yes, I do have previous commendations and awards. In 2006, my Songs of Odamolugbe won the ANA/CADBURY national poetry award. In March 2009, I won the 2009 Distinguished Africanist Award for Research Excellence, University of Texas at Austin, USA. It was a great thing that my academic contribution to knowledge and to poetry is appreciated and celebrated by colleagues and all patrons and beneficiaries of sound knowledge both at home and abroad. Only my Songs of Odamolugbe that has been published so far. I am working on another collection, but it is in my character not to be in a hurry on such things. The older the wine the better the taste. Songs of Odamolugbe has proved my approach right in a way.
Attributes of a good poem
Well, a good poem must communicate effectively by exploiting the resources of language and music; it must be well informed and, in turn, must be informing; it must by propelled by a conviction that is fundamental, a conviction that is foregrounded by a definite ideology; its topicality must engage issues associated with its immediate society, and must be relevant globally.
When did you start witing poetry?
I started writing poems well over 30 years ago. I have two plays I am a bit shy to publish. I am never satisfied with half measures. So I am still tinkering with the scripts. In the next couple of months, my first biographical fiction will be out. In the next twelve months I have two more biographical works to get published. I started them over five or so years ago.
Favourite poets
William Blake, John Keats, William Shakespeare, John Donne, Claude McKay while John P. Clark (-Bekederemo), Wole Soyinka, Niyi Osundare, Odia Ofeimun, Okinba Launko are my favourite Nigerian poets.
Daily activities
I wake up, 4.30am - personal meditation, 5.00 am-5.30am- family morning devotion that is where I draw my strength from; return to my bed to plan for the day; have my shower, dress up. As a rule, no breakfast for me. (I usually have two meals daily - lunch in the office and dinner at home at some odd hours). Then I go off to my office to attend to my students, lectures, meetings, or on a research field trip within or outside Ibadan. From evening to about mid-night, I engage myself with the various researches, including, at times, creative writing, or going through students' projects.
Ability to write poetry, innate or what?
No, I do not think so. The ability to write poetry is not innate in every humankind. Rather, I would say everybody has poetry in, and around, him or her. But it takes a tamed consciousness or awareness to discern and respond to it as appropriate. Writing is a skill acquired by some training, but poetry is a gift, poetry writing is a combination of both skill and gift.
3. LYNDSAY BARRETT: 'Poetry Is Power To me'
What does it look like being a poet?
Ever since I first learnt to read as a very young child I have been fascinated by the mind's ability to create new worlds of vision and expectation out of the simple act of self-expression. I have always admired those who can manipulate this quality in life through the deployment of language whether in speech or on paper. This encouraged me to commence writing poetry in my late teens and to build a career out of both storytelling and reporting. I was fortunate to have incredible personal mentors beginning with my grandfather Joseph Barrett and my grandmother, Ella Barrett.
Encounter with poetry
Before I was eight years old, my grandfather had awakened an interest in my African heritage in me by narrating tales told to him by former slaves who he had known in childhood and who had been born in Africa. He encouraged me to regard the possibility of going to Africa as a mandate rather than a dream. My grandmother was an irrepressible and captivating storyteller whose fund of Anancy tales seemed endless when we were children. She was also a very devout Christian who made me read the Holy Bible, not as a ritual guide, as many Christians regard it, but rather as a daily narrative whenever I stayed with her for holidays. I was encouraged to treat it as a storybook. I think this experience forged my approach to the use of the English language as a tool for expression from my earliest efforts at creating my own literary forms. When I was an apprentice reporter in the Daily Gleaner and The Star I came under the influence of an incredible bunch of journalists the most remarkable of whom were the late Jack Anderson whose fine prose reporting of cricket fascinated me, and John Maxwell, a commentator who seemed able to produce a masterpiece of both commentary and literary elegance every single week. These influences combined with the disciplined practice of reading widely from the books available in local libraries, which was promoted by my Grenadian stepmother Ena Barrett, who encouraged me to decide to be a writer very early in life. I have believed in the power of the word all my life and have always wanted not only to deploy it myself but also to pass on the ability to deploy this power to younger people. The course of my life has been influenced by the memories of these.
4. DIEGO OKENYODO: 'Poetry Sets Us Thinking... It De-Familiarises Our Experiences'
What does it feel like to be on the long list for the Nigeria Prize for Literature?
For mine to be chosen among some body works... That feels like a vindication for me! You know, I have been committed to writing for a long time and I was even expelled from the university for doing it. I also am not practising pharmacy, which I studied, just for the same reason.
People ask you questions about the prestige in being a pharmacist and why you chose to abandon it for some rather uncertain future in literature and journalism - literary journalism, to be precise - and I always really labour to explain it, telling them that it gives one satisfaction, and blah blah. Again, you spend so much of your earnings trying to ensure that your writings are visible and packaged, and friends and family just tolerate that. Until it is announced that that little thing you always bothered about is now worthy of being considered for a huge amount of money. That is the feeling; vindication!
Do you have previous commendations and awards?
Not really. For some invisible contributions to the Association of Nigerian Authors' branches in Kano and Niger states, one has had some forms of commendations and an award, but not for the creative product itself.
Collections of poetry
Just one; From A Poem to Its Creator collection. I do not believe one should rush to publish. This collection had been almost in this form for near a decade, save for minor editorial changes.
Attributes of a good poem
A good poem should give the reader a new experience, either a new experience of words or a new experience of what live is or isn't. A good poem attempts to de-familiarise our experiences, and set us thinking, and reading it again. If you cannot want to read a piece of poetry again, it's likely to be failed poetry. It is not necessarily a complicated array of words; it is just that the way the poem either addresses its subject is such that you are led into a new hideout and shown what you never saw or knew. A good poem is some sort of tour guide.
When did you start writing poems?
I didn't start writing poems in the real sense of it; I have been very fascinated with words and how they are formed, so I have engaged in wordplay for a very long time. I come from a family of artists and we knew no bounds, creatively. We did (and still do) painting, music, playwriting, and so on. In secondary school, I remember a childhood friend of mine Andrew and I entering a literary competition with a poem.
Do you write any other genre apart from poetry?
I write for children. I love writing for children. The world of innocence and lack of boundaries is one experience I enjoy. I have one or two short stories for adults, but I can't call myself a short fiction writer for adults.
Your five favourite foreign poets
Well, is Jackie Kay Nigerian or British? She is not resident here, so I would call her British. She is one I love so much for humour hidden in her verses. Emm!...who else? I can't recall immediately now, truly, because I am being distracted and I do feel like finishing this response.
Nigerian poets
Aaah! Easy. My favourite Nigerian poets are people you do not know so much about: I love Ismail Bala Garba's poetry; same with the Maiwadas - Dr Mu'azu Maiwada, who is my literary mentor; and his brother, Ahmed Maiwada, who is my contemporary in a sense. Those are two, or three, right? I read Obi Nwakanma and love the works. I love Elnathan John's rhyme schemes, which are usually effortless. And then there are works by the masters like Okara, Osundare, Okigbo, and so on. In truth, I am one that feels that poetry is such an experimental art that you can only select among a person's works and say, "This one succeeded", not that this author always writes good poetry. The fact that the poet wrote a good one today is no guarantee of his tomorrow.
Your daily activities
Daily, I wake up late. Daily, I work till late in the night. Daily, I write proposals and poems, many of both unfinished, many of both on my phones or on my laptops, or online on Google Docs. Daily, I dream dreams of being everything. Daily, I remain me, misunderstood by even me!
Is the ability to write poetry innate in every human being?
No. We all have the raw materials for poetry, but not all of us have been blessed with the ability to capture it.
5. IDRIS OKPANACHI: 'Good Poetry Is A Map For The Audience'
The nomination
I feel grateful to Allah and happy.
Commendations and awards
I won Association of Nigerian Authors/Cadbuy Prize for poetry 2008.
Published works
Only few of my works were published Code of Silence was broadcast over the BBC London 1995; Crush Me was published in Presence Africaine, Paris, 1997; Map was in Kunapipi, in Denmark 1995 and The Eaters of the Living the theme poem was carried in 500 Nigerian Poets. The qualities of a 'good' poem are really simplicity; a good combination of expression and mystery of meaning, a map for the audience.
Any other genre apart from poetry
I write short stories, one of which was published in Gombak Review in Malaysia, another, by Calvacade is due. I'm currently writing a novel, From the Margins of Paradise.
Foreign authors
I love reading Matthew Arnold, Mahmud Darwish, Thomas Hardy, T.S. Elliot, and Gibran Khalil. In Nigeria, Ilagha Nengi, Ogaga Ifowodo, Femi Osofisan, Niyi Osundare, and Wole Soyinka. Well, I wake by 4am, pray by five, attend to family matters, go to work, do some reading, visit friends. Then write in the night till sleep comes and so on. Writing is not innate. No; it is for the sensitive.
6. Nengi Josef Ilagha: 'POETRY mUST cOMMUNICATE tHE fEElingS'
Nengi Josef Ilagha has worked as a journalist, broadcaster and public relations consultant. Born in Nembe, Bayelsa State, on December 18, 1963, he took a degree in English & Literary Studies from the University of Port Harcourt. A one-time editor of The Tide On Sunday in Port Harcourt, Nengi Josef Ilagha was Speech Writer to the Governor of Bayelsa State. He was later elevated to Special Adviser on Research & Documentation to the same government on account of his robust intellectual input to the resource control debate. His latest book, Goodluck To Bayelsa, a collection of speeches in honour of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has been highly commended for putting the political records straight in Bayelsa and for speaking up eloquently for peace in the Niger Delta region. January Gestures, his new book of poems, is among the nine books in the race for the 2009 edition of the Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by NLNG. In this revealing interview, the poet bares his mind to Kafayat Quadri at the CORA round table.
What does it feel like to be shortlisted for the 2009 Nigeria Prize for Literature?
I am suitably gratified to have made it through to this point. Without doubt, Nigeria is blessed with a good number of poets, and the evidence was there for the panel of judges to see. To be in the first nine out of 163 poets, therefore, is indeed a remarkable feat. I am grateful that professional judgement has been given fairly, and that I have not fallen foul of the rules of poetic engagement so far. My entry for the competition, January Gestures, begins with a word of faith to the effect that I feel obliged to God for the life I live, and that I would dedicate my breath to praising the almightiness of my Maker, from day to day, for as long as I live. To be named in the shortlist, therefore, is like receiving a word of endorsement from above that my fervent prayers are being answered.
Do you have previous commendations and awards?
Yes, indeed. Mantids, my first book of poems, won the Association of Nigerian Authors poetry prize in 1995, in manuscript. That was my opening glee, so to speak. That was the first time I received public confirmation that I was on the path of my true calling, and the assurance that I had not been wasting time scratching my feelings out on paper. After that, I took bolder steps towards poetry, and poetry practically took greater strides towards me. In 1998, I entered a collection of 54 fresh poems under the title, Apples & Serpents, and received honourable mention in the first edition of the Christopher Okigbo Prize for African Literature, endowed by Wole Soyinka. And then I went on a long sabbatical, writing speeches in the corridors of Creek Haven, and on the fringes of government.
How many of your poetry collections have been published? Name them.
So far, I have four collections of poetry in print. After Mantids, I went back to work on Apples & Serpents, to explore the subject to the fullest possible limits, before publishing it. Today, it's a much more sizeable book than it was in 1998, something far more satisfactory, and I'm proud to present it to the world the way it is. But I knew that I hadn't quite exhausted myself. As a matter of fact, I was just taking the first tentative steps, like a chicken caught in the passage, on one leg standing, contemplating the long odyssey into the labyrinth of poetry. With the dawn of 2007, I embarked upon a more ambitious project, determined to write a book of poems dedicated to each month of the year, a rigorous labour of love undertaken from day to day, week after week, from January to December, stretching out like an interminable diary of pain. That's how I began A Calendar of Faith, which is the composite title for the entire project. January Gestures is in print, and so is February Fabrics. The other ten months, March to December, are pending. That is to say, I have finished writing all twelve books of poetry, but I am awaiting funds from the IMF and the World Bank to have them published.
In your opinion, what are the attributes of a good poem?
In the first place, a good poem should be able to communicate the feelings embodied in it. A poem is a poem because it seeks to express the feelings of the poet, its primary composer. It seeks to convey a message, to pass on a felt experience in a special way. That special way by which the message is conveyed is your style. It is your individuality. It cannot be taken from you. Content is everyone's free party. It is how you say what everyone else can feel or say that marks you out from the crowd. The primary tool for doing that is imagery. Every good poem works with imagery, which is an all-embracing word for figures of speech.
For me, a poem is dry and arid if it does not leave me with an image that impresses itself on my mind sufficiently for me to want to go back to see exactly how the poet put it. In other words, an image must insist on being reckoned with. Every good poem deserves a second reading, and yet another, until the experience becomes a part of me. If I think of J.P. Clark's "Ibadan," for instance, the overriding image that I'm left with is "broken china in the sun." Every other word in that poem builds up teasingly to that image. A truly gifted poet can harness a series of images in a single poem, line after line, without bungling his metaphors and without losing the admiration of the reader. I appreciate such poets.
When did you start writing poems?
I have always been fascinated by words for as long as I can remember. My venerable father, King Joseph Aye Ilagha, was widely recognised as the grammarian of the entire Nembe clan for several generations. He was fond of words, explosive in his use of words, and I was always ready to listen to him speak. As his first son, he took me everywhere he went, so I became his permanent audience. He also had a wonderful and majestic handwriting, and I wanted to be like him, so I started writing. But I consciously began crafting verse in form five, my last year at Nembe National Grammar School. That was in 1980. I was fascinated, in particular, by Shakespeare's Macbeth. It overwhelmed my senses with mental pictures whenever I flipped through the pages, and I had a great teacher at that time, a youth corps member named Hassan Hassan, who dramatized it all for me in class. So, before long, I set out to recreate my own experiences on paper, attempting to sound like Shakespeare. I failed woefully, of course, but I'm glad to say that I didn't give up. Thankfully, my love for words endures till this day, and this is just how far the excursion with my father has taken me.
Do you write any other genre apart from poetry?
Yes, I tried working with every genre that was introduced to me in class. I sketched some dialogue in the name of writing plays. I began a novel or two to test my capacity for endurance, and didn't get far enough. Now, I'm much more at home with the short fiction medium because I have to deal with just a slice of life at a time. A Birthday Delight, my first collection of short stories, is already in print, and so is I Want To Be A Senator, my first collection of essays gathered from my years in journalism. I find the essay useful as an art form because, like the short story, it captures my opinion and gives it amplitude within a short spell of time, so to speak. But my favourite medium for self expression is the poem. It enables me to condense so much into a few words, if I want to. I just roll from image to image, and do well to keep my roller-coaster ride under control. I am the driver in every one of my poems. I am always at the steering wheel, conscious of the fact that if I don't control my words, I stand the risk of crashing out of relevance, and I can't afford to do that. So, I grab the first word and let it lead me to the very last word.
Can you mention five foreign poets that you love to read? What makes them peculiar?
Frankly, I have never been comfortable with questions like this. I wish you would take one particular poet, one particular work, and ask my opinion. Then I would be more definite. I studied Literature in English at the University of Port Harcourt in the first half of the 80s, which is to say that I was obliged to read widely, and intensively too. And, in the course of that, I came across a whole lot of enchanting poets. To pick five of them is to be unfair to the lot who have had a composite influence on the body of world literature, through the ages and through time. I was engrossed with the narrative verse of Geoffrey Chaucer as with the sonnets of William Shakespeare. I identify with the lyrics of Lord George Gordon Byron as with the poems of Alexander Pushkin or Rabindranath Tagore or Jean-Joseph Rabiarivelo. I can locate common grounds in the poetry of Pablo Neruda or T.S. Eliot or Edgar Allan Poe in much the same way that I am at home with the poetry of Dennis Brutus or Augustino Neto. In all, I am grateful for every quirk of composition that I learnt from these poets, and I believe I have already counted beyond five.
Well, can you mention five Nigerian poets that you love to read?
Yes, I can. In 1986, I moulded my opinion on the poetry of Gabriel Okara into what turned out to be my undergraduate project, drawing a linguistic continuum between his poetry, as embodied in The Fisherman's Invocation and the quaint prose of his only novel, The Voice. I have come to the conclusion that it is not enough to say, for instance, that I like Okigbo's poetry and leave it at that. Indeed I love to read Christopher Okigbo for his delicate imagery, his winning lines, so much so that I am currently undertaking a written appreciation of his poetry in a long essay entitled "Tiger Mask & Nude Spear." Such an exhaustive study, self-imposed as it is and conducted outside of the ivory tower, would enable me to understand why I like Okigbo's poetry. I have to get to the root of the matter. Frankly, I should do that for every poet I enjoy reading.
The poetry of Odia Ofeimun equally opened my soul to another kind of poetic temperament, namely the poet as a social warrior out to question every infelicity in governance, and I speak with particular reference to The Poet Lied. And then, of course, there is Niyi Osundare, the most prolific Nigerian poet to date, and the most daring in terms of sheer stylistic impetus. He parades a variegated sensibility that many of his admirers wish they could inherit. What's more, among my contemporaries, I admire the poetic talents of Esiaba Irobi, Afam Akeh, Chiedu Ezeanah, Ogaga Ifowodo and Chijioke Amu-Nnadi. These are poets who deserve to be studied in their own rights, poets with a high-grade sensitivity of their own. I believe it is high time we began an exhaustive critical appreciation of these poets for the sake of our national literature, and I have resolved to do my part of this large assignment. If there are no critics of current Nigerian literature, as Professor Charles Nnolim maintains, perhaps it will not be out of place for the writers themselves to become their own critics so long as it serves the end of literature.
Outline your daily activities.
I'm afraid I can't do that. I will not do that. No one day is the same as the other, and that's what I have tried to explore in A Calendar of Faith. Every day is a genuine gift from God. Between sleep and waking, so much happens that isn't the same, from day to day, week after week, month after month. It is my duty to take the lessons of each day in my stride, to consciously make the most of that gift, if I am to qualify as a better human being tomorrow, one aspiring to be worthy of redemption in the eyes of God. In short, I don't see life as routine. If it were so, it would be boring. There is always something unique about each day, and I always look out for that unique element, and do well to date it. For instance, if you were to give me this same assignment tomorrow, expecting me to outline my activities, I'm not likely to use these same words. So, I take every day as it comes, and do well to be in charge of it. The poem I write on the first day of the year cannot possibly be the same as the poem I write in the middle of the year or on the last day of the year, because each day comes with its own challenges, its own blessings, its own promises, its own disappointments, its own sheer variety.
Is the ability to write poetry innate in every human being?
I believe it is. We all have access to breath. Poetry is breath, free utterance captured on paper. You are at liberty to express yourself, or else to deny yourself self-expression by hiding the plain images, the unadorned words that come to you, under an obscurantist bushel. If you feel pain, do well to express it in your own words, in clear terms appreciable to your neighbour. If you fall in love, nobody expresses it for you. It is up to you to dig deep into yourself to shore up the best possible choice of words that can tell the listening ear that you are in love. Isn't it?
In short, you can be a poet if you want to. All you need do is summon the required presence of mind, pull up a chair, sit your butt down before a desk, place a blank sheet of paper before you, hold a pen, and write out the next poem that comes to your mind to the best of your ability. The duty of a writer is to write. I believe that's what you call discipline. If you can take that position when you set out to write a letter, you can do the same for a poem. Or, this being the age of the computer, type out your feelings on your laptop. To a large extent, a poem is a letter you write to yourself, a personal experience you share with yourself, and if someone gets to read it and is affected by it, you have scored a bull's eye.
I suppose that's what William Wordsworth meant when he defined poetry as an act of self confession, confessing yourself to yourself. In much the same way, I believe that's what Niyi Osundare meant when he defined a poem as "man meaning to man." So long as you employ the tools of poetry, the figurative use of language to express your feelings, you can persuade the reader to relate with that experience from your own point of view. To varying degrees, therefore, every human being is a poet. As Vincent Egbuson would put it, "a poet is a man." By extension, for that matter, a poet may jolly well be a woman.
If you were to win the coveted NLNG poetry prize for 2009, what would you invest in?
I doubt if I would have problems with investing the prize money wisely. I have seen enough of this wicked world to know that there is an open market out there, waiting for the best ideas to transform lives. There is a whole range of hungry commitments just waiting for funds to meet them. Beyond the immediate celebration, however, I am consumed by the idea of setting up a credible private media outfit that would help to streamline the thinking of the militants in the Niger Delta for the best. As Obasanjo would say, the problem with Nigeria is the problem of the Niger Delta. Yet, after serving three terms as the number one citizen of Nigeria, first as military Head of State, and twice as civilian President within a twenty-year period, he failed to resolve the problem. If you were to ask Obasanjo afresh what the problem with Nigeria is today, he would probably say the same thing. Blame it on the Niger Delta.
In my humble opinion, as a creative writer and as an illustrious son of the Niger Delta, the militants in question have not been able to express themselves fully, in intellectual terms, to the understanding of their neighbours in other parts of the country. And I say this advisedly. They are yet to compel the attention of the world with graphic descriptions of conditions in the swamp. They are yet to evoke the sympathy of the men and women of good conscience with the kind of rousing rhetoric typical of an Obama. Ultimately, I don't think the option of the gun and the bayonet is the best. It only depletes our ranks. It only ends up wasting our useable manpower. It was an option that Isaac Boro himself had already jettisoned, as anyone familiar with his book, The 12-Day Revolution, will attest to. If Boro were alive today, he would be a man of peace, not a man of war. To resort to violence in this day and age is to suffer from what Wole Soyinka calls "idiom closure," the inability to develop an argument beyond the moment. I dare say that dialogue answers all things. A well-reasoned response is the best answer to a foolish question. Put simply, peace is the answer to all the problems of Nigeria. Ask Jesus Christ.
In short, the pen is mightier than the gun. So, I would like to invest in the pen. I would rather start a writing school, so that every militant in the Niger Delta will be sufficiently equipped to express themselves. I would reach out to every militant worth his name, and give each one of them ample space to explain why they felt compelled to carry a gun and to cover their faces like Mau Mau photographers until President Umar Yar'Adua persuaded them to lay down their weapons, and Governor Timipre Sylva brought them out into the open, on national television. On my honour, I would do well to let them know from the start how forbidden it is to shed blood in the open sight of God. These are the concerns of my forthcoming book entitled, The Militant Writes Back, a body of poems expressing what it feels like to live in a militant environment such as the Niger Delta. Take note. I am a militant in my own right, but nobody is negotiating with me. And that is because the pen is my weapon.
When you say you want to establish a private press that would put the Niger Delta struggle in better perspective, what do you mean? And what's this talk of a writing school? Could you please explain further? Sure. What I mean is this. I have worked as a journalist for the better part of my adult life. I have been a reporter in the best sense of the word, a foot-soldier in the news gathering business. I also served as editor of a state newspaper for four years, and I am a tried and tested broadcaster, on radio and television. It doesn't quite matter that, today, I am banned from practising journalism in my own state. I am banned from the state radio, banned from the state television, banned from revamping the state newspaper, even in my capacity as General Manager. And all this because I told the incumbent head of the media machinery in the state, the Commissioner for Information, no less, that he was the wrong man for the job, because he doesn't know what it means to harness all three arms of the media to work in the larger interest of the state and of the Sylva government. I told him at point-blank range that nobody knows Asara A. Asara in the Nigerian media industry, even if he parades three As in his name, and that he would be better off as a manager of his hotel business or simply remain a professional fisherman. Rather than reason with me in a mature and civilized manner, the man took offence and opted to send my pen on suspension. But, as Esiaba Irobi would ask, how do you pin down a cloud?
But all that is just by the way. In December 2006, I made a public presentation of my first four books all at once to mark my 43rd birthday, and the Bayelsa State Government (under Dr Goodluck Jonathan at that time) made a heart-warming promise to provide me with a digital press on account of the commendable feat I had accomplished, so that I would be even more productive. The four books in question are Mantids, A Birthday Delight, I Want To Be A Senator, and Apples & Serpents. As may be expected, I was overjoyed at that public pronouncement. It's a good sign when a prophet is accepted in his own backyard. But three years after that event, the promise is yet to be redeemed. So, in the light of all this, I would like to set up a press that would serve the public interest, a medium that would specifically help to correct the erroneous impressions held by some people about the Niger Delta, if I have the wherewithal so to do. That is because, to quote Obasanjo again, if the problem of the Niger Delta region is resolved, then the problem of Nigeria is as good as solved.
Now, to the last part of your question. Once upon a time, I conceived the idea of establishing a writing school with the modest funds at my disposal. It is called Shalom School of Scripture, SSS. It advocates peace as its motto. I actually bought a small parcel of land in Yenagoa, laid the foundation stone on December 2, 2004, with a few close friends as witness, and built it up to a certain point. It is still awaiting completion. That is a project idea that I consider worthwhile, and I don't mind going back to it, if I have funds. As you know, there is no formal school of writing in Nigeria. Mamman Vatsa's dream is yet to materialize, in Abuja or outside Abuja. This private initiative would admit Nigerian writers into a residency programme for as long as they see fit, in the heart of the Niger Delta, in Bayelsa precisely, so that our creative writers can be better enlightened about the motives that led the ex-militants to become militants in the first place.
Take it from me. Bayelsa is a nice, quiet and peaceful land where any writer in the world can concentrate his talents and write twelve books in one year, just as I have done. Bayelsa is the glory of all lands. There is no disputing that. If Jesus Christ is to come suddenly upon the world, he would arise from Bayelsa, and step out like a tell-tale thief in the deep night of the world's ignorance, like a weaverbird spelling judgement upon the sins of the world with the very breath of poetry. I hope that answers your question.
7. HYGINUS EKWUAZI: 'Poetry Paints, Warts, Idealises...'
What it feels like to be shortlisted for the NLNG Prize for Literature?
Exciting...VERY exciting.
Previous commendations & awards?
I have had three: "Love Apart" won two awards: the 207 ANA-Cadbury Prize for poetry and also the ANA/NNDC-Gabriel Okara Prize for poetry; "Dawn into Moonlight" won the 2008 ANA-Cadbury Prize for poetry.
How many poetry collections have been published?
Three on the whole: the third one, "The Monkey's Eyes" was published this year.
The attributes of a good poem? To my mind, a good poem works in binary opposites: It is socially rooted; but it is also rooted in the imagination. It paints, warts and all; but it also idealises the real and realises the ideal. It makes the mind light; but it also makes the mind heavy. In one line, it serenades; in another line it ululates. A poem is short; but it takes you on the longest journey: the journey from the head to the heart...
When I started writing poems? In the secondary school..At any rate, I regarded them as poetry--I mean, what I wrote at that time. Any other genre apart from poetry? Yes. I have three published plays. I should add that I have also earned a number of screen credits for scriptwriting.
Five foreign poets that I read and why?
Dylan Thomas. Wilfred Owens. Robert Frost. Walt Whiteman. T S Eliot. They all talk about man, the heart of man and human life.... I mean they sing the kind of 'songs' that I can sink my teeth into and chew the way a goat chews the curd.
Five Nigerian poets that I love to read?
Okigbo. Soyinka. Odia Ofeimun. Niyi Osundare. Ezenwa Ohaeto.
An outline of my daily activities?
by inclination and by choice--but more by the former than the latter--I dont have any specific time for doing anything: one day you could find me eating breakfast at 6am; another day, it could be 6pm. Perhaps, the best way to put it is this: I am like a man under command-- when the spirit says "Go!" I go; and when the spirit says "Come!" I come....I hardly know which will be which or when -- and whatever the routine of the workplace has imposed on me, no two days are alike.
Is the ability to write poetry innate?
I daresay, poets are born to be made...by their environment.
8. G'ENINYO OGBOWE: 'Good Poetry Must Appeal To Feelings'
What does it feel like to be on the list?
What does it feel like to be shortlisted for the NLNG Prize for Literature? As a Christian, I say, "Thank you, Lord". It's all His doing, and I give Him thanks.
Do you have previous commendations and awards?
My first collection, Let the honey run and other poems, was shortlisted in 2005. My third collection, The Heedless Ballot Box, was joint winner of the ANA Bayelsa Isaac Boro Prize for Niger Delta Literature in 2008.
How many of your poetry collections have been published?
I have four published collections: let the honey run and other poems (2001, 2005), the towncrier's song (2003, 2009), the heedless ballot box (2006) and song of a dying river (2009).
In your opinion, what are the attributes of a good poem?
The attributes of a good poem? That would depend on your training and taste. Vivid, musical and appealing to the emotions and the rational faculty at the same time, I'd say, but some other reader might have other parameters to judge a work of art. And that's what a poem is - a work of art. If so, it must be beautiful, elegant. But, you see, I'm primarily a poet and not a critic, so won't want to talk about this.
When did you start writing poems?
Actually, I started writing in Higher School in the mid 70s.
Do you write any other genre apart from poetry?
Technically, no. What I'm working on now, aside my forthcoming collection, isn't literary. It's a Christian book.
Mention five foreign poets that you love to read. What makes them peculiar?
T S Eliot, W B Yeats, Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes and L S Senghor. They all are poets concerned with capturing the spirit of their age. Reading their poetry, you find language that is vivid and lyrical; poetry that appeals to your emotion and compels you to make some critical assessments. With Yeats, Senghor and Langston Hughes, you come face to face with great art put to the service of a nation or an oppressed race. Senghor's beautiful poetry, which is propagandistic, entertains and educates. In spite of all Soyinka said, Senghor's is poetry at its best.
Five Nigerian poets that you love to read
Five Nigerian poets I love to read? First is Christopher Okigbo. If he'd lived long enough, I believe we'd have had a harvest. He's yet to be surpassed. As an Ijaw, I've learnt a lot from J P Clark-Bekederemo and Gabriel Okara. Then, of course, there's Tanure Ojaide, Ogaga Ifowodo, Remi Raji and Niyi Osundare. Some critics insist after Osundare and Ojaide, nothing new has happened. They're mistaken, because a lot of writing is taking place today that these critics aren't aware of. Not everybody is beholden to Osundare and Ojaide.
Outline your daily activities
My daily activities? Apart from my prayers and Bible study in the morning, my day is fluid. I love freedom and won't be regimented.
Is the ability to write poetry innate in every human being?
Writing is an art. An artist is a man with certain innate abilities. He's a man endowed with certain rare gifts, which he spends long hours honing. He's a man with a vision; one whose eyes and ears have been opened.
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