1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
My first book was an academic book; it hasn’t changed my life much, but I suppose it will get me tenure, which, if we are being honest, is pretty much life-changing for any academic. My recent poetry collection, Wildfire Verses, is completely different from my previous book. This book is not written for tenure; it does not contain academic jargon, and it comes straight from my heart. Writing Wildfire Verses was just as onerous as writing my first (academic book), especially because both come from a deeply traumatic place and took a lot from me intellectually and emotionally. However, my poetry collection reflects more of how I feel. I think that is the beautiful thing about poetry: it allows a certain kind of freedom that academic writing does not. It is not constrained by grammar, linguistic, or formatting rules. Even though the collection is about my traumatic experience in the heat of a wildfire, it felt nonetheless freeing to write. The book is the place where my trauma and my expressive/creative freedom meet.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I would say my mother tongue, Yoruba, is a very poetic language. It is full of metaphors, ironies and, especially, euphemisms. I am so grateful I have proficiency in that language because, really, learning it took my brain to wild and imaginative places. I also grew up around older men and women (women especially) who understand the power of poetic language and know how to wield it. That was my first introduction to poetry. And, of course, in primary school, we had to learn/memorize all kinds of poems for all kinds of activities. I also came across fiction (through folktales) very early in life, but poetry has always been part and parcel of my life and culture. Therefore – by the time I acquired English as a second language and became proficient in it– It became a no-brainer that I started to write poetry.
3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
If it is an academic work, I certainly would have multiple drafts. Most of the time, the final draft will look completely different from the first draft. With poetry, it is slightly different. Most of my poems come to me fully done. They come in the shape of fully formed ideas. They also come as very strong feelings. Of course, I will still do multiple edits, but those are usually rewording, rephrasing and paraphrasing. The rephrasing can take years, but the spirit of the poem always remains the same.
4 - Where does a poem or work of prose usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
It is hard to tell because this is my first creative output. But I would say that even when the poems come to me as short and individual pieces, I still end up arranging them by theme and topicality to produce a book. This also means that some of my poems never see the light of day because they do not fit into a required theme or topicality.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
This is what I am about to find out with my book tour, which is starting next month. I love me a good poetry reading. I am a huge fan of spoken words. I come from a culture that is deeply oratory. One of my guilty pleasures is listening to Maya Angelou read her poems (I saved a lot of her readings on Youtube). That said, I am not sure if I am good at doing readings. This is mostly because I am shy, or maybe it is because I am afraid of what I am capable of. I have a lot of poetry readings next month, so I will see how people receive it.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
I believe writers have many roles in the culture. I think writers are the conscience of society. They are part of the thinkers or, you might say, intellectual backbones of society. Like the olden days, writers are scribes; they document our civilization. Tell me one civilization or society that does not have its writers. Writers, literary or non-literary, are important to every civilization. So, to the question: what do I see the current role of the writer being in the larger culture? We need our writers now more than ever because of the onslaught of artificial intelligence. We need our writers to weave their metaphors, similes, humour, and ironies in ways that remind us of our humanity. In a time when politics has gone berserk and empathy has become a scarce commodity, we need writers to help us imagine what it feels like to be the Other. In these times when we are seeing the plotted death of the imagination, we need writers who will insist on the magic of the imagination. We need writers who will take us to the unexpected places of the imaginative plane.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (poetry to critical prose)? What do you see as the appeal?
Even though it is not easy to move from poetry to critical prose (by which I mean literary criticism), I love the challenge. I often feel like I use different parts of my brain to write poetry as opposed to critical prose. However, my love of writing (and teaching) poetry also makes me want to read what scholars are saying about it, which eventually leads me to writing my own critical thoughts on it as well. I think some of the best literary critics are also creative writers (e.g. Matthew Arnold, TS Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Henry James, Toni Morrison, Chinua Achebe, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Namwali Serpell, Viet Thanh Nguyen among many others). I also believe that some of the best prose writers that I admire say that they find inspiration in reading poetry. Although I have said that it is challenging to move from poetry to critical prose, I would contradict myself and say that, sometimes, writing in genre feels like an extension of the other. I have been in situations where, after writing a poem about a subject, I move on to write a critical essay on the same subject. I also think being a poet helps to enrich my critical prose/language. A student who read an academic essay I wrote once told me they enjoyed it precisely because I used a lot of poetic language. This is not something I do deliberately, but when you spend a lot of time thinking, reading, writing, and teaching poetry, it comes through in every other kind of writing that you do.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
If you mean writing routine, I would say that I don’t really have one when it comes to poetry. Whenever I am inspired to write a poem (note the word “inspired”), the feeling becomes so strong that I leave everything else I am doing in that moment and focus on writing the poem. If I don’t leave everything else and focus on writing the poem, the feeling will disappear, and even when I try to invoke it later on, it just falls flat. I have once described it as an exorcism. Sometimes I dread that feeling. I think this is why it took me so long to publish my debut collection, because I kept running away from poetry. I wrote my collection, Wildfire Verses, within a week (even though it took three years of editing and re-editing). It took a traumatic experience of wildfire and evacuation from my home for me to finally put pen to paper. Within that one week, I could not do anything else. Sometimes I could not even bathe or eat.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
Music (especially soul, jazz, and blues). Spoken Words. Listening to my favourite poets read their poems. I also turn to the Psalms (in King James or the Message versions only).
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
I am a pluvial child (I was born during the rainy season), so Mitti Attar is the fragrance that ALWAYS makes me feel at home. The smell and sound of rain hitting the baked earth and sand is the closest thing to paradise for me.
14 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
Music for sure. I love all kinds of music. And, for me, it is not always the words that get me; it is the sound. So, on my playlist you will find Sufi music, songs in Arabic and Aramaic. I also love classical music, not just Western classical, but also classical music from other cultures. I am a huge fan of negro spiritual, blues, jazz, soul––––let’s just say I like slow music. I like to listen to music before writing; it sets the mood. Any poetry person knows that the mood is very important.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
I love reading Maya Angelou and Lucille Clifton. I love reading the Bible as well, but it must be in King James or the Message version. Even though it is obviously a spiritual document, I think it is the apotheosis of literary genius for me.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I want to travel the world. I think travelling is an important form of education. Well-travelled people are some of the most cultured and knowledgeable people I have met.
17 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
The weird thing is that every other thing I can think of (screenwriter, teacher, secretary) involves some kind of writing, but maybe a film director? But I guess that also involves storytelling.
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
I haven't finished it, but American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee is a great read.
Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier was a great film.
20 - What are you currently working on?
I am working on another collection of poetry and a new monograph. Wish me well.
