FOR POETS
EVERYTHING IS INSPIRATION - INTERVIEW WITH RAHAMAN ABIOLA TOHEEB
#YOUNG
WRITERS’ INTERVIEW SERIES# - SYNW 002
INTERVIEW
WITH RAHAMAN ABIOLA TOHEEB
Rahaman Abiola Toheeb is a poet, literary
critic, a trained language analyst, editor, freelancer, socio-political
commentator and blogger from Iseyin, Oyo State. Rahaman is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University.
SYNW - Why are you a poet?
RAT - The question why I’m a poet is
what I sometimes find difficult to answer. Perhaps poetry chooses me, perhaps I
choose to write poetry, sincerely I don’t know. However, one certain thing is
that there is a surging wave of recurring feelings and stubborn emotions borne
out of what I come across on daily basis from home to street, from street to
international scene on TV. And the channel to bring those feelings to life is
through only poetry. The heart of a poet is ocean of thoughts, while poetry
itself is life, poetry is god. So, I can
say poetry gives me life.
SYNW - What poets do you admire?
RAT - Being a poet is a great burden of
consistent intellectual conviction. I know what it takes to write poems, that
is why I respect and read every poet whose work comes my way. Besides that I’ll
learn from him, I have exposure to new feeling -perhaps same as mine, or
another entirely. But I must say that I love reading African poets, from
Negritude to Euro-modernist, from Revolutionary generation (the angry poets) to
the contemporary ones like Dami Ajayi, Gimba, Kakanda, David Isaya Osu, Wale
Owoade, Jumoke Verissimo, Tosin Gbogi, Tade Ipadeola. I read Rasaq Malik a lot.
His poetry is ubiquitous in terms of thematic direction. Facebook also
introduces me to teeming legion of poets on daily basis. Recently I enjoy
reading Warsan Sire, Tarfia Faizullah, Saed Jones, Sharon Olds, Laura,
Kamiskin, Deborah Ranee, etc.
SYNW - What inspires you?
RAT
- For
poets everything is inspiration. What I see and hear is what I feel should not
vanish into wind like that. My home, my
mother, my society, the world and everything within are what keep me moving as
a poet.
SYNW - Tell us about a normal working day…
RAT - I’m a freelancer. I write poetry.
If I don’t do that I work as editor. I am a consistent facebooker and active online user. If I’m not online facebooking,
downloading books, or searching for what to read, that means I am busy at my
Primary Place of Assignment, Kano Municipal Secretariat.
SYNW - How do you write?
RAT - I write any time muse comes. It
may be in a solitary room or on the street through my phone, my mobile writing
device. But what defines how I write most is the kind of writing I’m engaged
in. If I am working on essay or a political view I find it easy to write. If
it’s poetry, some lines demand midnight silence, while some I’ll need to walk
out alone pondering and come back home. Some need rough sketch on a sheet.
SYNW - What’s your thought process behind a poem?
RAT - Poetry, a specialized form of
expression, starts the moment an idea strikes my heart. The next process is
getting perfect words that convey my train of thought; words that speak out
images in my heart most. These words are sometimes expensive and difficult to
find. I think this is what makes poetry stand out of all genres of literature.
Editing is the next process, as this gives poetry its befitting shape i.e.
laconicism, artistic ingenuity, perfect rhythmicality and figurativeness.
SYNW - Describe your route to being published…
RAT - I am not yet published. I believe
being published is a gradual process. As a poet the first thing is building
your audience- people who your works appeal to. Make your craft convincing and
fit for consumption by literary community of readers. Internet has been of
help. These days one can easily send his poems to online literary magazine like
Saraba, Kalahari Review, SentinelNg, Brave Art Africa, Expound and Praxis
Magazine. National Dailies also publish both budding and established poets.
Then one can go for full length publishing.
SYNW - What’s your advice to an aspiring poet?
RAT
- The
question any aspiring poet should ask himself is: do I really want to write? If
he can answer that then consistency follows, for that makes him better and
stronger. Writing may be frustrating at times, one just needs to move on and
read. Similarly, monetary gain should not be number one priority. Any aspiring
poet should ensure he establishes himself before any other thing.
SYNW - Final question (promise!): do you have any
advice for the yet-to-be-published writers reading this?
RAT - They should continue reading,
they should never relent. The country, though does not give total commitment
and support to writing, ours is stars, with passion and patience.
SYNW - Talk to us about your writing routine;
what’s a typical writing day for you?
RAT - My best time for writing is
evening. This allows me talk aloud and to concentrate more, though the routine
of my writing is usually defined by the work I have at hand, and the ideas that
do not want me rest.
SYNW - Where do you write from?
RAT
- I write
from my home, sometimes from workplace.
SYNW - On this topic, what are you doing to build
a platform and gain readership?
RAT - Internet. In this digital age the
fast way to make a bride-gap between a writer and community of readers is
internet and social platforms like facebook and twitter. When I write, I ensure
I post it on facebook. I easily share the links of where my works appear with
my online readers. Coupled with this is my blog. It has been of help, it gives
me voice and online presence.
SYNW - Website(s)?
RAT - I don’t have a website yet, but I
have a blog where some of my works- poem, stories, review, political views
appear. It can be located through the url: http://rahamanabiola.blogspot.com
SYNW - Favorite movie?
RAT - I love Bollywood movies,
especially 3 Idiots and My Name is Khan.
SYNW - Best piece(s) of writing advice we haven’t
discussed?
RAT - Poets should enter for available
competition. This will make them know their strength and their weak points.
SYNW - Something personal about you people may be
surprised to know?
RAT - I’m casually into nature and
landscape photography. As a poet I hold the belief that there’s a dialectical
affinity between poetry and photography- of messages in pictures that can only
be interpreted by poetry alone.
SYNW - What’s next?
RAT - I have a project at hand. My
first collection of poetry is also a priority.
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