I ALWAYS EXPRESS MY FEELINGS WITH POETRY – OLANREWAJU
BABAJIDE
Olanrewaju
Babajide is a poet and novelist. Author of “From China with love” and “Victor
the child soldier”. He is a member of the Society of Young Nigerian Writers
(SYNW). In
this short interview with Wole Adedoyin, he speaks on his life and writing.
SYNW:
WHY ARE YOU A POET?
OB: Poetry
found me, I did not find poetry. I am a poet because it helps me to
express my creativity, my ideas and it also helps me to understand the world
around me
SYNW:
WHAT POETS DO YOU ADMIRE?
OB: I admire
William Butler Yeats, Wole Soyinka and the new kid on the block (Romeo Oriogun).
I live Soyinka because of the intellectual depth of his poetry.
SYNW:
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
OB: I
am inspired by the things happening in my environment. Sometimes
political events in my environment also inspire me. I am also inspired by the
beauty of nature, dreams and my emotions. What I mean by stating I am
inspired by my emotions is the fact that when I am extremely happy or sad,
I express my feelings with poetry.
SYNW:
TELL US ABOUT A NORMAL WORKING DAY…
A normal working day consists of me getting up early
in the morning and writing a rough sketch of my poetry spontaneously.
Throughout the day, I meditate on my poetry and later in the day, I know edit
it and embellish it with more ideas.
OB:
HOW DO YOU WRITE?
Basically, I write spontaneously. I write anytime I
feel inspired. Later on, I go back and modify what I am writing.
SYNW:
WHAT’S YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND A POEM?
OB: I think in
a philosophical way. I may meditate on a concept for some time and
then in the midst of my meditation, I draw out inspiration like water from a
well.
SYNW:
DESCRIBE YOUR ROUTE TO BEING PUBLISHED…
OB: People saw
my poetry and told me I could be a good poet. As a result, I looked around for
a publisher in my environment. Fortunately for me, I was able to get
a small time publisher who published my poetry at an affordable
price.
Make friends
with fellow poets and literary gurus. This kind of people will help
you to improve your proficiency in poetry. Also, write as many poems as
possible; practice leads to perfection. You can also try and join literary
organizations that will expose you to the world of literature. Last but not the
least, try and read the work of great poems so as to expand your mind and
broaden your horizon.
SYNW:
WHAT (IF ANY) SORTS OF EDITORIAL CHANGES DID THE MANUSCRIPT GO THROUGH? DID YOU
WORK THROUGH THESE WITH YOUR AGENT AND/OR EDITORS WITHIN THE PUBLISHING HOUSE?
OB: My publisher
worked a lot on my poetry. We worked on finding new themes to write about, the
relevance of my poetry. One major thing we worked on was my obscurantism. My
poems can be too abstract and he helped me to lower the level of abstraction.
He also helped me with some little grammatical errors.
SYNW: ADVISE TO YET TO THE PUBLISHED WRITERS:
OB: They should
try and get published online. They can submit their literary works to online journals
and this can be a cost effective way of publishing. Also, they
should not let money serve as a barrier to realizing their literary ambition.
If they manage to get published in a traditional manner, it will boost thier
profile and it may even lauch them to literary fame and their next
work may get published with little or no money.
SYNW: TALK TO US ABOUT YOUR WRITING ROUTINE; WHAT’S A
TYPICAL WRITING DAY FOR YOU?
OB: I start in
the morning and I scribble my ideas down. As the days go along, I write by
pure inspiration. In the evening, I revise and edit my poetry.
SYNW: WHERE DO YOU WRITE
FROM?
OB: I write from
anywhere. Basically, I write anywhere that is quiet.
On this topic, what are you doing
the build a platform and gain readership?
SYNW: WHAT I AM DOING TO BUILD A PLATFORM
OB: I submit my
writings to literary journals. Most especially, some of my writings are on ebonystory.com
SYNW: WEBSITES?
OB: ebonystory.com
SYNW: FAVORITE MOVIE:
Usofia in london, Back to the future, The
legend of the seeker
SYNW: BEST PIECE(S) OF
WRITING ADVICE WE HAVEN’T DISCUSSED?
OB: Just Believe in
yourself. That’s all. Success in any endeavour (writing inclusive) is based
on self belief.
SYNW: SOMETHING PERSONAL
ABOUT YOU PEOPLE MAY BE SURPRISED TO KNOW?
OB: I will like to work on scientific inventions in the
future
SYNW: WHATS NEXT?
OB: In the nearest future, I will
release more poems. Also, I will publish novels and plays as time
goes on.
