I always express my feelings with poetry – Olanrewaju Babajide

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.