I have something
interesting to share with you. I do look forward to doing so for a few more
weeks with some of the most interesting minds I came across during our recent
convention. I very rarely attend convention as there seemed to be more politics
attached to the hosting than the event itself, but I felt this was different.
It was going to be a gathering of creative minds and I looked forward to the
event. Happily for me the author I had threatened to scalp for his less than
admirable portrayal of womanhood did not attend. So I enjoyed myself and tried
to ask a few questions around. It was like feeling my way around. The
attendance was in the hundreds and there was some sort of mini book fair as
publishers came to display the books of their authors. In the package given to us was a collection of
poetry and I came across a very interesting piece.Intrigued, I went looking for
the poet and it turned she is a very beautiful young women. Okay I mean young
in the understanding that she is much younger than me. You know age envies
youth blah…blah.. Anyway I got into a conversation with her and I would like to
share it.
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| Oluchi Igili |
Please tell us a bit about yourself
1. My name is Oluchi J. IGILI. I'm a female
Nigerian author and a dramatist both by training and engagement. I'm currently
a university teacher where my duties include instructing students both in the
theory and practice of drama/theatre. I ventured, if you like, into
writing because I find it as a veritable window of opportunity to express
myself, my thoughts and my concerns about the world in which I live. In this
regard, I share my thoughts through poetry, drama and prose fiction.
Nigerian authors seem to be very much in the
background as far as international awereness is concerned, is that a true
assessment?
2. To say
anything about one’s country except that which paints her in glowing colours
would, ordinarily, be politically incorrect. But I think it is patriotic to
admit that Nigerian authors are lagging behind in terms of awareness of what is
going on on the international scene. To a very large extent, only Nigerian
authors in the Diaspora have a good grasp of what obtains on the international
front and in consequence, they enjoy a lot of international recognition. That
is not to say that Nigerian authors living within the country cannot hold their
own in terms of their creative prowess. What it simply means is that the
writers in Diaspora are privileged to be to enjoy many opportunities not yet
available to Nigerian authors living and writing in the country.
Your poem is striking as it
suggests a deeper level of human experience. What genre of writing do you
subscribe to?
3. I engage in any form of creative writing
(poetry, drama or prose) that enables me to give expression to my innermost
concerns for my society. Another way to put it is to say that I subscribe to
any literary genre that has a clearly discernible commitment to issues that
affect humanity. Without any equivocation whatsoever, I belong to that school
of thought that says, art, whether it is literary art or any other form of art,
should be placed at the service of humanity. Art should not be an architectural
masterpiece which lacks utilitarian value. Art for art’s sake? Not for me.
At the recently concluded
convention of the association of Nigerian authors, there was a move to bring
the female authors together, what do you think informed such a drive?
4. Yes, I am aware of that move to bring
Nigerian female authors together. Nigerian female writers are making the effort
to come together under one umbrella or the other. One of such platforms is the
Association of Nigerian Female Authors (ANFA) among others. The reason for
this, I believe, is not far-fetched. The female Nigerian writer needs to be more
visible and the best way to achieve this is to have a platform from which to
seek both to be seen and heard. As much as I know that some of our male
counterparts are sympathetic enough (I use that word deliberately), one
can also understand that they are not too prepared to yield much space to the
female writer. So, there is the need for Nigerian female writers to come
together and create a strong visible image for themselves. If we fail to blow
our trumpets, like they say, we should not expect any body to do that for us.
And the time to do that is now.
As a published author, what has
been your experience?
5. There are a number of challenges which I
believe are common to writers in my clime. There is the problem of a
continuously dwindling reading culture which has been worsened in recent years
by a barrage of technological devices that have made reading very unappealing.
Whereas in the past people spent their leisure times on reading, technological
devices have provided ready alternatives that are a lot less intellectually
tasking. It does not take much intellectual muscle to sit down in front of a TV
screen to watch a movie or soap.
Another
issue which published authors have to grapple with here is piracy which has made
writing to be a non lucrative enterprise.
Tell us about your published book
and how we can get a copy
6. My most recent literary out puts are a short
story in Tales From the Sun and poems in One Poem, Fifty Seasons: A Collection of Poems in Honour of Sola
Owonibi and they are available in leading bookshops. A collection of short
stories is right now in the quarry.
