IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW SERIES 2017In our very first interview series for BEst New African Poets 2016 Anthology series we engage Nigerian poet Marvel Chukwudi Pephel
1. My name is Marvel Chukwudi Pephel. I am a writer who would like to describe himself as funky. I love words, and that explains why I write.
2. Nigeria has a thriving poetry scene. If there is any literary good thing the internet has done, it is giving young Nigerian poets a platform where they can showcase their talents. On Facebook, there are numerous poetry groups to join, and writers too post their works on their Timelines which can be liked and critiqued in the comment box. Even though Facebook likes and comments may not be objective, it helps young poets to experiment with forms and grow their confidence. It also helps the young poets to understand that contemporary poetry is quite different from what was obtainable in the time of the griots -- even the Spoken Word.
When I was still in High School, I realised most people saw poetry as a genre of Literature that can only be appreciated by people born with a brain like Einstein's. To this effect, young writers wrote poetry with big, confusing words, while readers only approached with trembling feet. But today, that's changing. Even though Wole Soyinka might still be a tough nut to crack to the unseasoned reader, people are beginning to see poetry in a new light. People are beginning to realise the ability of poetry to take one to places one never knew existed. This is a good thing. With this change also comes a sudden outburst of zeal in young poets to publish. While I may not be against anyone in a hurry to publish, I think literary merit should be paid attention to -- and this is what most young poets fail to consider. One needs to be good to publish.
In summary, I believe appreciation of poetry in Nigeria is growing -- there is Ake Arts and Book Festival and Lagos International Poetry Festival, both of which attract poetry lovers from within and outside the country. Our young poets are also doing well. Last year(2016), two Nigerian poets jointly won the Brunel International African Poetry Prize which is worth £3000. This year(2017), a Nigerian poet single-handedly won the same prize. I have a feeling, even though I am not an anointed prophet, that a Nigerian will win the 2018 prize. It's just a feeling.
3. A lot of things influence my creativity -- laughter, beauty, music, good food, etcetera. But the major influence is music. Give me Yanni or Beethoven or Asa, and you have unlocked my cerebral chambers! Because I do most of my writing at night, I relax with songs good radio stations play -- I sleep at this time. In the morning, I wake up with lines in my head!
4. I have heard that African writers are playing the catch-up game. Is it true? Well, so it seems. Post-colonialism, I believe, cannot not totally erase the effects of Colonialism itself. Writers on the continent seek validation fron the West. Your poetry may not be seen as so good if so-and-so Western publisher did not buy the publishing rights. I am not saying that having works published by big publishing houses in the West is wrong, I am just saying we should also look critically at the works being published on the continent. If works published on the continent has the same quality with the ones published in the West, then we should also respect such works. Quality should be the watchword and not the publisher. But then, how many local publishers pay attention to quality and formatting issues? That is the problem. Marketing is another problem. If we can look into these problems, I believe we may start comparing local publishers with the Western ones.
5. Tough question! Well, if I were elected the president of my dear country, I would first look into the Education Sector, and also I would look into the Education Sector. Education Sector! I believe the greatness of a nation depends on the intellectual advancement of its people. Give someone education, and he begins to see the world with beautiful eyes. So if I were elected the president of my country, I would give free education to the poor masses up to High School level. If I could do this, there would be low level of crime and poverty. And that means I would also create employment opportunities.
6. Role model(s)? Pephel, name everybody who one way or the other had caught your fancy and swore never to stop impressing you. Okay, they are in no particular order: Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nnedi Okorafor, Lauren Beukes, Trevor Noah and Barack Obama(Did you know he writes stories?).
7. Football.
8. I care about the shade or intensity of my light. If the light, in the only place I have at the moment, is too bright, then I'd rather not write long-hand -- I can just leave a draft on my phone or handheld. Light shade matters as much as a plate of crispy food or a glass of drink(water, tea, wine, etc.).
9. The two poems in the 2016 anthology are works of careful thought and thinking. The poem "Rain: A Word Sonnet" is one of my best poems. While one may see the way it flows easily and makes complete sense, one may not notice that the poem obeys the Shakespearean rhyme scheme a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g. The second poem is an experimental poem with the title "Diagonal Acrostic: The Juxtaposition". In this second poem, I try to place two opposite ideas diagonally -- one is a word at the end of the first stanza(when the last words are read vertically down), and the other is a word at the beginning of the second stanza(when the beginning letters are read vertically down). It was tough writing this acrostic: but isn't writing tough?
THANK YOU FOR THE INTERVIEW.
More about Marvel here
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