An interview with South African Poet Jacobus Gideon Louis Nieuwoudt

Tell us about yourself:

I'm known by many names. My Christian name, if you will, is Jacobus Gideon Louis Nieuwoudt. My chosen name is King Kobi or just Kobi <3 - As spoken by the sweet, satisfied voice of a woman that smells of dead roses and hunger -  I was born in Pretoria, South-Africa, in a military hospital. I write satire, comedy and acid horror. I'm known for Fifty Shades of Adolf, Dingue! and Sixteen and Dead.

Tell us about the poetry scene in your country:
Well, it's split down the middle as most things are. You get black poetry and white poetry. The poets you are taught about in school all wrote about depression, regret, history and our country. That's what I know about. Black poetry deals with similar themes but includes slavery, communism, socio-economic questions and colonialism as well.
The scene itself - from what I know - is very self-inclusive. It's a scene that revolves around itself. It's not mainstream and those that tend to consume poetry also partake themselves. Publishers shy away from it so it makes it hard to make a living from it.

That being said, like most of the arts, it's pretty liberal. And I've noticed that if you do not share the same ideas as those that run many of the outlets available to poets you are ignored. Your opinion only maters if it is indeed routed in the popular opinion. Right now, it seems, that you're either Far/Militant Left or considered a Nazi for not agreeing with a certain agenda. And they don't associate with Nazis. They glorify the opposite.
What influences your creativity? When and how did you get to be a poet?

Music, film, day to day life. Stories I hear.

I've always been a writer. There's no way around it. My imagination took president over everything and everyone else. I have always had a certain level contempt for the world I was born into. I hate that it's so dull and boring. I hate that this is all there is to us. I never fit in and as such I've always been an outcast. A dissident. But a pleasant one. I like to laugh and most of the time I enjoy making other people laugh. I guess there's a part of me that just wants to see the world happy?

The trouble is that I understand certain truths about us as a species and how society impacts us - on not only an emotional level - but on a cultural one as well. How social engineering is employed to fuel capitalism and consumerism. How money is used to degrade and control. How we become puppets in a manufactured society. I don't like that.
What was it that Patti said? "Outside of Society, is where I wanna be?"
Yeah, I'm like that. Gnostic. Manson said,  "I don't need to choose a side."
I'm quite inclined to that idea. I guess that makes me a little dangerous.
I've been taught to partake, some would even say genetically inclined to, but when the moment comes - I refuse - is that strange? To not inhale?
I don't know, really.  But I would like to see my people free. If only mentally. To know when the magician is sprinkeling fairy dust on them as opposed to closing their eyes and blissfully looking the other way when it happens.
What do you think is lacking in writing, or poetry making in the continent and how do you think we can solve this?  
It's easy: Mainstream accessibility. And this will change when the stigmas surrounding poetry is dismantled. It starts in school. "Poetry is boring!" Ever hear this? "Poetry is hard!" well yes it is kind of difficult, if it wasn't it wouldn't be good poetry. Give the kids what they want. Give them Rap Music.

What's lacking: Humor.

If you were a poem, what type of form will you be in, and why?

I'd be a disjointed poem. Maybe a medieval limerick about sex and violence, filled with what the popular opinion perceives today as "problematic
themes" about slaying your enemies, subjugating warrior women and giving no quarter to the weak. Something funny but wholly offensive.
Maybe something about witches being burned at the stake for giving all of the village children "frogs legs" or something. The punch line being that the witches turned the children into White Supremacists. Because frogs are racist. Oh hell. I shouldn't have laughed at that one. Deep cuts.

If you were the president of your country, tell us what your presidency will be like?

This is a dangerous question. My answer will surely offend a couple of people if not most. As I identify as a Fascist-Socialist-Monarch. I'd not be a president but a King. And as such my word would be supreme law and whatever I said would go. And because I'm not a traditionalist the church wouldn't have a say in the matter. In my Kingdom there'd be religious freedom - true religious freedom - with monuments to Gods and Goddesses of every main religion practiced in my Kingdom. Of the old Gods and the new Abrahamic ones. Black and White.

My people would love me. Adore me. Worship me as I abolish debt left, right and centre and proceeded to tell a certain "worldly" ruling class to make like a tree. I'd make Education, Water and Electricity, Healthcare and certain foodstuffs tax deductable - because really now. It's 2017. In a modern society these things should be a right for all.-  And if you're not paying tax you'll be put to work for me. Building my Coliseums, where my people can watch pedophiles, rapists and other ungoodly monstrosities being eaten by wild, ravenous animals and, yes, there shall be chariot races and gladiatorial games with large sums of gold awarded to the winners - as it should be.
I shall make sure that my people are safe. All the citizens of my Kingdom - black and white - from unruly Cultural - Marxist nonsense, that seek to make victims of its subscribers like some ugly cult, by regulating the amount of so-called "revolutionary" - trash my Kingdom is allowed to consume by giving them a better - more local - diet of the entertainment that they'd want to digest. I shall give the arts the kind of money it has never seen! And make the kind of film that would rival even the biggest markets on the planet.

Soon the rest of Africa would call for my caring hand to envelope them as well. And not long and my troops will march into their cesspits and clear it of the corrupt filth that calls itself their leadership and thus my Kingdom will grow. And the American media will vilify me as the Devil as I, Your Majesty, King Kobi, puts a smile on every one of my Kingdom's inhabitants. One at a damn time!
Also. I'll put a cap on the population limit. Two children per household. If you go over, I'll have you fixed. This ain't a democracy. So don't try that shit with me. A vote is a vote and a boat is a boat and with me in charge that ship has sailed. Ya dig? Good.  

Tell us about your poems in BNAP
It's about Colonialism/Imperialism and its affect on my people. The Afrikaners. Spoiler Alert: It made us weak and stupid.

What do you think can be done to improve BNAP anthology:
Use the money that is made from the sales to promote it on larger outlets. Get it into schools as prescribed reading?

Interview with Nigerian poet Chuma Mmeka

In-depth interview


Who is Chuma Mmeka?

Chuma Mmeka is just a simple guy who is determined to make a difference in history, taking it one step at a time. Chuma Mmeka is proudly Nigerian, with more than two decades life-living longevity experience. He is happily married and blessed with lovely kids.

Chuma Mmeka is a multi-faceted artist and activist with a background in psychology and in law. He is a corporate administrator and charity engineer with a voluntary verve to assist vulnerable African children. He opposes injustice and hates to pretend to press or please anybody.

In a nutshell, Chuma Mmeka is a programmed humanistic project in progress.

Tell us about the poetry scene in your country, as a fellow poet.

In my country Nigeria, poetry creativity and appreciation appears to me not to be what it used to. Because of population explosion and increased literacy, there is an inadequacy of recognitions and recognition platforms for budding talents unlike in the prime period of our Chinua Achebe, JP Clark, Wole Soyinka and their contemporaries. These in no small way affect the psyche of emerging good poets and their creativity.

Be that as it may, Nigeria's scenery is an amazing one to own. There's never a limit to the number of themes or concepts available for your imagination to tinker with. From our numerous natural resources, virgin and unravaged environments, to tourist sites that lie across several rivers, and reside atop mountains, in depths of valleys and on beds of green. Even with the posture of poverty and paucity of possibilities in the land, you will find ample inspiration for your work.

From our sheer large landmass and multi-ethno-religious population, to the relics of a regrettable past that includes slavery, colonialization, harmful traditional practices and civil war, there is so much to set your story on, whether in writing or in painting. I won't forget to mention plotcepts from our internal squabbles, and agitations against unity; or refuse to talk about the corruption that holds sway, or the fritting away of a people's commonwealth. I will not blind over the distrust between the leaders and the led, nor will I ignore the facts of the imminent dooms that dog us; and of the power play of men and women to conjugate fears and worries in the land.

All these tickle the imagination in a million different ways and contribute to make our poetry scene a rather unique one - a stage upon which background you can set a multiplicity of plays with different themes.

What influences your creativity? When and how did you get to be a poet?

I will answer the second part of your question first. Honestly, I don't know and can't say when and how exactly I got to be a poet. Maybe the talent is inborn; because it's always been there as far back as I can remember.
Though I didn't delve into public poetry practice or competitions (apart from representing my school and winning the Maryam Babangida Children’s Poetry Prize at thirteen), until after I had turned forty; I can remember vividly that at a time, when I was only seven years, I was made to present a flower bouquet to an August visitor, an Education Commissioner in my state. I was also required to say a few words of appeal to her on behalf of my fellow pupils.

Perhaps because I already knew the VIP lady and what her mission was; or because my teachers wanted to bring true their prophecies that I was going to be great - after seeing writings and drawings in my child’s scrapbook – I was selected over others to make the presentation. The teachers guided me in the poetic lines development; and my delivery on the ‘D’ day was so applauded that I gained right away, the self confidence and contacts that took me into children's television participation.

Besides, and before that presentation however, mother had always made me read from a variety of children's books and the bible at home. Her counsel was that regular reading and memorizing would help to sharpen my mind. So I can say now without fear of contradiction, that my mind was already poetic before I realized it and before any member of the public got to know about it.

Now, to the first part of your question. My creativity is mainly influenced by my environment, personal experiences, and demands of the moment. My poetry is for now, informed by a social activism mindset that stems mainly from private and social happenstances from my past and country.

As a young child, I seemed to have everything I needed, yet I refused to be happy, becoming rebellious in many ways. This was, as I now see, because of my parents' violent marital separation and my consequent vulnerability growing up with my mother. I abhorred the social circles she tried to create for me, just because their families were complete and they were always happy. Instead, I made friends at school and around the house, with some less privileged children who always seemed in need of help to be happy. Baffled by the segregations in life, I would oftentimes keep to myself, building notes and drawings that showed my displeasure. My poetry chapbooks "The Broken Home" and "Echoes of The Mind" (both by Adfinity Media 2015) are collected adaptations of those child and early adulthood notes of memories.

Tell us about your work as an actor in Nigeria. Act out a scene to us in word form

I can say that my acting career is fast gathering momentum. I may not be up there at the moment, but I'm working relentlessly to get to the very pinnacle of the industry.

Just like my writing (poetry) career, apart from a stint on national television as a child in primary school, and a couple of on-stage roles in my secondary school drama group in 1990, I didn't go into mainstream acting until 2014 when I struck my debut in Nollywood.

Since that debut in "King Akubueze" by SamGold Production (where I played challenging voicing and acting roles), I have featured in as many as fifty flicks which have done well both in the open market and on international cable television. However, the two Nollywood movies that first put me in the spotlight are "Beyond Beauty" (an action love hit by AndyBest Production) and the "Secret Palace Mission" (a royal action thriller by RichRock Production).

Act out a scene in word form? I don't know how easy that is going to be, but I will try. Here it goes:

My phone is ringing in an office. I am sitting and working at the desk. I glance about and take the still ringing device from under a sheaf of papers. I look at the screen, smile as I recognize the caller and put the handset to my ear “Hello Tendy” I say. I listen for some time still holding the phone to my ear. Impulsively, I stand, pace the space and then say “Yes sir, I understand. I can ...” Obviously interrupted, I pause again to listen, raise my head in thoughtfulness, and then nod vigorously. Next I say “It's okay. I agree sir. Just send me the e-mail first, and I will take it from there. I'm sure we can still beat the deadline, sir”. I listen momentarily again, inaudibly mutter something before putting the phone hand down. I stand quietly for some seconds clutching the phone hard and appearing to be deep in thought. Suddenly, I jolt, and begin to dance in excitement to no melody. After a moment, I stop abruptly and heave a sigh of relief before pumping a fist in the air. I smile wryly and exclaim “Yes! We made it! Let me get straight to work” before walking back to my desk.

Tell us something embarrassing that happened to you, or anything secretive that you have kept to yourself?

First, let me say that my life is like an open book, free for anyone to search or read. So there is nothing I will regard as a secret about me. If however there was something secretive at all that I have managed to keep to myself, you wouldn’t expect me to air it here; no one would. Indeed if I do, it would no longer then be a secret, will it?

But there is this embarrassing incident that did happen to me a couple of years ago and I don’t mind sharing it with you. It so happened that after an international writing project, our editor forwarded a review by my co-contributor in the project to be inserted in the Nigerian media. I was away on location shooting a film. Unfortunately, the detailed review that was sent to me was unsigned and without an author’s mark. Based on the exigency of the intended publication, I had instructed my new secretary before leaving for the rural film camp to promptly access my e-mail and to forward the said review to some pre-arranged media contacts. When she did not see a name on the material, and was unable to reach me on the film set, she inserted my name as author and forwarded same to the media contacts. When the publication went live, the error was discovered to my embarrassment. It took me time to explain myself and convince several persons that it was mistake. Though I finally got corrigendum in the media involved, I can hardly forget the incident.

What other arts are you involved in?

They would still be many if you take away poetry and acting. I draw, I paint, I sing. I am a graphic artist, a stylist and fashion designer. I read and write widely; I am into voicing, compering, photography, modeling, printmaking, interior decorations, confectionery and culinary arts. Currently, I am pursuing a short course in graphic animation, and have only just recently, released a series of innovative children’s books authored and illustrated by me.

Tells us about your other poems in BNAP

I have had my poems in the Best New African Poets Anthology from 2015 till date. I pray that I again merit an opportunity to be included in their next edition.

In 2015, I had three of my poems in the anthology. They include “A People’s Culture”, “My Ekpe Dance”, and “Once Upon A Christmas Day”. They each talk about a child’s experiences in the village for the first time during a festive period. The poems reveal a lot about the scenery, cultures and social interactions among the people of a traditional Igbo society during the annual mass return season.

In 2016, apart from my contribution to the group poem  "Peaceful conflict in the land of Utopia", my main poem “Never Forget” made it into the anthology. The poem is a flashback to the carefree lifestyle of a hard-working, successful fun-loving bachelor, and the attendant regrets in mature life for a past foolishness.

I never thought of it as my best work ever, but that same poem “Never Forget” which I had submitted to the anthology was also simultaneously sent to a call by the Howard Harrington Foundation. This past August of 2017, the poem won me £1000 and the toga of ‘Emerging African Poet’ in a private art and poetry patrons' gathering organized by the foundation at Durban, South Africa.

I guess I owe the anthology editors and publishers a great deal of gratitude for publishing the work first.
     
What do you think can be done to improve BNAP anthology, in the future editions; marketing, editorial etc.

All I can note on this for now is the need for the anthology editors to develop an internationally acceptable standard screening process for all future entries/contributions to ensure that new editions are of improved quality and value across borders. I am also of the opinion that since the anthology sells commercially, for profit, a form of royalty should be paid to BNAP contributors in the future (even if it's just free copies) to appreciate their pains while the anthology continues to grow.

Thank you.

An interview with South African based Indian Poet Amitabh Mitra

Tell us about yourself

I am a Trauma Surgeon at Cecilia Makiwane Heritage Hospital in the township of Mdantsane, East London, South Africa

Tell us about the poetry scene in your country, as a fellow poet.

Well, I balance myself between two countries India and South Africa. During the seventies while still at Delhi, Protest Poetry was synonymous to South African poetry. I believe we may divide South African poetry into pre and post 1994.  Prominent among them would be Tatamkulu Africa, Shabbir Banoobhai, Denis Brutus, Ingrid de Kok and many others. The post 1994 poets who signed their words in revolution against the present regime would be Rustum Kozain, Lindiwe Mabuza, Kobus Moolman and others. Politics and Poetry, they go together and fusing them in culture is sheer silk, erratically torn at many a time.

What influences your creativity? When and how did you get to be a poet?

I believe, I am a love poet because most of the time I am madly in love with some or other person, strangerlove at strangertimes. I have seen the worst of trauma and taken up arms in civil wars and complex humanitarian emergencies in Niger, Congo and Rwanda, Treating and facing trauma is my profession and continues to be a mercenary for hire for such African countries. Love Poetry for me is a catharsis because I have nobody to reveal what I have seen and what I have done. I worked with General Nkunda in Masisi. He wrote poetry too. His whereabouts now are not known.

Tell us about your work as a publisher in South Africa

Poets Printery is small time publishing house dedicated to publishing exclusively poetry and art in a non profit basis. We have been publishing poetry since 2002.

Tell us something embarrassing that happened to you, or anything secretive that you have kept to yourself?
The Interpol had put a red corner notice which was removed after proper explaination

What other arts are you involved in

Visual Arts – Acrylic on Canvas, Charcoal on Paper, Poetry Art and Poetry Film

Tells us about your other poems in BNAP

I think I have this habit of repeating myself, like my father. He wished I could go to UK and do my Fellowship in Orthopaedic Surgery. Instead I repeated myself inadvertently so many times in so many distances. This could never have been you obviously. I took to the lonely streets in shadows of many evenings in lives we lived and tried forgetting. In inanimate proportions, living was never reaching and I believe you too never reached.
It has been a long time since then. I would love to know, did you ever think of repeating time, remembrances in many other dewdustdawns. And as I pass many such indigo
blue days, I seem to believe in repeating again. Each stranger sun tends to replicate itself and each of our lives still stays together. You are not there because you believed
in belief and I who never believed in anything other than you, still look down at many
shades of new evenings where the answer seems to be a stretch to many more lives. I do sometimes slip into a life that you are used to living when I treat an assault trauma in
an African country but then old lives don’t leave me so easily.