Literature
Malam Denja Abdullahi, Deputy Director, Performing Arts, National Council for Arts and Culture, Abuja, and former General Secretary of Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, speaks to Sumaila Umaisha on the launching of his two poetry works.
Tell us about yourself.
Denja Abdullahi: I was born around the confluence of the Niger and the Benue in the late 60s. I am basically a poet, literary essayist and culture technocrat. I have been writing poetry for over 25 years since my days as a student of English and literature at the University of Jos, Nigeria .I also hold a Masters degree in Literature-in ?English from the University of Ilorin and I am presently researching for a third degree in the same field. I have taught English and Literature for five years at Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Birnin-Kebbi, where I left as a Senior Lecturer in 1998 for my present appointment at the National Council for Arts and Culture Abuja, where I am now a Deputy Director, Performing Arts.
My poems and other literary pieces have appeared in several anthologies, newspapers, journals and magazines. My first published poetic volume Mairogo: A Buffoon?s Poetic Journey Around Northern Nigeria (2001) received honourable mention for the prestigious ANA/CADBURY 2001 Poetry Prize. I have two other published poetry volumes, The Talking Drum and Abuja Nunyi, both published in 2008 and which were popularly received by the reading public as examples of poetry with purpose and mass appeal.
I have a passion for arts administration and have held several Executive Council positions in the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). I was the National General Secretary from 2005-2009.Iam also a playwright and theatre director.
How would you describe the Nigerian literary scene?
The Nigerian literary scene is as vibrant and diverse as Nigeria which means you can find all sorts of writings coming out of Nigeria done by people across all ages. You do not find such in any other place in Africa and maybe even in the world. I can say that Nigerian literature has seen it all and we should expect more vibrancy from Nigerian writers at home and abroad.
You recently published two poetry books, The Talking Drum and A Thousand Years of Thirst; what are they all about? The Talking Drum is a collection of poems written to fit the pedagogical imperative of indoctrinating, if I am allowed to put it that way, features of our cultural heritage into our children and youths. I wrote the book to fill a void I noticed in the kind of upbringing and education we give our children. I work in the culture sector and like all other persons, I noticed that we do not consciously impart our history, culture or heritage into our children, neither did our parents did so with us. I decided to do something about it by writing a book that will beautifully introduce our culture to our children by focusing on the spectacular and thoughtful aspects of our culture and presented in living colours to the children.
The second book A Thousand years of Thirst should actually have been my first published work because it contains most of the poems I wrote as a very young poet, as an undergraduate and as a young graduate coming to grasp with life. The collection was ready to go to press since 1999 as I actually submitted it to a publisher then who confirmed it worthy of publication. The manuscript later met with a lot of accidents and constraints; I lost it about two times and it suffered other forms of delay. I later had the chance to review it after salvaging many of the lost poems from scraps here and there and from memory, added many new pieces and there you have it today under a new title. The work itself signposts my journey through life as a poet and if you read it you will be able to decipher my poetic footprints and ingrained concern as a poet in terms of content and style.
Why writing on such themes at this point in time?
Poetry is eternal and boundless. The themes of both work in question will remain relevant as long as you have a country called Nigeria or beings called human.
How are they faring, in terms of criticism and sales?
The Talking Drum was actually released in 2008,it sold well among school children and teachers but it suffered from being overshadowed by another work of mine, Abuja Nunyi (This is Abuja) which I released about the same time. Abuja Nunyi took all the available critical and media space leaving TheTalking Drum sulking in a corner like a forgotten beard. Iam therefore bringing the book back to reckoning by formally presenting it to the public. With regards to A Thousand Years of Thirst, it is brand new, not yet in circulation but a few of the poems contained in it have appeared in some other previously published anthologies. The collection as whole, with many new poems of mine that have been published before, with all the poems intricately linked with a common motif, is sure to delight the readers and I hope the critics too, who should by now be familiar with Denja Abdullahi?s poetry.
You are planning to launch them; tell us about it.
The launching is billed to take place on the 15th of September,2011 at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Maitama, Abuja, to commence at 10:30am.It is going to a tight event with lots of entertainment, performances and renditions, all packaged with the eyes of a poet and informed by my experiences over the years on literary events organization.
Why do you deem it necessary to launch them?
My other two earlier works were not formally launched and they did quite well with readers and critics alike and they have endured since then. I am launching this set of works to further promote my writings and to mark a milestone in my life. My wish was to have launched these works at my 40th birthday which was celebrated about two years ago but it was not to be. So let?s say what should have taken place then is about to take place soon. I particularly do not see launching as a mere platform of raising money for the author but if money is raised, the author could do a lot with that and in fact people should really rally round any author who has a worthwhile book to launch. I have in the past helped many authors to launch their works, practically organizing such occasions as a consultant and helping them to navigate and bridge the gap between the expectation and reality of a launching.
What are your expectations from the launch?
I expect my numerous friends, admirers, colleagues at work and in the writing family and all those who my works have touched in the past and now to come share the joy of the day with me. I expect a successful launch in the real sense of it.
Are we expecting more poetry works from you soon or you will try your hands on other genres?
I said in an interview published in another newspaper which was published online that with this my latest poetry collection, A Thousand Years of Thirst, I would have paid my debt to poetry. Niyi Osundare, a prolific and very iconic poet of the alternative tradition, who I wrote my first degree thesis on way back at the University of Jos and who has been a literary mentor of sort, read the interview and wrote me a private email where he said to me, ?How dare you!? Niyi Osundare with those words was saying I can never finish paying the debt I owe poetry and that poetry will always find a way of holding me hostage. I agree, I cannot run away from being a poet but before the next poetry collection, I am planning to write my next work, a play, on a pre-colonial historical figure with a lot of drama to his life and whose eventual fate resonates on issues that affect our citizenry today. The research work for the play is long completed and I will be delighted if it comes out as my next work. I have already a few unpublished plays that have been performed here and there which I will subsequently fine tune for further performances and possible publication. I may try my hands on short stories and possibly a full length novel in the future. The possibility of going back to my roots, poetry, so to say, is very likely; but know that I am always one who likes writing a different kind of poetry. There are too many poets around or many masquerading as poets that for a poet to stand out today as a true poet, you must set yourself apart in terms of craft and great subject matter.
(c) Interviewed by Sumaila Umaisha.
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Literature
I?m launching my books to mark a milestone in my life ? Denja
Malam Denja Abdullahi, Deputy Director, Performing Arts, National Council for Arts and Culture, Abuja, and former General Secretary of Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, speaks to Sumaila Umaisha on the launching of his two poetry works.
Tell us about yourself.
Denja Abdullahi: I was born around the confluence of the Niger and the Benue in the late 60s. I am basically a poet, literary essayist and culture technocrat. I have been writing poetry for over 25 years since my days as a student of English and literature at the University of Jos, Nigeria .I also hold a Masters degree in Literature-in ?English from the University of Ilorin and I am presently researching for a third degree in the same field. I have taught English and Literature for five years at Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Birnin-Kebbi, where I left as a Senior Lecturer in 1998 for my present appointment at the National Council for Arts and Culture Abuja, where I am now a Deputy Director, Performing Arts.
My poems and other literary pieces have appeared in several anthologies, newspapers, journals and magazines. My first published poetic volume Mairogo: A Buffoon?s Poetic Journey Around Northern Nigeria (2001) received honourable mention for the prestigious ANA/CADBURY 2001 Poetry Prize. I have two other published poetry volumes, The Talking Drum and Abuja Nunyi, both published in 2008 and which were popularly received by the reading public as examples of poetry with purpose and mass appeal.
I have a passion for arts administration and have held several Executive Council positions in the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). I was the National General Secretary from 2005-2009.Iam also a playwright and theatre director.
How would you describe the Nigerian literary scene?
The Nigerian literary scene is as vibrant and diverse as Nigeria which means you can find all sorts of writings coming out of Nigeria done by people across all ages. You do not find such in any other place in Africa and maybe even in the world. I can say that Nigerian literature has seen it all and we should expect more vibrancy from Nigerian writers at home and abroad.
You recently published two poetry books, The Talking Drum and A Thousand Years of Thirst; what are they all about? The Talking Drum is a collection of poems written to fit the pedagogical imperative of indoctrinating, if I am allowed to put it that way, features of our cultural heritage into our children and youths. I wrote the book to fill a void I noticed in the kind of upbringing and education we give our children. I work in the culture sector and like all other persons, I noticed that we do not consciously impart our history, culture or heritage into our children, neither did our parents did so with us. I decided to do something about it by writing a book that will beautifully introduce our culture to our children by focusing on the spectacular and thoughtful aspects of our culture and presented in living colours to the children.
The second book A Thousand years of Thirst should actually have been my first published work because it contains most of the poems I wrote as a very young poet, as an undergraduate and as a young graduate coming to grasp with life. The collection was ready to go to press since 1999 as I actually submitted it to a publisher then who confirmed it worthy of publication. The manuscript later met with a lot of accidents and constraints; I lost it about two times and it suffered other forms of delay. I later had the chance to review it after salvaging many of the lost poems from scraps here and there and from memory, added many new pieces and there you have it today under a new title. The work itself signposts my journey through life as a poet and if you read it you will be able to decipher my poetic footprints and ingrained concern as a poet in terms of content and style.
Why writing on such themes at this point in time?
Poetry is eternal and boundless. The themes of both work in question will remain relevant as long as you have a country called Nigeria or beings called human.
How are they faring, in terms of criticism and sales?
The Talking Drum was actually released in 2008,it sold well among school children and teachers but it suffered from being overshadowed by another work of mine, Abuja Nunyi (This is Abuja) which I released about the same time. Abuja Nunyi took all the available critical and media space leaving TheTalking Drum sulking in a corner like a forgotten beard. Iam therefore bringing the book back to reckoning by formally presenting it to the public. With regards to A Thousand Years of Thirst, it is brand new, not yet in circulation but a few of the poems contained in it have appeared in some other previously published anthologies. The collection as whole, with many new poems of mine that have been published before, with all the poems intricately linked with a common motif, is sure to delight the readers and I hope the critics too, who should by now be familiar with Denja Abdullahi?s poetry.
You are planning to launch them; tell us about it.
The launching is billed to take place on the 15th of September,2011 at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Maitama, Abuja, to commence at 10:30am.It is going to a tight event with lots of entertainment, performances and renditions, all packaged with the eyes of a poet and informed by my experiences over the years on literary events organization.
Why do you deem it necessary to launch them?
My other two earlier works were not formally launched and they did quite well with readers and critics alike and they have endured since then. I am launching this set of works to further promote my writings and to mark a milestone in my life. My wish was to have launched these works at my 40th birthday which was celebrated about two years ago but it was not to be. So let?s say what should have taken place then is about to take place soon. I particularly do not see launching as a mere platform of raising money for the author but if money is raised, the author could do a lot with that and in fact people should really rally round any author who has a worthwhile book to launch. I have in the past helped many authors to launch their works, practically organizing such occasions as a consultant and helping them to navigate and bridge the gap between the expectation and reality of a launching.
What are your expectations from the launch?
I expect my numerous friends, admirers, colleagues at work and in the writing family and all those who my works have touched in the past and now to come share the joy of the day with me. I expect a successful launch in the real sense of it.
Are we expecting more poetry works from you soon or you will try your hands on other genres?
I said in an interview published in another newspaper which was published online that with this my latest poetry collection, A Thousand Years of Thirst, I would have paid my debt to poetry. Niyi Osundare, a prolific and very iconic poet of the alternative tradition, who I wrote my first degree thesis on way back at the University of Jos and who has been a literary mentor of sort, read the interview and wrote me a private email where he said to me, ?How dare you!? Niyi Osundare with those words was saying I can never finish paying the debt I owe poetry and that poetry will always find a way of holding me hostage. I agree, I cannot run away from being a poet but before the next poetry collection, I am planning to write my next work, a play, on a pre-colonial historical figure with a lot of drama to his life and whose eventual fate resonates on issues that affect our citizenry today. The research work for the play is long completed and I will be delighted if it comes out as my next work. I have already a few unpublished plays that have been performed here and there which I will subsequently fine tune for further performances and possible publication. I may try my hands on short stories and possibly a full length novel in the future. The possibility of going back to my roots, poetry, so to say, is very likely; but know that I am always one who likes writing a different kind of poetry. There are too many poets around or many masquerading as poets that for a poet to stand out today as a true poet, you must set yourself apart in terms of craft and great subject matter.
(c) Interviewed by Sumaila Umaisha.
- Rhythms Of Life And Death
SUMAILA UMAISHA?s review of IFY OMALICHA?s collection of poems, Now that dreams are Born, published by Kraftgriots, 2011, p.141. The Nigerian literary scene is fast becoming famous for churning out promising writers. Ify Omalicha, a master?s degree holder...
- Poetry: Sentinel Nigeria Spreads The Gospel
The 3rd of July, 2010 was a special day for the members of the Kaduna State chapter of Association of Nigerian Authors and writers resident in Kaduna, as Unoma Azuah, Professor of Creative Writing at Lane College, USA, lectured them on some vital techniques...
- Developing Indegenous Language (interview)
Moses Tsenongo, a graduate of the University of Jos, currently lecturing in the Department of English, Benue State University, is a multi-talented writer; a short story writer, a poet and translator. His numerous works, including five poetry collections...
- Literature Is More Than Just Entertainment
SAKA ALIYU, an Assistant Lecturer with Bayero University Kano, BUK, holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto, (1998) and a Master of Arts in History from the University of Ilorin (2006). After working variously as...
- Eugenia Blazes The Trail In Book Promotion (report)
Eugenia Abu of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, has held a public reading of her book, In the Blink of an Eye, on 24th June, 2008, at Protea Hotel, Maitama, Abuja ? the 26th public reading since the book was published last year. Hosted by Abike...