Literature

The reader?s heart is the most important award to win ? Abubakar Ibrahim

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim discovered quite early that he would be a story teller while growing up in Jos, where he was born, even before he learnt to read and write. A graduate of Mass Communications from the University of Jos and the current Arts Editor of Sunday Trust newspaper, Abubakar occasionally writes plays and poetry, though he is more inclined to prose writing. His collection of short stories, The Whispering Trees, was published by Parresia Publishers, Lagos, in 2012 and has been warmly received by critics and literary enthusiasts. He won the BBC African Performance Prize in 2007, the Amatu Braide Prize for Prose the following year and the 2012 International Short Story Chain Gang Challenge as part of the Sextet Pen Gang. In this interview with SUMAILA UMAISHA, he speaks about his writings, particularly The

Whispering Trees.

QUESTION: Let?s begin with your brief biography.

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim: I was born in Jos some thirty-something years ago and had my schooling there up to the university level where I got a degree in Mass communications from the University of Jos. I cut my journalism teeth with Vanguard newspaper in Jos before moving to Daily Trust in Abuja, where I have been the Arts editor since 2009.

Your writing career; when and how did it all start?

I suppose I started with telling stories even before I could write. As a kid growing up in Jos, I would draw series of pictures in my notebooks that told stories, and when I learnt to read and write I started adding dialogues to the drawings in the fashion of comic books. That was right from when I was in primary school. Eventually, I started writing more and drawing less. Now I just write.

Specifically, what prompted you into writing?

The inspiration has always been there I guess. It is sort of intrinsic. It was something I just grew up doing; it seemed the only natural thing for me to do. But I think the decisive moment came for me when I graduated from secondary school and we were listening to the BBC, my brother and I, and they announced this call for entry for their radio drama contest. My brother thought I should enter, and he got angry when I said I didn?t want to. Eventually I wrote a radio play and sent it. It didn?t win, of course, but I found some incredible sense of fulfilment and purpose in writing that and I realised right then that I wanted to do it all my life; I wanted to be a writer and since then, I have just kept going.

Your recent publication, The Whispering Trees, which is a collection of short stories, has been praised by many critics as a unique literary work. Where did the inspiration to write such a masterpiece come from?

I don?t know if it is unique and I can?t say there was an inspiration for it because there were series of things that led to it. I didn?t quite set out to bring out a collection of short stories. I wrote the stories in the collection over a period of a decade and I suppose I wrote the kind of stories I would like to read, stories with a punch. I have read short stories that have left me frustrated and disappointed by the way they end, by the weakness in the plot, left me wondering what in heaven?s name the author is trying to put across. So I wrote the kind of short stories I would like to read. I wrote some for the reading group we had in Jos and I wrote some just for the fun of it. And after about a decade, one of my friends said, look, you have more than enough for a collection, why not put them together? I was reluctant at first and then I gave in and was lucky to find publishers who believed in it and said we really want to publish this, and they went about it passionately.

Why the title, The Whispering Trees?

Well, I think I have this emotional connection to the title story. I wrote that story in my second year in the university for a creative writing class. I titled it ?Redyscovery? with a ?y? in the middle, just trying to be stylish. I submitted it and forgot about it. Years later, a course mate of mine called me and asked about that short story I wrote while in school. He said he couldn?t get it out of his mind after all those years and I should ?do something about it?. So I dug up the manuscript, retyped it and changed the title to The Whispering Trees and sent it off to a webzine. They published it and it was very well received. The story is laced with some home truths that changed my outlook on life and when I was looking for a title for the collection, it was definitely a favourite because of the emotional connection and the fact that it stood out. I think there is something mysterious, almost esoteric about it.

The finesse of your language bears striking resemblance to Peter Duluth?s style of writing in his Puzzle for Fools, while your subject-matters remind one of Ben Okri?s works. Is this just a coincidence?

[Laughs] Thank you for thinking that there is finesse to my language and for putting me in such exalted company. I am actually just hearing the name of Peter Duluth for the first time. I haven?t read any of his books yet.

Ben Okri, however, is an inspiration. The Famished Road is one of my all time favourites. I remember stumbling on the book in the library and reading it was like a rebirth for me. It was my first encounter with magical realism and I was astounded that people could actually write like that and even win the Booker for it. That opened me up to the endless possibilities of literature. But along the way, I have evolved my own philosophy of writing. I like stories told with a flourish, with panache, I like sound plots and vivid characters. But essentially, for me, it is paramount to write to communicate rather than to impress and confound the readers. I am easily put off by intellectualism and showboating in literature, I wonder why some people want novels to read like thesis or research papers so I try to write the kind of stories I would like to read and hope a lot of people from whatever background can access, relate with and enjoy.

Unlike Okri?s magical realism whose settings are mainly abstract, yours has ?Nigerian? settings. Why?

Are his settings abstract? I have never thought of them that way. Then again I won?t call myself an expert on Ben Okri?s writings. I want to keep my writing as real as possible even where the fantastic comes in. I want settings that readers could relate with because I don?t want to create a disconnect with reality. It is very important not to do that. At all point in time, I think the reader must be able to see himself in a story. I think Okri?s Famished Road was wonderful, but I feel that he went too far with the sequels and I could no longer relate and have given up. I don?t want that to happen with my writing so I am keeping it real.

Why do you prefer magical realism to other genres?

I am not sure there is a preference. In The Whispering Trees I think there is an attempt to balance magical realism with other genres; it is definitely not the dominant genre in the collection. Most of the stories in the collection, I think, have very strong elements of realism. There are people who simply can?t relate to magical realism and such people have found the other stories in the collection preferable. There are those who favour magical realism and have felt excited by the stories in the collection. If at all there is a preference, as you say, then perhaps it is because of my fascination with the endless possibilities of literature and the fact that Africans are deeply spiritual and superstitious; they read meanings into everything in nature, most times in the most fantastic ways. And to some of these people, magical realism is actually realism because that is the way they see things; for them the line between the spirit realm and the logical is blurred by beliefs and myths and some rather strange occurrences.

What does it take to write magical realism?

A dramatic sense of imagination, I think, and the ability to be convincing, even about the most absurd of things. If you write about two headed spirits, as Okri does, you should be able to make the readers actually see them. One of the greatest proponents of magical realism, and one of my favourite writers, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian Nobel Laureate, said he learnt from his grandmother who told stories of the esoteric with absolute belief that the listener had no choice but to believe them as real. So instead of saying there are elephants flying, say there are four hundred elephants flying. That detail makes it more convincing and believable. I don?t think I have ventured that far yet, but essentially, to write magical realism, you must first convince yourself, you must actually see what you are writing in your imagination, as wild and as fantastic as it may seem, and find the right tone to put it across such that your readers find it convincing. And this goes without saying that you must have a good handling of craft and language. That is very important.

Two renowned Nigerian writers, Odia Ofeimun and Helon Habila are unanimous on the fact that you are ?a writer to look out for?? Do you see yourself as such?

[Sighs] I think there are many talented writers out there worth looking out for. This country is blessed with so much talent. It is heart-warming that such prominent writers have such high praise for my work. I have the utmost regards for them and their works and having them say such thing is overwhelming. However, I see myself as still evolving as a writer, I am still looking for ways to improve my craft and every day I learn new things.

Having won the BBC African Performance Prize, what literary prize are you hoping to win next?

Well, I don?t go about setting targets of awards for myself, I don?t feel that it is necessary to judge one?s success as a writer by the number of award one wins. I think the most important award any writer could win, and that is my first priority now, is to win the hearts of his readers. There is a sense of satisfaction in writing and having people in distant places from different background touched by your writing. It beats any award you could win. But then if any award comes along, all the better.

This collection is your second publication; tell us about your first publication, in terms of publishing experience, themes and sales.

I published my first novel, The Quest for Nina, with a small publishing outfit in the US. It was exhilarating the first time I held the book in my hand, the joy of having birthed this book. But like I said, it was a rather small publishing outfit and they had issues with book promotion and distribution. I was particularly disappointed that the book has not been made available in Nigeria.

But the process of publishing The Whispering Trees has been totally different. Parresia Publishers are new, I happened to be their first author, and I was convinced to sign up with them because I appreciate their vision and passion for books. They haven?t disappointed as you can see from the quality of the book production. They are growing and I am happy we are doing this together, I am really happy to have pitched my tent with them. The sales have been good and I hope it gets better. The distribution has been great. The book is available in bookshops in places like Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Lagos, Ibadan, Ilorin and others. It will be in bookstores in Benin, Port Harcout and the South-East in a short while. So I think it has been good and can only get better.

From your experience in the publication of the two books, what?s your advice to young writers like you?

Patience is a virtue all writers must have. There is always this urge as an emerging writer to see your name on a book cover but it really doesn?t pay to rush to press and bring out a book that in the next couple of years you will be ashamed to call your book. It has happened with many writers. You write a manuscript and you think it is the best thing ever, and then as you grow as a writer, in a couple of years you will think it is absolute rubbish, or at least, you could have done it better. So writers must be patient, they must be open to constructive criticism, they must subject their works to competent scrutiny and they must be open-minded and willing to learn every day. Essentially, I think you have to be your own worst critic. I had the courage to decide to bury a manuscript that several people thought was wonderful. That would have been my second book. Writers need to be strong enough to take such difficult decisions. And of course, they have to read a lot.

Would you say being a literary editor contributed to your literary success?

Am I successful already? [Laughs]. Well, I think I have always been a writer before being a literary editor. My first book was actually published before I became a literary editor. Creative writing and journalism may be similar but they are actually quite different and in some cases journalism has dented the craft of some writers while it has helped others to grow. What being an editor has done for me is to give me access to some of the amazing writers in this country and beyond, it has allowed me rub minds with them and grow, it has helped me learn how they overcame their own challenges, which as you well know, every writer has in truckloads.

What next should your readers expect from you?

I am working on what I hope will be a novel someday. So if I decide to go ahead and publish it, if my publishers like it, then most likely, I will have another novel out. I am not rushing it though but I have a good feeling about it.

(c) Interview by SUMAILA UMAISHA.

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