If Poetry were a woman, I will dispose of all my assets to get her as my wife – Adamu Iliyasu
The
last of our series of interviews with winners of the Poetic Wednesdays (PW)
second anniversary poetry competition features Adamu Iliyasu, 26 years old poet
and Accountant. Interview by Salim Yunusa
How
can you say your profession has shaped your poetry?
I am someone that since my secondary school days, liked
anything that has to do with calculations. I've then loved mathematics as a
subject and paid little attention to English Language and I think that's how I found myself in Accounting as a profession. So, I dont think my
profession has performed any role in my poetry journey. But the passion
motivated and drove me well.
Poetic
Wednesday recently celebrated its second Anniversary. Can you tell us what
impact being a member of the Poetry movement has made in your literary journey?
First let me start by saying congratulations to all Poetic Wednesdays
Crew on this second year anniversary and I pray that PW will continue to grow to
the highest level. What Poetic Wednesdays has done in just two years of
creation is indeed just wonderful and worth recommending. For that, it deserves
to celebrate and to be celebrated. For me, Poetic Wednesdays is the only online
literary forum from northern Nigeria I've seen where words of wisdom and
talents are exchange like a bullet in a battle field. I must also say that I
have benefitted more than any other member in this forum because my world of
poetry only came to existence from this unique forum. I met and started
following its amiable founder Salim Yunusa in the early year 2016. He was all
the time pestering me with Poems and I was like "what is this guy
writing?” As time passed by, I started enjoying the said "pestering
lines" and swiftly developed passion for it. I kept on following PW but i
never wrote until last year (June 2017) when I joined properly and started
making sporadic submission.
What can you say about online Literary Movements
and the impacts they are making?
They are indeed doing a very great job, they've over the years produced thousands of
poets; uniting people together from across the world aimed at promoting
creativity from all walks of life. For
example in the past, for one to be a poet, one must go school to study it as a
course with the support of heavy textbooks materials but now the reverse is the
case where you need only a phone to read, a mentor to lean on and you're good
to go.
You
are a winner of the recently concluded PW 2nd anniversary poetry competition
co-sponsored by The Arts-Muse Fair. How
do you describe that moment you learned of your winning?
That day, I was actually on my way home when I received a
phone call from my sister-Maryam Idris
Bappa; an exceptional poetess and of course, the winner of this contest too
where she kindly told me to log into to my Facebook account that there was a juicy
news which I did straightaway. First when I saw it that I'm among the winners I
couldn’t believe it and I had to read over and over again to make sure it wasn't
an error. Seeing my name on the list was
a shocker because I only wrote the poem to celebrate with Poetic Wednesdays and
it's crew and nothing else. I am happy to be a winner and I felt so honored.
Winning this means a lot to me and I hope it will motivate and encourage me to
write more, to improve and move further.
What
purpose does poetry serve for you and what's your idea of an ideal poem?
If Poetry were a woman, I will dispose of all my assets to
get her as a wife. My loved for poetry is just beyond imagination. Poetry does
not just serve me as a medium to express my mind but also forces me to smile
even in the mood of anger. For an ideal poem I will without deter cast my vote
for one with simplicity and good meaning not big grammar and of course, not
hard words.
Can
you take use through a social issue you're very passionate about and what you
think can be done about it?
I was born and brought up in the Northern part of Nigeria
where Almajiranci has become an issue. I always feel so depressed whenever I see
those little children roaming the street in the name of begging for alms.
Almajiranci is not the only way of seeking Islamic knowledge and in fact, not
the proper way. I've never, in my life, attended any Almajiri school but at least
I can read the Qur’an perfectly even better than some that claimed had
enlisted. Almajiranci has done more harm than good to our society. It should
therefore be ban henceforth. And government should set up a disciplinary
committee to castigate any parent that failed to conform.
What
advice do you have for budding writers?
This question reminds me of when I got admitted into part
one in the university, our Financial Accounting Lecturer - Dr. Uche - said "for
you to understand accounting better is to practice, practice, practice and
practice". So, the same logic may apply for poetry and it will be read,
read, read and then write. To my budding writers please kindly pick up your
books and your golden pens today, read more and more and then write as much as
you can on anything good that comes into your mind. And one thing about poetry
is that the more you write, the more you improve and vice versa. Also to be a good writer you need a good
mentor beside you.
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