Book O’clock Chats with 2021 TVO Poet Laureate — UDO
UDO is a voice… UDO is a way…. UDO is you.
UDO is a Nigerian pseudonymous Artist and writer. He was born and raised at Umualikpa Village II in Isiala Mbano, Imo State with 5 sisters and 1 brother. He has lived in various parts of the world, and now resides at Bangalore, India, practicing peace, passion and football as a lifestyle. UDO taught himself to be a storyteller and has recently begun writing the stories of his upbringing and childhood, in an effort to recount his experiences of life; bringing Nigerian and his African culture into the forefront of his work. UDO is a believer of how the art is more important than the artist, for which reasons his real name and identity remain unconfirmed and subject to speculation. UDO in Igbo means Peace.
He is the 2021 TVO Poet Laureate and as part of our continued media partnership with TVO, our interviewer, Ayobami Kayode had a chat with him about his winning entry and his writing in general..
Kayode: It’s an absolute pleasure to have you on the Book O’clock Review interview session. A big congratulations to you on your recent win. Can you briefly tell us how it feels to be a winner, for your work to claim the TVO Poet Laureate prize?
UDO: TVO Tribe’s Poet Laureate Award is a bigger win than I could have ever imagined. The Tribe ignited a subdued passion for these words flowing out of me… and not just any words… words in the likeness of how the elders of our tribes hold a conversation. Ukabuilulu: The parables that hold so much meaning and depth to draw life lessons from in the world we live in today… They’ve awarded us all a platform to reminisce about the Africa that we hold so dearly in our hearts, and I am very grateful for this sumptuous theme that has opened up a portal of memories… a portal of all the untold stories I was told. I am very grateful for their continuous strive to tell our stories to the world.
Kayode: Water no get enemy is the title of your winning poem. Late Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti, comes to my mind seeing it(ha ha), so what really inspired this title? Also, why did you choose it as the title of your poem?
“We are all made from water”
UDO: The analogy of water was the first thing that struck me when thinking of an Ukabuilulu for the submission. I grew up in a village nestled between two rivers with my 5 sisters and a brother. These rivers and our visits to it became the root of the parable I started to weave. We are all made from water and a memory of us going to fetch water gave strength to the parable that shaped from my mind.
The title is in fact a tribute to Fela Kuti. He’s been a childhood legend and his song of the same name remains one of my favourites to date. The song extends the analogy magnificently and it was a way to throwback to words that inspire me.
“To wash, you use water. To cook soup, you use water. If your head hurts… you use water to cool it. If you want your child to grow… you use water. If water kills your child… you use water to pay respect. Nothing without water. And you can’t fight it, unless you want to die.”
Kayode: What was the force that led you to submit this fine poem I utterly enjoyed? And how much belief did you have in it that it was going to scale through, unscathed?
UDO: I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Once it was written, it was meant to go where it had to. I honestly did not expect it to get shortlisted — but then again, I knew intuitively that it fit the theme perfectly. The rest just fell into place. The fact that the piece had come out of me so seamlessly was the win already… but TVO Tribe’s honour makes it all too real.
Read: A Review of Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia’s The Son of the House
Kayode: Can you briefly narrate the writing process? How long it took piecing it and everything else?
“The words found me”
UDO: I chanced upon TVO Tribe’s open submission quite by accident actually… and the theme just took over me. It was like a portal of memories opened up in my mind, reminding me of how the elders of my tribe would converse.
The first draft was written in just one sitting. It’s like… the words simply found me. It was after this that I noticed the word count in the submission guidelines. I then tapered it down and edited it to fit the task. It was subconscious writing if you ask me. It was a beautiful experience. :)
Kayode: Now to the poem, how would you say your poem aptly captures the theme of the contest, Ụkabụilu?
UDO: “We are all water…” — the strength, meaning and depth of this analogy took over my mind. I realised I was searching for an Ukabuilulu that I had heard as a child, and had found this thought that I could turn into a parable for the submission.
I used a memory of taking my little siblings to fetch water to express this Ukabuilulu. The poem elaborates overcoming the challenges faced as a mind, as a family, and in effect as a nation; to use something that is closer to home than I realised — peace. The name, Udo.
I am inspired to be like water — to be the very thing that has no enemy — to be non-violent, kind and encouraging to each other — to be what the Nigeria of the past taught me to be.
Kayode: Water no get enemy is a poem of six stanzas, and I love how descriptive the poem is, your imagery usage is simple yet carrying this beautiful connection, cementing it in the minds of readers, how nostalgic it is, it brings about some memories I connected with whilst reading. You write, in the fifth stanza, “brother, you can have half my meat if you carry my can of water” — I broke into a smile reading this line — could you tell me what memories made that line find a place in your poem? Was it as powerful writing it as I felt reading it?
UDO: Wow. Reading this question, I noticed I had a tear in my eye and a smile on my lips.
I grew up in a household full of children. As kids, we would negotiate with each other using our share of meat from the soups and stews that mum would cook. It was our barter to get someone else to do a chore we were meant to or to hide secrets that would get us into trouble with our parents. That line in the poem is soaked in reality.
Taking it forward into symbolism, the idea was to imply peace at a negotiation during an obstacle… sometimes you cannot negotiate water with food. Both make our strength… both make what we are made of.
Kayode: In the entire poem, you tell a story, a story of childhood and its struggles, of villages and its struggles, of water and the struggles in getting it. What’s your aim in telling this story through poetry? How important is this story to you?
UDO: It feels like it is time to tell the simplest of stories… to remind us of who we are. There is a need for a voice and for a way forward in this world that is driven by connection, collaboration, kindness and by nature. Especially now.
These words are a reminder of my inherent instincts as a human being. That’s where peace lies for me. That’s why they are important.
Kayode: Udo, I love my literature best dressed in brevity. You’ve done perfectly that with water no get enemy, and I have you to thank you for writing the brilliant poem. What line or stanza is the major highlight for you in the poem and why?
UDO: I am the oldest of 7 children. I lived my childhood 7 times, reborn as each of my siblings were born; becoming a child again as each of them grew up. Looking back, it feels like I witnessed the life of a child 7 times — by myself first and then with each of them. I was their teacher, their protector, their role model. I led by example. But my own examples were set by my mother. She is who taught me the ways of the world the first time around — with the same kindness and peace that I tried to evoke after her. Stanza 4 is a tribute to her. And for that, it is my quiet favourite.
“… just like mother did it when I was new.”
See also: The Book O’clock Chat with the TVO Tribe Poet Laureate 2020: Temitope Komolafe
Kayode: I particularly love the theme of the submission, Ụkabụilu and what it translates into, Parables. Could we talk about it? Parables play a huge role in our society today, always have and always will. So I would like to know if it has influenced you in anyway, either as a creative person or just normal life.
UDO: The style of my storytelling is perhaps derived from the way I was told stories to as a child. Whether it was through Mma nnukwu’s (my grandma’s) stories, through “Tales by Moonlight” that would air once a week on Sunday evenings back home in Nigeria, through the way the elders blessed Kola; they all spoke in parables. This style of creating deep meaning with parables has therefore become the foundation to the way that I want to speak today.
The elders are seen as wise, and the way they spoke made me believe that they communicated in the language of the gods. As a kid, I could not grasp their meanings immediately, and my grandma helped translate. Not understanding them on my own made me want to grow up really quickly so that I would be wise to follow this language of the gods on my own.
There’s a saying that has left a strong mark in the way I see the world:
Ahu akaa, na-egbu okenye. Akaa anughi, na-egbu nwata.(To see and not speak, kills an adult. To hear and not listen, kills a child)
It took me years to fully grasp the meaning of this parable. Today, I have heard and listened… and I now see. I am an adult myself. So I believe that I must speak to keep true to the life lessons I’ve derived from this ancient and untold parable of the past.
Kayode: For my final question, I would like you to offer a few words of advice to young creatives who aren’t sure of their works, so they don’t even try to send out their works to contests and other similar opportunities.
“Each one of us has stories in us”
UDO: I am a young creative myself — that’s the brutal truth. This experience with TVO Tribe was not expected at all, but here I am. And all it took off me is a click of a button to submit the words that chose me.
Each one of us has stories in us. I’ll be honest to say that when I write, I too feel that my stories aren’t strong or powerful enough to intrigue another… but there are so many people out there, and even if one of them connects to a story, like you Kayode have done to this one, the emotion is indescribable. And that is more than enough to be true to the Ukabuilulu that began this journey of thought in the first place:
Ahu akaa, na-egbu okenye. Akaa anughi, na-egbu nwata.
(To see and not speak, kills an adult. To hear and not listen, kills a child)
I’m here to add value to a tribe of people who want to tell our stories to the world. I’m here to listen more and speak little but speak strong. I didn’t know that before this experience. I now do. It feels like the start of something exciting. It feels beyond my control but is so inspiring that the words keep coming. It feels like a dream come true.
__________________________________________________________________
Interviewer's bio: Ayobami Kayode is a student interested in writing and academics. He is a Literature in English student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. He is the Interviews Lead of Book O’Clock Review and the editor in chief of The Poetry CLUB UDUS. His works have been published or forthcoming in konya shamsrumi, punocracy, àtẹ́lẹwọ́, BBPC anthology, icefloepress, fieryscribe, cult of Clio, isele, Kalahari and elsewhere. He hails from Ibadan, Oyo state.
Recommended Read: Tweetchat with Ukamaka Olisakwe
