The artist is a restless individual: A Conversation With Michael Akuchie
Uchenna Emelife
Michael Akuchie, Igbo-Esan-born poet, has had poems appear/are forthcoming in _Little Death Lit, Dovecote, Anomaly, Mineral Lit Mag, Memento: An Anthology of Contemporary Nigerian Poetry, The Mantle, Inverse Journal, Glass, The Roadrunner Review_ & elsewhere. His chapbook manuscripts, “_WRECK” & “HEMORRHAGE”_ , received honorable mentions in the longlist of _Rhythm & Bones Press & Kissing Dynamite_ respectively. An Orison Anthology nominee and 2020 Roadrunner Poetry Prize Winner, he tweets @Michael_Akuchie. He is a final year undergrad in English & Literature at the University of Benin, Nigeria. He serves as Editorial Intern(Interviews) at Nantygreens.
In this conversation, Michael Akuchie leads Uchenna Emelife into his head, where the latter learns of Michael’s creative process, writing style and many more.
Let's begin by finding out your writing history. When did you start writing?
Well, that was in mid 2015. I was an avid reader who often imagined what it would feel to put together words like the one I had grown up reading & deeply admired. I started with prose fiction. Published a few hastily arranged stories on Facebook & reveled in the deluge of praises. Something I'd eventually grow to question, to interrogate & to doubt vehemently. Later on, I would tell myself that I was not where I had envisioned myself so I retreated from Facebook & sparked an interest in poems. Poetry was never my first bet for a genre to write in but I have come to adore the way poets economize words & still say so many things. I appreciate the thrill of each of the poetics I have encountered throughout my writing cause. Took me a lot of years but I never regret my choice for poetry.
I can totally relate to the Facebook thingy. It makes you think that your art is finally there until you submit it to a mag, and get rejections. (Laughs)
So would you say you found poetry or poetry found you?
Well, poetry found me! This is coming from a guy who once held a copy of West African Verse & did not find it appealing one bit. That happened while I was in secondary school. Later on, I would develop a crush on a certain girl & the need to not write her a love letter culminated in me writing her a poem. Now the poem was not deserving of an award by my current standards but I won't forget the hue of happiness that her eyes reflected after reading. I was always a hopeless romantic. Honestly, I never imagined myself spending hours to appreciate a poem & then express my feelings at the time but now I think it was a matter of fate & I had no say in what was already pre-planned.
Wow!
I guess Plato was right when he said that with the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.
I remember my first relationship and how I used to write her what may pass as love poems whenever we arranged a meeting. She would smile as I read them and neatly fold them afterward and put in her bag. Now that I know better, those poems were trash but somehow she blushed because of forced rhymes. Ha-ha.
Well, I was no stranger to forced rhymes. Then my formula was to grab a dictionary from which I would glean words that would aid my bid to craft poems with end rhymes. Maybe part of that belief was formed by my Literature teachers in secondary school that always barked at us for not sticking to the "end-rhyme" rule. I used to think it was a rule that was enforced for everyone else & not just us. We were screwed a lot. So it was no surprise to anyone when I found myself doing the very thing they wanted. Coloring inside the very lines they themselves drew. I was young, naive & eager to be misled. I thought poetry revolved around rhymes & rhythm. O how the future must have mocked me, ha-ha.
Your poems now don’t even seldom got rhymes anymore. Mr. Peter (Metaphor for Literature teacher) must be disappointed. (Chuckles)
Moving on, do you have writing rituals? Like what you do to provoke the emotions and get them on paper or is writing an effortless task for you?
“I strive towards the establishment of clarity in what I write.”
Ha-ha, yes, they(the teachers) must definitely not be happy. Yes, a ritual. Well, I know not to do anything to provoke any emotion. I don’t rush to a highway to allow the horn of an oncoming vehicle remind me that I have a lot to live for. Well, writing isn’t a rosy picture as we often spin them to be. I have never written anything whose creative process I would term "effortless". I devote my mornings to writing & my afternoon/early evenings to the editing process. Editing is a big deal because most times the first draft of a poem is burdened by a sizeable chunk of redundancies. Words that could be done without. I do nothing to get myself to write except I’m working on a prompt but then again not all of what I draft gets retained. I strive towards the establishment of clarity in what I write.
Beautiful. I like the highway image you painted.
What can you say is the highlight of your career so far?
“The artist is a restless individual & isn’t that trait mostly responsible for how they continue with their work? The artist is not confined & I am no different.”
Winning the 2020 Roadrunner Prize for Poetry. Happened to me at a time I really needed a boost of any origin to get me through. Yes, I believe that the utmost importance of the craft is to be satisfied with the feeling that one has created something. That one has a finished piece of writing & should enjoy that moment. However, the artist is known to seek other forms of validation. The artist is a restless individual & isn’t that trait mostly responsible for how they continue with their work? The artist is not confined & I am no different. That prize was a validation that I needed at the time and honestly, I have never stopped thinking about the day I received the email notification. Was with a couple of friends & they watched me do a little victory dance. I have learned to celebrate all the ways the universe employs to recognize what I do. Writing is a good thing but having other persons appreciate the amount of work you record on a daily basis is a prize on its own.
Totally agree. I sent in my congratulations when this happened. But congrats once more, man.
Well, thank you. The thing with moments like this is that they're bound to fizzle out. Yes, it's forever etched into my memory but now I'm focused on other projects at the moment.
Busy, busy, busy, I say.
Ha-ha. I won this journalism prize last year and as much as I tried to savour the win, it took less than a month for restlessness to kick in.
He-he, exactly! Winning prizes promises a fixed height of happiness but soon it’s back to the game. We’re ambitious in nature & our hearts accept that familiarity.
Has being an undergrad English Literature student limited your writing at any point instead of the edge it should give you? And how do you combine the requirements of the two (writing and school) and still manage to not cheat on any? Except you do. Then tell me.
Well, to an extent, yes. There are many things that we aren't being taught. Things that I come across on Twitter all day. I thank the stars for ensuring that I come across at least a new poet everyday. Back in school, it's either Soyinka, Achebe or some poet whose name I have no previous memory of. Still, the books are forced on us & I get by through the aid of Twitter alongside the constant reminder that I’d be done with my current program soon. The poetry community there is largely responsible for the progress I currently register in my writing. I try to balance the old world that accommodates my undergraduate studies & satisfy the requirements of this brave Twitter poetry community.
Thought I was alone. Our syllabus is outdated. Tired of reading the same thing people read decades ago. In my school essays, I try very hard to not make reference to contemporary literatures. I can already imagine my Professor's face when I maybe cite Romeo's queer poetry to explain a particular style.
Ha-ha!
Queer theory topped the list for my final year thesis but in the end I settled for migration.
My supervisor wanted nothing to do with that topic. Quite saddening. Of course I grumbled but it was received with threats & warnings so I returned to being the sheep they craved. We're plagued with an outdated syllabus for today's version of poetry. That's why some of my mates consider poetry difficult. It’s hard to accuse them of laziness. They've simply not been taught how to harness their audio-visual senses to interpret the poetics of today's writers or even yesterday’s writers.
It's sad.
Do you have a favorite poem? If yes, why is it your favorite?
Kaylin Haught's "God Says Yes To Me" is my favourite poem. I love its closeness to spirituality & subtlety. I adore her simplicity which seeps into the hull of your soul. I'm not much of a religious person but whenever I lead myself to that poem, I visualize God, a female, agreeing to a boatload of requests & telling me to live my dreams. That, I say with confidence, soothes me always.
I see the sooth already in how you write about it.
If you were to write a poem with a single poetic device, which would it be and why?
“There are many possibilities with imagery. Audio imagery. Visual imagery. You see, you hear &, most importantly, you feel.”
Imagery. That's what will enable me truly enjoy writing a poem. I can do without the others. I will miss the metaphor but imagery will definitely help me forget what I'm missing. There are many possibilities with imagery. Audio imagery. Visual imagery. You see, you hear &, most importantly, you feel.
Good choice.
Have attending writing workshops and belonging to cliques influenced your writing in anyway?
“Workshops are the universe’s greatest gift to writers”
I prefer to substitute the term "clique" for a writing community because that's what I like to think of as where I belong.
Well, yes. Adedayo Agarau's "Growth is Here" WhatsApp poetry workshop elevated me to a definite feeling of confidence. I will never thank him enough for that selfless act. The kind that would not relent for any reason. For the duration of that workshop, I learned to "be my poetry" as was the tagline of the workshop. Workshops are the universe's greatest gift to writers, whether emerging or established. With a community, growth for a writer, is as certain as the sun rising.
You won't like my next question then.
Nome Emeka Patrick. Logan February. Adedayo Agarau. You can only choose one. No explanations. Sorry. Not sorry actually. Ha-ha!
Wow! Alright then. Nome Emeka Patrick.
What are you currently working on? Any upcoming project(s) you wouldn't mind sharing?
Well, I’m bound by a request to not say anything about this. Yes, there is but that’s all I can reveal for now. Anticipate, I guess.
Okay. That’s fine.
Thanks so much Michael for this session. It was fun and at the same time informing. Keep doing what you are doing.
Thank you for reaching out! Best regards, friend.
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Uchenna Emelife is a campus journalist, creative writer, content creator, and a literary enthusiast. He has written for Nigeria’s Nation Newspaper, the ICIR, Opinion Nigeria, Minority Africa and Punocracy. A third year student of Literature In English, Uchenna was awarded “Rookie Journalist Of The Year” by the National Union of Campus Journalists (NUCJ) in 2019 and “Essayist of the year” by the local chapter of the NUCJ and “Campus Reporter of the year” by Pen Press UDUS.
In 2020, he co-pioneered a book club in his school, Book O'Clock UDUS where he reports and writes about books and currently serves as the deputy editor-in-chief of Pen Press UDUS and the Programs Director of Minority Africa.
