continuation of my last blog

About me and the kind of poetry I write, I’m Nigerian in and out and proud to be , I live in the southern part of the country and school in the western part (Lagos to be precise) at the University Of Lagos. I seem to dabble between two worlds of introversion and extroversion, and would be what you’d call a Melsan (for those who know a bit of human temperaments). In addition to my hobbies, I do a number of things in my spare time like make clothes, braiding my hair myself (which people don’t believe until they actually catch me in the act!), cooking…I generally like working with my hands. The kind of poetry I write is greatly influenced by Greek and Roman mythology. This is because I grew up reading poets such as Tennyson, Keats, Milton, Shakespeare, Byssche etc and got influenced by the way they write and by mythology. I was and still am really intrigued by mythology and I think weaving it into poetry or even prose is such a wonderful thing. I am happiest when I write, my thoughts are put into a clearer perspective, and I feel like I have to put myself in every situation in order to get a clearer understanding of it. According to Keats ’poets are the most unpoetic creatures in nature as they have to fit into everything they encounter. I don’t know if anyone agrees, but I feel sad or poems with sad themes or endings have more depth, show more emotion and make more pleasant reading than happy ones! I have compared them on several occasions really.I write my poems like novels actually. I cant think of ever just sitting down and writing a poem from the beginning to the end at a go, I write, leave it, come back when I have more ideas for it and then finish it up. Sometimes they are written in drafts and span different topics.From time to time, I would post my write ups and hope to get criticism that is honest and constructive for them! Here is a poem I wrote a while ago. Some nine years ago I think…

DESPAIR

I am totally drained of memory and my sense of humour is gone,
My soul is downcast within me and that deluding boldness is gone.
Erstwhile, I’d wake up to a cup of strong coffee and a sacred love song,
Erstwhile, I’d sit and tell me lies about myself.
I called on me in the presence of myself,
And those thoughts come knocking again.
They strive to rule, they quickly appear
I erase them soon as they come out all wrong.
Zephyrus binds me to the west and Aster to the south,
But now I have freed myself and truly become a cast away.
I have pleased myself and displeased half the world.
What do I say to them? What do I say to me?
This maddening frenzy has strengthened my Achilles heel,
It’s getting stronger and there’s nothing I can do.

the idea about blogging was birthed quite recently... ok honestly i started one last year but stopped at design stage and never looked back, can't even remember the name! anyway i do believe that this has come to stay and i say amen to that! I would be writing about my first love, poetry and then prose, plays and any and everything that has to do with literature. I've always pondered about the art and craft of writing, it is something that gets me ecstatic and when i read a great work of art, i feel like i have died and gone to heaven indeed! I have written quite a number of poetry myself and the feeling is inexplicable. Creating worlds, emotions, feelings, things all with words...Although i started a couple of novels through the course of my life, i never got to finish them. Seems to me like i really need to pay a whole lot o' attention to 'starting to write something and actually finishing it!' the only finished works i have are my poetry...phew! now back to the main ish which as i was typing, literature. i'm going to use a cliche here and dont mind a tad bit. From a very young age i fell in love with books. we used to have (still have) the complete volume of childeren's encyclopedia which opened my eyes all the more to reading. I learnt about all the greats that are worth mentioning in literature so intensely that i actually felt like i knew them.Some of the many authors of my first books include Beatrice Potter, Enid Blyton, Chinua Achebe,Cyprian Ekwensi,Charles Dickens etc. I also read other books such as the pace setter series, mills and boon series, loads of fairy tales, african folklore etc i... think i'll stop here for now. i have begun to fell sleepy. see you soon, and i hope we have a lot to share on ths blog!