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My journey to writing probably started from the moment I was born, however, it took the several years of formal education, self-training, reading and writing (compositions, essays, diaries and competitive short story) to launch my writing career. Looking back to this genesis, provides ample opportunity for me to chart the way forward. What has been my aim as a writer? Answering this question is as important and interlinked with the decision to write in the first place.
I read, the other day, a piece from a book of verse, which I bought second-hand sometime ago, at give-away price, from my local library. It stated;
Was the world meant to be easy?
Was the word meant to be easy?
Some people think mana still exists for the picking
And that every African will write like Achebe.
-Taban lo Liyong (1997)
I stop there for the moment. Achebe. That African literary icon, who wrote "Things Fall Apart" and other notable books, including "A Man of the People." Although, I am quite unkown to him from Adam, I feel proudly connected to him. I was at Case Western Reserve University, Columbus, Ohio visiting a friend, some years ago. There, I was introduced to one of the professors in the English Literature department, who enthusiatically regaled me with his assessment of the creativity of Achebe. I was not on the same frequency, unfortunately, with that dear professor, at least, on that occasion. Later, also when the professor asked me about my own reading of the author's books. I remarked quite correctly that it was a case of such authors being more appreciated more abroad than at home. However, in this specific instance, Achebe had garnered quite a huge popularity at home also, due to his book, "Things Fall Apart", being included on the high school literature curriculum. That professor in the Literature department of Case Western Reserve University, who by the way had taken me to his department to be introduced as a fellow Nigerian like the author Achebe, agreed with my assessment.
I later visited the bookshop at the University and bought for myself a copy of the author's book, "A Man of the People".
Now, to return to the concluding part of the earlier verse above.
The hard days are here
The hard words are here.
La 'woro odok ii minne:
(Coward crawl back into the womb!)
-ibid
With all that is happening in the world at large, the hard days are definitely here. And for a writer like me at the middle of nowhere, it is not going to be easy. But I say to myself, I am not a coward. I would not crawl back into the womb.
My aim is still to achieve,creatively, a measure of success, and appreciation from a wide spectrum of readers. I must continue in that quest, and bearing in mind my original aspiration of becoming a successful novelist.
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