MOMENT WITH CHINYERE CHUKWUDI-OKEH

It is better late than never. That was what a junior colleague told me way back in 2016. The statement was painful then but true. Anyways, this is my way of apologizing for making this post late. I wouldn't bore you with excuses. Thank you in advance for forgiving me.  

I have a special guest whom I respect a lot. Her name is Chinyere Chukwudi-Okeh. A brilliant writer and critic. If it literature, she is up for it! Here we go!

Who is Chinyere?

Chinyere is a very jovial person that takes life one day at a time and in between, she writes for herself and others. She is also a wife to one man and mother to three.

Your journey into writing, was it pre-purposed or you just stumbled into it?

I think writing was predestined for me I only just kept dropping and picking it up from time to time. But, it has always been there.

Do you have any published work(s)?

If so, what was the feeling like having a copy of your brainchild in your hands?

Yeah. I have collection of 10 short stories published by the Origami imprint of Paressia Publishers Nigeria. I have a story published in International Sisi Eko featuring works by students and lecturers of the Department Of English, University of Lagos. My story which is the title of the collection was featured amongst other stories centered on Lagos.

It felt so surreal and at first I was humbled by this, I mean it is something that should blow my mind a little but it humbled me to bend down and write more especially because of the feedback from readers. It felt good.

What does writing mean to you?

Writing means the world to me, a means of escape, more like transport, away from the maddening realities. It gives me power of bilocation and telepathy. You pick a pen and you are certain of your abilities to occupy two worlds with a rare gift. I write through good and bad times and it helps me get by.

Are you an all rounder or do you have a specific genre of specialization?

I write any and everything. I only choose to dwell on a specific genre per time.

Who is/are your role model(s)?

I know you expect to hear some big names but my parents are my role models. And sometimes my siblings but to be more realistic, my parents. Those two gave their children more than they ever had and that is what I wish to model my life after. To give to people around me, not because I have received but because I can certainly give it.

How will you describe your style of writing?

My writing is still a progressive plot and I can say I have achieved some form of fluidity of expression that keeps getting better by the day.

Some people claim that you only review writers of  Ibo origin. How true is that assertion?

This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I review every and anything. They should go to www.literati.ng and read from beginning to the end and then come back so we can have this discussion. From patrons and their featured works, to featured authors to reviews, I think I have been able to achieve balance. And I am not among those that see tribe before creativity. So perhaps people are pointing my attention to the fact that I need to take that into account. I am currently reading Vaults of Secrets by Olukorede S. Yishau and Anu Gbaa Ajo Egbe by Ositadimma Amakaeze. And the reviews will be up soon. It depends on who contact me and then the random books I buy.

You started a literary movement. Tell us more about it?

Yeah, Literati Generation Movement is first a mobile creative writing school at its baby stage, geared towards teaching literacy, public speaking and much more to young adults, children and corporate entities because it involves all forms of writing from reports, minutes, features, letters, proposals to fiction, poetry and much more. But it is still at the baby stage of school clubs, home tutoring and will definitely advance to the level of a creative writing school hopeful as that is the longterm plan. Imagine an MFA in creative writing baked right here on our native soil?

What does feminism mean to you? Does it in any way define how you write?

Feminism is not a tag I hold strongly to, considering that it now means different things to different people and is highly ambiguous without clearly defined objectives. I am a human, that first and foremost makes me humanist; I advocate for the rights of women, men, children and nature. I also encourage women empowerment and child protection, considering that these are the most vulnerable members of the society. I also advocate for the preservation of nature and wildlife. It is what it is and so more than just a tag for me.

Compared to what obtains in the era where the male folk are mostly the 'favoured' writers, have women writers been given enough room to express their creativity?

Let us not even play the gender card here women as well as men are favored by creativity. I see no imbalance. We have a lot of successful female writers both home and abroad. Nobody needs a special room for expression, we all; men and women alike must work out our creativity and join the community of writers in order to get our voices heard and our works read in order to be discovered.

Do you think there is a decline in the reading culture in Nigeria? If it is so, what would you suggest government and corporate bodies do about it?

I don’t see a decline, I only see perpetual stagnancy because we have remained at the same level, neither reading more nor less. No growth. People love the idea of reading, taking shot in fancy bookstores and with fancy books but are yet to discover the pleasures of reading. Also to be fair, a lot of people can hardly afford books, considering the economy of hardship. I think government and well-meaning individuals can invest in the publishing industry and also subsidize books.

What advice will give to aspiring authors?

To aspiring authors of which I still consider myself as one( this is not modesty, I have a higher target), we must keep writing, reading and reading!!!

It is a great pleasure to have this moment with you. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you. It is my pleasure.