By Ibrahim Ramalan
Abuja
Su’eddie Vershima Agema is the Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (Benue State Chapter), an Executive Officer at the SEVHAGE imprint of VERSHAGE publishers and team leader of SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative (a registered charity in Nigeria). An editor, writer and topical essayist, he is also a development and cultural enthusiast. He is the author of BRING OUR CASKET HOME: Tales one shouldn’t tell ( a collection of poetry hailed by critics as deep and pleasantly different). Su’eddie was longlisted for the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Award (2013) and shortlisted for the PEN Nigeria/Saraba Poetry Award 2013. He was also named as one of the ‘Top 50 Contemporary Poets who rocked Nigeria in Year 2013. In this interview with Ibrahim Ramalan, the literary prodigy speaks on his works and his unbridled passion to continue to tell the tales one shouldnt tell
You are regarded as an all-round writer, whose writing would you say has particularly influenced you the most?
I have been inspired by the writings of so many people and it isn’t just books. You know, from the write-ups you glean on the web, Facebook, some creative pieces or the like. But if I am to go into history, I would say, my brothers, Taver, Sever and Gabriel influenced me first with their writings. They would draw comics and Gabriel would also write these amazing novellas that he never got to finish. You know, I would read each one of them hoping to see the end, then he would jump to something new. Somehow I got tired of waiting for those tales and started doing mine in a very coarse manner. I found writing in school through the tutelage of a teacher and friend of mine, Mr. Emmanuel Mbatsavde. He guided me and somehow I got to write poems, and short stories which he would give me titles for. Okay, it seems I am deviating… Whose writings have influenced me the most? To mention a few randomly as the main influences: writers of the African Writers’ Series, Hyginus Ekwuazi , Shakespeare, Scott Fitzgerald, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Christopher Rush, Anna Akhmatova, Chimamanda Adichie (I have learnt a lot of new styles to writing through her, especially in the short stories), Helon Habila and Moses Tsenongu (particularly my earliest poetry which I seem to have lost somewhere). Writers like Ajima, Azuah, Okey Ndibe, Chuma Nwokolo and many others, some of them my brothers like Sam Ogabidu, Idoko Ojabo, Maik Ortserga, Pever X, Joshua Agbo (particularly his criticism) and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim whose Whispering Trees remains deep in my thoughts every moment. Should I mention Okey Ndibe, Sibbyl Whyte, Debbie Iorliam and Agatha Aduro (the last two whose writings not too many people have seen)? So you see, I could go on but these guys just keep inspiring me and making me find new dimensions to work.
What inspired you to write Bring our casket home and what is the tale to the book?
Bring our casket home is a collection of several poems written at different times inspired by different things, feelings and emotions. It took me some seven years of writing, revisions, rewriting, editing and all to put the book together. The book was originally meant to come out as ‘Apology, Strength and Eternity’ but on one of my visits to Ibadan, I had a reading at the WriteHouse Artmosphere, then in its formative stages. I read some poems from the collection including the poem that claims the main title. Dr. Ekwuazi who I read beside mentioned that I should consider making it the title. I did and reworked most of the poems to be woven around it. That said, the poems inspired the book as well as life. Life happened differently to me and so many things came to bare: the death of loved ones including Mr. Charles Ayede, the poet, Ify Omalicha, Tayo Awotosin, Orvendega Gberikon and others. There were other events too like love, adventure, nationhood (which lies at the heart of most African writers); and as I mentioned in an earlier interview – mischief! Lots of mischief. I had to infuse a lot together and yup, there came Bring our casket home: tales one shouldn’t tell.
It is about a year now since the official launch of your debut collection of poetry: Bring our casket home: Tales one shouldn’t tell. How would you describe its reception?
The reception has been lovely or should I simply say, it has been mixed? Yes, I think that would be appropriate. I have had readings around the country and at first, I would go with some fear in the belly: what would they think? You know, poetry isn’t really much of a darling to a lot of people so you just wonder how they would receive you. But in the end, each reading has proven to be well received. I remember my first reading at the Silverbird/Abuja Literary Society’s ‘Book Jam’ which was moderated by the short story maestro, Reward Nsirim (coincidentally, we read together in Ibadan at my next reading). Now, the applause from the audience after each poem read was simply magical. It left me nearly in tears but you know na, we African men don’t let them fall too much. Hee hee hee. Compare that with another reading much later at the Abuja Writers’ Forum where I read with Tope Fasua and Numero Unoma. The reading started really late and I was the last to perform. It didn’t help that some two hours or so of traffic had held me somewhere. I was totally exhausted mentally and couldn’t put heart to my words. The result is better left in one part of the imagination that I’d rather not fall back on.
But on the whole, I have also gotten calls from people here and there and e-mails too talking about the book. A lot of people have read the book and by Aôndo’s grace, it has gained some following. Best of all, I have not had anybody throw the book away or allow it gather dust – to my face. Hee hee hee. So, I can say with all satisfaction now – changing my stance from the first – that it has been received well.
Why did you decide to “tell the tales one shouldn’t tell”?
Wow! How does one answer that? My friend, Maik Ortserga in one of his poems says that like Okigbo, he has learnt to keep his mouth shut. Now, that poem talks about the evils that stare one in the face in this country of ours. The irony is after saying all the things, he ends that he has learnt to keep shut. I guess, in my case too, I got tired of all those tales that we hide, tales too gory, those for which we should be sorry and all. They had to be told somehow and so, eventually, they forced themselves out on me. The tales now aren’t simply those of evils abounding around us all, though we have those multiplying every second from the Chibok issues to the continuing decay of our leadership, they are also about some of those things in life we would shy from: sex perhaps? Yes. Love, friendships, betrayals and so much more.
Well, in addition to all the talk, there’s the critical view of why I might have written the book. A critical and insightful view can be seen in an essay by the critic, Joshua Agbo ‘Why Su’eddie Vershima Agema tells the tales one shouldn’t tell in Bring our casket home’ (you can Google it). That essay tells a lot about the book and answers your question in ways that I might not really have had in mind – if you know what I mean.
Some literary critics see you as afrocentric writer, that most of your works have African appeal. How right are they?
I try to infuse my writings with a bit of my culture and the things around me. While discussing this and its impact in Bring our casket home, Dr. Hyginus Ekwuazi said that he understands that it is a way of each of us clearing our backyard so that the weed of civilization would not overgrow to choke out our essence. He even accused me of over-doing it! I thought I would reduce the influence of it and make it appear less but somehow it just had to come forcefully again in some of the short stories I found myself writing. In ‘The River’s Testament’, the first short story of my collection that would be coming out soon, I play with the idea of a person who is averse to most of our African values and eventually has to pay in ways that would leave us smiling. So, well, I guess on that account, I stand accused of the views of those literary critics. The truth is I don’t really set out to be overtly African or to shout ‘We are Africans!’ (apologies to the musician, JJC) but everyone of us writes out of our reality – whether it is fantastic or realism. So, somehow these things just come in.
As a writer with publishing experience, how would you assess the publishing industry in terms of meeting authors’ expectations?
I think I would focus on literary publishing here because if we go into general publishing, the talk might not finish. The truth is the publishing process is not easy and getting a book out is a lot of work. Still, I believe, that the publishers have done a lot despite several challenges to meet authors’ demands and more, writers’ impression. Now, I am speaking for the standard and reputable publishing houses of course: Parresia, Cassava, Aboki, Kraft, Bookcraft and even our own SEVHAGE Publishers. You get what you pay for and if you want quality, these publishers would give you that quality. Most of the houses have also adopted marketing skills to help the books to be sold in the quite tough Nigerian market. Naturally, the authors expect magic but it isn’t that simple over here. It is much easier to sell books that have been anointed outside our shores than those just done. More, poetry isn’t too much of a seller. But authors demand magic from the publishers and well, magic is a miracle that we publishers can’t conjure every single moment. If you ignore that and concentrate on packaging, editing and swag, you would realize that the Nigerian publishing industry at the moment is doing amazingly well. There are the odd books that come out wrong but overall, our standard can match any international competition.
What is one particular thing that always bugs your mind and that you always want to put across to your readers?
One particular thing? There are always like a million. I think of the depreciating values of people in general and how the world is losing its warmth: well, metaphorically speaking now, before you begin to ask me how that works with global warming et al. You know, growing up, there was more love around and we had more children being children. It was a society where people cared for each other and had each other’s backs. The times have sure changed with people being more money minded, more selfish, power drunk and the like. It is like, we once knew what life was about and now, we have all forgotten it. We don’t seem to realize now that the clock ticks faster every second than it did back then. For whatever reason, there’s much that we have to change especially if our world is to survive. We need to respect our heritage, love ourselves far more and realize that there’s more to life than just the senseless things that we all aspire to that would be lost the moment we take eternity’s gate. Well, that’s just a bit but maybe we should leave it there for now, no?
What are you working on now?
I am always working on several projects. I have a short story collection, The Bottom of another Tale that is undergoing the last round of editing, to hit the press soon. There are also our (that’s the SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative) twin flood collections, the poetic anthology The Promise this time was not a flood (which I co-edited with the award winning poets, Hyginus Ekwuazi, Tubal Cain, Debbie Iorliam among others) and the short story collection, The Rainbow Lied. These two collections are an assemblage of some of the most beautiful writing in contemporary Nigerian literature (especially the poetry).
When are we expecting it?
The flood collections would be out by July or latest August while we are working towards releasing The Bottom of another Tale at about the same time. Who knows, my short story collection might be out earlier. Fingers crossed on that one.
Why short story this time?
Well, why not? I love short stories and there’s a progression I am working on. You know; poetry collection, short story collection, novel, maybe a play and just put everything together again on their head. There are a lot of tales to be told and I think that the thickly thin lines of verse might not be able to contain it all. So, we have to let it flow through other mediums to reach the hearts of all those who might not be able to catch it otherwise.
