POETRY INVOICE ON A LITERARILY DISCUSSION WITH JIDE BADMUS

WELCOME  to a literary INTERVIEW with a prolific writer:Mr. Jide Badmus.

Ahmed - Host
Jide Badmus - Guest

Ahmed: Welcome, sir
We are happy to have you here.

Ahmed: _Can you please give a brief introduction about yourself?_

Guest: My name is Jide Badmus. Some call me JBard.
I am a husband. A father of two pretty girls
An electrical engineer, a poet and a author.

Ahmed: _Sir, can we know what made you go into poetry?

Guest: It is a part of me.
I grew up writing stories for my friends, siblings and parents to read. I took a liking to reasing.
I found myself trying to put thoughts into words and trying to create stories.

Ahmed: Oh great!
It's in your blood
It run through your veins.

Guest: 2002 was when I wrote my first poems. I wrote two love poems and somehow lost them.

Ahmed: Aw, sorry it's happened

Guest: I found the poems when I was cleaning my room later in the year and read them. I was surprised I cooked up something as good. It felt like I was reading a stranger's work.

Ahmed: 2002?
I'm sure some poet here were not yet born.

Guest: I think poetry became like a diary for me. Where I put thoughts together.

Ahmed: _Sir,who are the people that influenced you in writing?_

Guest: This has always been a question I run away from;
I grew as a poet in the shadows, trying to mould my own identity. I didn't read any particular poet like a Bible.
I read David Rubadiri, Niyi Osundare, Soyinka. I read any poet I could lay my hands on their work.

Ahmed: Oh!
That's Amazing.

Guest: I had this feeling that poetry was not accessible to the lay man...
I wanted to write in simple language yet be deep.

Ahmed: Yes,yes!
That's the beauty of it.
Simple and deeply deep.

Guest: I joined several foreign poetry platforms too. And read from random folks.

Ahmed: _Sir, of all the writers in the Nigerian literary sphere, which of them would you say have made you take their pain as yours? Who has made you feel such deep connection through their writing before?_

Guest: I love Amu Nnadi. He gives simplicity a new definition.

Ahmed: Hmm. The great - the bard of port Harcourt

Guest: I have developed some connections with some of the younger poets too.
I have been able to relate better with the works of  Adedayo Agarau. His passion for lost boys as he calls it.

Ahmed: Sir, what are the challenges you faced as a budding poet?
And how did you overcome them?

Guest: No one to encourage or review my works.I had to develop on my own.

Ahmed: Sir, What is your opinion on the reliance of young poets in Nigeria on literary prize for relevance?

Guest: People want acceptance. It is understandable.
But the reality is that the contests don't make you Work hard on perfecting ur art...people would notice.

Ahmed:Sir, from your language in poetry as you write, the way you coup words makes it feel different in aspect of themes, is there any history behind that?_

Guest: I just work on my expressions. I try to think drifferent ways to express thoughts.I like to sound different --
Take a new perspective.

Ahmed: Sir, your poetry sometimes becomes too sweet to behold in terms of the usage of words, and I come to realize that those words are erotic, especially. What makes you love writing in such sense?

Guest: Sex fascinates me. Beauty inspires me.I try to explore mysteries. Things we don't have answers for: So I try to explore the sexual nature of man.

Ahmed: Sex
Beauty
&
Mystery
The connection can only be understood by the other room.Great ‼‼‼‼

Guest: At times u use attractive stuffs to present difficult themes. Sensuality gets people's attention

Ahmed: Sir, what can you say about the creation of your published book:

THERE'S A STORM IN MY HEAD?

Guest: it was a work that went through a ten year compilation. Four changes in title and a personal milestone
I needed to come into the open. I needed my works to leave the corners of my room. Most of the poems in the collection are between 2009-2011.

Ahmed: Sir, It's known that anything  in life happens for a reason, bringing it sharply into poetry, what inspires you most to write sometimes?

Guest: Like I said earlier, beauty inspires me. Destruction too, because everything that has been destroyed was once beautiful. An inscription on a shirt, laughter, nature...anything can get me into the writing mood.

Ahmed: Sir, in your Facebook prolife you said you're 'simply weird!' Anything related to that statement that makes it realistic?

Guest: I'm not the normal person you expect to see. I might stand with a different opinion from everyone else and not budge. I like solitude. The things people see as odd attracts me - I love to play the devil's advocate. Dare to be different.

Ahmed: Sir, what brings about the creation of your blog: INKspired?

Guest: I wanted to have a place where people can reach my works

Ahmed: Sir, what can you say about title of poems before writing or writing before title; any difference or which one has helped in any way in your writing?

Guest: We need multiple platforms to reach people.I usually have my titles before writing. Titles guide my thoughts, it helps me tidy my lines. It is quite difficult to find a title once your work is complete: But we are different.So I'll say do what works for you. But make sure your title is carefully crafted. They are the first contact your poems have with the readers. They have to be attractive.

Ahmed: Sir, apart from poetry and anything in literature, what else do you do outside the box and why?

Guest: I'm a practicing electrical Engr.
I love watching soccer if that counts.I had a stint with singing.

Ahmed: _Sir, what can you say about those writers that write because of money making. Should we put poetry as an opportunity of making money or what_?

Guest: For me, it is first a passion. But there is nothing wrong in making money with your passion.But I keep saying this, it is a process.opportunities will come when you have positioned yourself.
Polish your art.
Move as close as possible to perfection.

Ahmed: _Sir, since you have been writing for decades now,what do you hope to archive through your writings_?

Guest: To touch hearts. Heal souls.
Get my works to a point where people would study me perhaps while I'm no more. Make money.
So I'm thinking I'll be the Keats, Shakespeare etc of the next century.

Ahmed: _Sir, do you have any upset mind about nature pictures or rivers in your daily life, and also, we have seen cases of some poets attaching a particular picture beneath their poems, what can you say in that aspect, because some said they do that to keep their gallery loaded. So, on a beautiful aspect of pictures especially nature. What can you say about it_?

Guest:i would rarely attach pictures to my Facebook poems because rather than the poem, the pictures get the reactions.
I would however use pictures on my blog posts. They help bring out the message too .Some are visually inclined.
Pictures inspire me too. Not necessarily nature...but rarity and again beauty.

Ahmed: _Sir, I observe that you hardly put in for a contest in poetry or anything in writing per say, why so_?

Guest:Well, i don't see them as the best judge of quality.

The judges have their "bias". If I am a judge on a contest, my kind of poems are likely to get more attention: What attracts us differ. When I do enter contests, I submit my experimental pieces.
Poems that I want honest feedback from Our peculiarity is our strength.You will discover that there have been controversies surrounding most contests...we have varying tastes.

Ahmed: _Sir, if you're told to cancel your writing career for a cheque of 30billion dollars, will you put in for it or not and why at the case Maybe_?

Guest:Writing makes me happy. Would you substitute happiness for any other thing?

Ahmed: _Sir, If you could change one thing about the Nigerian literary world, what would that be_?

Guest: I want the gap between young and old writers to be erased. Elders should be able to give guidance to the budding and upcoming. They are distant...most of them.

Ahmed: _Sir,Historically, there has been a debate over the Nigerian literary industry's treatment of the youths. Some believe that the demographic is being oppressed by the over-celebration of the older generation while some opine that the advent of the social media actually favours the youths as the new celebrities, so to speak. Where do you stand_?

Guest: I think there are different platforms for both groups. The young ones have taken over social media...
The older ones do not want to let go of the contemporary way of writing: So they pay more attention to themselves...they fail to recognize the beauty of transformation. believe in a hybrid
----- fusion we should learn from each another. The younger poets are more about imagery. The older ones, about structure - I think the youths should also be patient. Recognition will come with consistency. The old poets have paid their dues: Both groups have misconceptions about each other.

Ahmed: _Sir, where do you think you could be in the next 20 years_?

Guest: Tough question...
On shelves around the world. Getting invited to deliver lectures around the world.
Encouraging upcoming poets and showing them how poetry can make u money. Bedroom filled with plaques and awards.

Ahmed:Sir, I guess you should have something that keeps pushing you in loving to write more, even though you're at the point  of death, when you read/look, you're back to normal, what could that be_?

Guest: Hmmm
Writing is like dialogue with myself. I love to talk to myself, it gives me clarity With life happening, there is always something to tell myself.

Ahmed: Sir, some poets have been writing about death, boys, sex ,war, love, and so on. What aspect do you love writing most that make things easy for you_?

Guest: Happiness, hope, love...sensuality.

Ahmed: _Lastly, what do you have to say about the budding poets like us that are just finding out feets in the realm of writing_?

Guest: Be consistent. Be open to learn.
Encourage yourselves but don't let flattery get into your heads.
Write. Read. Write
Forge your own identity.
Lastly, remember that everything is a process, don't skip the growth part
Oh. I am going for a reprint. Presently, the few copies left are with me.
But u can get soft copies on okadabooks and amazon
Watch out for the next book...soon.

Ahmed: Thank you for obliging our call.

Guest: I appreciate you giving me
audience.

The End.

ABOUT THE GUEST

Jide Badmus hails from Omido, Kwara State, Nigeria; an Electrical Engineer.
His debut book, THERE IS A STORM IN MY HEAD was published in February 2017. He has works published on Dugwe, Dwarts, PIN, Kalahari (March 2018) &inkspiredng.com
Jide is married with two daughters. He is a Christian &a soccer lover. He lives &writes from Lagos.