Kingsley Iweka on Writing, Writers, Dappled Things and More…

Kingsley Iweka is not just a young, dynamic and enterprising individual, he is a masterful storyteller. I have personally enjoyed reading some of his short stories including Lovers or Friends and Jasmine. So it was for me a pleasure to get him to answer a few questions I had about the art of writing, writers and stuff.  Enjoy.

Uhmm…my first question would be: Who is Kingsley Iweka?

Ok. Kingsley Iweka is a writer, 24 years old, he runs his own creative consulting company… he’s a young man trying to, you know, impact the world in his own little way.

Hmmm. ‘Becoming a Writer’. Do you consider that a popular ambition amongst young people today?

Ehmm, popular; well in a certain way, yes, in another way, no. And no on a larger scale because…ok, let me start with the positive scale. Yes because many young people-many people generally respect the craft, the art of writing. They regard it in high esteem because it is such an incredible thing to be able to create human beings and life generally out of nothing more than ink, paper and an incredible imagination so people revere such ability. I think if there is any ability that mirrors the power of God it is writing, in that light. So yes I think that is an attraction for many young people. But in this part of the world I would say ‘no’ because of the fact that it is not lucrative. It doesn’t quite yield much in terms of earnings and income for writers in the business so I think that is a big ‘disattraction’ for people, yes.

So are you saying there are no wealthy writers in Nigeria?

It will be fair to say so but I know people who are comfortable and also write. But largely their money didn’t come from selling their works, or their craft as writers, no.

Ok. By ‘writing’ really, are we including journalism, all forms of writing? What exactly do we mean by ‘a writer’?

Yeah well, largely—even though I know that you can classify different forms of literary art under writing—I think that largely when people talk of writing they refer mainly to creative writing in the form of fiction and non-fiction, prose and poetry, you know. Journalism is more or less under media and doesn’t quite fall under the scope of creative writing as it were. Even though in some circles they all fall under the same sphere or craft. But to be specific, writing refers to creative writing: fiction, non-fiction, prose, poetry…yeah.

And there are no rich creative writers of non-fiction, etc?

Well, you’ll quickly want to mention the likes of late Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, maybe someone like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, because they've achieved quite some success in the craft but like I said these are rare examples in the field. Other peers of Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka are hardly heard of even though they wrote beautifully. Elechi Amadi, such an amazing writer; Ben Okri is one of such people. While they may not be paupers I can bet that they didn't make their money from their stories or their published books. The structure is not yet there to properly establish a writer in the scheme of things. Also, there is a culture that is affecting the nation where it seems that many people don’t like to read, and to read especially Nigerian authors. So that’s the challenge that we are facing and I hope that somehow someday soon we will tackle that effectively and have a much richer, brighter, enlightened nation of people who read and appreciate the art of writing.

That’s awful really because you just mentioned some very brilliant writers and to think that they haven’t been amply rewarded for their gift…Is this not likely to discourage some other budding talents from expressing their writing gift in a bid to avoid probable poverty?

Err, yeah, in some sense it’s largely discouraging but trust the Nigerian to always find ways out of the situation. I think strongly that a lot needs to be done in terms of boosting the way creative arts, creative writing is appreciated in the country. For instance—and I do not only blame the people, I think that the industry itself, the players in the industry do not yet readily employ the tools that will give them the needed boost, you know. So I think it’s a two-way street. We, the players in the industry and the people of Nigeria and Africa have our roles to play. We have to up our game, you know, write better stuffs, make them available and accessible in different formats so that people who have embraced 21^st Century technology will also have access to these works, and I think the publishers also need to really up their game. They should not be comfortable with selling just a thousand copies in a city of Lagos that has close to 20 million people. I like to differ…that only one thousand people in all of 20 million people read, that’s a big lie so I think that we need to really push the boundaries of what is possible for writing in this country and we’ll see the change that we so desire in the industry.

So in spite of all these difficulties you mentioned why did you choose writing?

Oh, well because I—regardless of the non-lucrativeness of the art—still feel obliged to do what I do because I think it’s important. I think it’s necessary for us as a people to be able to tell our stories and tell them well. I think that a people are only as rich as the history and the stories that define them so I feel obliged seeing as I have the ability to do that- to put words together and make proper meaning of them and have people enjoy themselves while reading my work. So I think that for me it’s more or less like a calling to do what I do.

Ok. Tell us a little bit more about your works.

Errr…Ok. For a long while I have been advocating for positive change in Nigeria and Africa and that influenced largely the earlier works I did. They were mostly articles about change, about attitudinal shifts, passion, making a difference, becoming a better you and getting involved in the whole process of transformation and development for the country and continent at large, you know? I started with that, started a blog, but then I realized that I could actually get more results if I steer these conversations in much more entertaining ways that engage people for a longer period of time so I decided to devote my time to writing that would stir conversations and inspire hope in people. I started writing prose, writing flash fiction pieces, my short stories and then eventually the fiction novella, Dappled Things that I've just put forward. Most of my works are available on my platform iamscopeman.wordpress.com or naijastories.com, search for scopeman, I have lots of stories published there as well.

Where can someone reading this interview who wants to get a copy of Dappled Things get it?

The publishers have been kind enough to make the book available on various platforms online. Amazon,  Ebay, Googlereads, and the website as well www.iwekakingsley.com. Also, in Lagos, Nigeria, in the Adeniran Ogunsanya Shopping Mall, Patabah bookstore to be precise, you can just walk in and grab a copy of the book there, its a thousand naira. Also at LITCAF, E-Centre, Yaba... I am working to have Jumia stock the books in their online store so you can just order from the comfort of your homes and have the book delivered to you. I am still working to create more avenues to make the book available. Right now I am working towards officially releasing the book in Nigeria on the 28^th of November at The Ember Creek, 32 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. 7 PM. If you can, I’d really love to have you there. Afterwards the book will be available on other platforms that will be announced.

So Ember Creek, eh? Rice and Stew Very Plenty?

Yes o, by God’s grace…(laughs)

Alright, tell us about your influences, your role models. Do you have any?

Ok, I’m guessing you are asking as regards writers. Well, I’m not quick to say that I have any role model, per se, in the industry but I am impressed and inspired by some of the people whose works I have read and some I have had the privilege of encountering. The likes of Myne Whitman who’s been a great supporter of my work and my art so far. I think that she’s such an amazing person and yes she’s one of the great influences, one of the great supporters that I have going forward. Errr…Influences. Influences. My influences come generally from life, you know, the conversations that I have, the people that I meet, the stories that they have, their history, their present, their future, the everyday scenario that I see. The life that we all live generally interacting with one another-these are the things that form my influences and inspire the stories that I write. I write about everyday life, the things that are common to us as people, as Nigerians. I think these—and several of the books, several of the Nigerian and African and International authors that I've read- have shaped my craft.

So what are your favorite local and international books?

Well I particularly like Helon Habila’s Waiting For an Angel, I think it’s an amazing effort. It was his first book and I think he won a Caine prize for an excerpt from it. Amazing book. I loved it and that went a long way to really push me to start writing Dappled Things at the time that I did because I was greatly impressed by the work he put out and yes that pushed me to write mine.I also like reading Chinua Achebe. I think that he’s such an amazing writer who really captures several aspects of our history as a people in such a simple yet captivating manner and I admire that a lot in any writer. Internationally, I love Fall on Your Knees, it’s a book by Ann-Marie, can’t remember her surname now but I think that was such an exceptional book. It was brilliantly written and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Uhmmm…I often hear things like writers are romantic, writers are promiscuous, writers do not believe in God, Is there any truth to any of this?

What I can say about that is that people are romantic, people are promiscuous,  people are anti-religious. I don’t think it has anything to do with the profession really. Even though I would say that yes our craft – or creative writing- has a way of exposing us to different reasonings, different ideologies, different perceptions of things, you know, so it places us in a certain pedestal but I think that as individuals we are who we are for different reasons, not because of the occupation or profession we find ourselves in. So it’s not a writer thing, it’s not a doctor thing, it’s not a Nigerian thing, it’s not a Black or White thing, it’s just a thing. It’s very individualistic, not tied to any classification or group of people.

So is Kingsley Iweka promiscuous, romantic or atheistic?

Oh, well, I don’t know. (laughs) I’d rather you encounter me and make your own opinions because in the end that’s all that matters, how people perceive you. I can go out there and scream and shout about how holy and righteous I am but then it may be a lie, or it may be too true for anybody to believe and thus it would still be a lie so what’s the deal? I’d rather you just look at me, experience me and form your own opinions and honestly I’m cool with whatever you think eventually because more or less it doesn't change who I am in the end.

It’s always a pleasure talking to you, Kingsley Iweka.

Thank you so much. Same here.