Africa's
first Nobel Laureate in Literature, Wole Soyinka has inspired hordes of writers
across the generations, and one of them is Yemisi Aremu Otasanya, who candidly
vouchsafes:
"I
was inspired most by Wole Soyinka. I came across his book 'The Trials of Brother Jero'
and 'The Lion and the Jewel' in
Literature class. I prayed that (one day) God would grant me the
opportunity to meet him in person"
Her wish would be granted later on, just as
her dream of becoming a writer would also be realised. She has published books
like Perfect Body Perfect Baby After Delivery; and Above the Ether.
Her
love for creative writing was stoked as a child. "My passion for writing
started at the age of 8. Going down memory lane, she explains:
‘My passion for writing started at
the age of 8, when out of boredom, I picked up my pencil and wrote my first
poem. Daddy was my first audience. May God bless his soul. He laughed heartily
after reading the poem. It was more of a paradox about a frog who could not
sing, but was a choir master.
"Rather than hang out with my friends
during playtime, I spent most of the time imagining about adventures in space,
fighting aliens and conquering colonies. I imagined I was a dashing
irresistible warrior princess with no interest in love, a super hero, a secret
spy and much more. At the age of 11, while in year 1 of Junior Secondary
School, I wrote an adventure script and shared it with my friends. They loved
it and pressurized me to write more, but I deterred.
“As a teenager, I wanted to be a
scientist and not pursue writing. I had a secret herbarium where I carried out
research on the flora in Abuja city and did a lot of research writing and
occasional articles in local dailies. I also engaged in loads of freelance
writing and editing for friends, collecting stipends in return.
“I am currently an IT project manager, an author, a mother and wife and I love studying nature, stars and their constellations, elements, history, cultures, managing complex projects, meeting people, dancing (I have my own symphony, lol). I am crazy about science fiction."
“I am currently an IT project manager, an author, a mother and wife and I love studying nature, stars and their constellations, elements, history, cultures, managing complex projects, meeting people, dancing (I have my own symphony, lol). I am crazy about science fiction."
She adds: “I do loads of research
before embarking on a writing project and I have God as my father. I never make
assumptions about people or jump to conclusions without hearing both sides of
the story. I believe we all have the chance to be better. My weed is writing. I
hope you enjoy reading my books.”
Otasanya
who desires to become a "best-selling writer" has healthy respect for
African literary icons like Chinua Achebe, and Buchi Emecheta.
Always exhilarating to publish profiles of our female wordsmiths on this blog. Thanks to Mr Bolaji who suggested this lady. Note her deep love for the world of books and imagination from a very early age.
ReplyDeleteI have heard about this lady... I read about her on the 'net last year or so. Yes it is always exciting to see African women writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks to the internet, we can know a lot about writers worldwide these days…via quick research. I think of the late Buchi Emecheta that she mentions here eg, a fantastic fantastic writer
ReplyDeleteThe fecund variety of our writing...A lady who knows what she is doing, and where she is going. Kudos
ReplyDeleteWole Soyinka is more than an amazing, remarkable man, one of the greatest Africans that ever walked this earth. Imagine how inspirational he has been for many decades. Here is a man who published his first books almost 60 years ago, and he continues to be very relevant. He inspires so many male and female, as we see here.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite extraordinary how women’s writing grows in Africa, just like rest of the world. One can even argue that women writers are superior to men, when we consider the writings of the likes of the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, George Eliot, Toni Morrison…and in Africa the likes of Chimamanda Adochie, Dangarembga, Nwapa etc. So it’s nice to continue to discover the wealth of African lady writers
ReplyDeleteAlways exhilarating to learn more about our African female writers; and for good measure this lady is a Nigerian!
ReplyDelete