Odili Tony Ujubuonu is a multiple award winning author. A novelist,story teller and copywriter,he has a couple of novels on the ancient Igbo traditional norms and ancestral beliefs. Most of the stories pierce the heart of some of the norms that bound the Igbo together in the years past. In this interview with Edozie Udeze, he talks about how his love for literature developed back in his days in secondary school.
WHAT pushes you to write?
The stories push me to tell them. Most times I don’t even know my end from the beginning. However, I often feel the need to fill a generational knowledge gap of our past for my readers. Research helps me fulfil this.
What genre of literature do you express yourself most?
I basically do historical fiction.
At what stage in your life did it occur to you that you would be a writer?
I bloomed late. But I flirted with writing while in secondary school but I hardly can call them writing. I did a lot of serious writing not creative writing while in the University and even during my NYSC. I actually got drawn to creative writing by a fortuitous circumstance. When the election of Chief MKO Abiola was annulled on June 23 1993, Lagos erupted with riots which put everything on standstill for months. It was within that period of impasse that I bought exercise books and pen and began to write. The moment I wrote the first sentence, I couldn’t stop until I finished the story that gave birth to the three titles I published in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
When you read a book what are the essential things you look out for most?
Voice, reason for the book and how entertaining the book is. In voice, how clear is his voice. Is he telling a story or showing off his language skills and how original is the writer? In reason, is he writing for his publisher, his society, his reader or just himself? Entertaining, how real are the characters and how well does the writer handle the arcs, tropes and plot of the story.
What book in particular prompted you to become a writer?
Unsurprisingly, it was Things Fall Apart. I have borrowed a lot from Achebe’s invention in all my writing. I make no excuse for that because, the first man who built a car is not the one who builds the cars we are driving today. Achebe was an innovator and we are consumers of his creative invention.
Where and when do you prefer to read and or write?
I read everywhere and I write everywhere. However, I have writing lairs in both of my homes and offices. In Lagos, I have it in my bed room, so it is in Awka. In my Awka office I write in all the rooms so it is in my Lagos office. I am more productive in my office locations during weekends and public holidays. I love solitude. I prefer the company of my characters to those of people. I hardly let people see my manuscript until I finish the story.
Who are your favourite authors and why?
I like everything written by Jude Dibia and other good storytellers. I love works of poetry by Okigbo, Ebereonwu, Tade Ipadeola, Maxim, James Eze, Obu Udeozo, etc. Poets open my interior eyes and help me see a world other than the one I live in. I read a lot of poems when I am writing. There’s something mystical about poetry for me. I don’t think I can do well as a novelist without the constant intervention of their voices. Poetry is like the Jacobs ladder connecting me to and from the psychic field where all innovators forage for ideas. It may sound crazy but that’s the way it is for me. Has being a writer impacted on you in any way?
Yes. Being a writer has impacted positively on me. I can’t take things for granted knowing that posterity is there to judge you and whatever you put down. The bad politician could come and go but a bad writer has built himself an eternal memorial in his or her book.
How do you arrange your library, at home and in the office?
I am very finicky when it comes to books. I have shelves everywhere I live and work for books. I also have loads of books in my Google drive.
What book are you reading now, what lessons?
I am currently reading Obu Udeozo’s Living Dreams
What book did you read last, any lessons?
Igoni Barret’s Black Ass. It is a much more accessible book than what he had written before then. I find it a good reader and the plot control was far above average.
Are you a rereader and how often?
Yes, I do this for two reasons. One for the good and the other for the bad reason. I reread a book I find very interesting. I also reread a very bad book to give the author a second chance of changing my opinion.
Of all the books you have read, what character appealed to you most?
Unoka in Things Fall Apart. Unoka is beyond an artist, he is a philosopher, an economist and a bold negotiator.
Leave a Reply