Editor and author of Caine Prize shortlisted story ‘Daughters, By Our Hands’ Ekemini Pius, believes rather than the subject, how a story is written makes a text powerful: ‘What you want to write is not as important as the way it is written. I’ve seen many promising subjects and plots fail because the writers did not have the prosal wherewithal to execute them.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
Growing up, I read my parents’ novels which includes books by Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Buchi Emecheta, Eddie Iroh, Camara Laye, and Elechi Amadi. I also read anything I could find around the house: Where There is no Doctor by David Werner, the Awake pamphlet faithfully delivered to our house every month by eager Jehovah’s Witnesses, and my mother’s business textbooks.
If your life so far was a series of texts, which text (fiction or nonfiction) represents you at this moment?
That would be the essay collection, Of This Our Country: Acclaimed Nigerian Writers on the Home, Identity and Culture They Know.
What’s the last thing you read and disagreed with?
I read mostly novels and short stories and I don’t disagree with stories because they are a valid means of artistic expression.
What’s the last thing you read that changed your mind about something?
I think it was Eloghosa Osunde’s Vagabonds!. Before I read it, I had a strict approach to prose writing. But Vagabonds! showed me that prose can be pliant, that you can bend it to your will while serving up a great story. Osunde opened me up to the verdant possibilities that abound in prose writing, the application of which has transformed my writing. I am grateful for her work.
I read mostly novels and short stories and I don’t disagree with stories because they are a valid means of artistic expression.
What makes a text powerful: the subject or how it’s written?
How it is written. And this is where many young writers miss it. What you want to write is not as important as the way it is written. I’ve seen many promising subjects and plots fail because the writers did not have the prosal wherewithal to execute them.
What is your writing process: edit as you write or draft first, then edit?
The latter. Editing as I write is such a disruptive process. I’d rather edit after I am done drafting.
You’ve recently been shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing for your story, ‘Daughters, By Our Hands’. What was your process for writing it?
The idea came to me when I was taking an evening stroll. So I wrote two unconvincing drafts before nailing it with the third draft. I loved writing the story because the characters challenged me to investigate their internal conflicts, and it was only when I was able to do this that the story sprung to life. I also had this fear that the story would flop because of the idea of women getting impregnated by their fingernails, but my writing success up till that point had been a product of trusting my gut, so I went ahead and wrote it and here we are!
‘Daughters, By Our Hands’ explores mother-daughter relationships. What inspired you to write it?
Nothing. Most times, ideas just come to me out of nowhere and I just draft stories. My writing is rarely inspired by societal happenings. But I am grateful that most of the stories I write resonate with society.
How would you describe your writing style?
Fluid. My writing style is a combination of many styles and the style I use for a particular story depends on what the story demands from me. But whatever the style, my writing is always marked by beautiful prose. I will not trade it for anything.
Eloghosa Osunde opened me up to the verdant possibilities that abound in prose writing, the application of which has transformed my writing.
And which three African/Nigerian writers would you say have influenced your writing the most?
Chika Unigwe, Chimamanda Adichie, and Leslie Nneka Arimah have influence my writing. Chika Unigwe, because when I read On Black Sisters Street, I was astonished by the way she explored the characters of her female protagonists. It was intricate, profound, the work of a true master of her craft. Her prose in Better Never than Late is so delicious you can almost taste it. Chimamanda Adichie, because Purple Hibiscus was so beautiful when I read it as a teenager, and I vowed that I would write a book like that one day. Leslie Arimah, because I never knew I could be a good writer of speculative fiction till I read What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky. Her brand of speculative fiction—which grounds speculative fiction in human culture and nostalgia—is the reason I could write a story like Daughters, By Our Hands.
What’s the most interesting reaction/feedback you’ve had about your writing?
An editor-in-chief read my stories and said I was overqualified for the role I had applied for so they could not employ me as a staff member of the magazine’s masthead. I found that feedback both curious and funny.
What is the most meaningful piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
It was from an interview Chimamanda Adichie granted The Guardian some years ago. She said, ‘Read widely and read different things, and sometimes while immersed in the multitude of voices of others, you just might find your own.’
You currently live in Calabar, Nigeria. What book from Calabar should everyone have on their shelf?
A poetry collection exploring the texture of grief by the brilliant Ofem Ubi: The Last Time I Called the First Thing I Heard Was As-Salamu Alaykum.
What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year, and why?
That would be Maame by Jessica George. I love how Jessica explores the internal conflict of her protagonist and how crisp her prose is. Maame is such a brilliant novel.
Which author (dead or alive) would you love to spend a day with, in person, if that were possible?
That would be Chinua Achebe. I love his essays so much. ‘Morning Yet on Creation Day’ is my favourite essay by him, and I would love to chat about every detail of his essay writing process. We would also discuss Chike and the River and Things Fall Apart, and how he builds robust, compelling characters. I would also love to know how writers like him excelled in an era when technology was not as advanced as we have now.
When I read On Black Sisters Street, I was astonished by the way Chika Unigwe explored the characters of her female protagonists. It was intricate, profound, the work of a true master of her craft.
What is your Favourite topic to write or read about these days?
I don’t have a favourite topic to write about. I write whatever comes to me. I read mostly novels and short stories. Any novel or short story collection by a contemporary African writer who knows how to whip up excellent prose will always be a good fit for me.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on my debut novel and short story collection simultaneously. It’s a challenging process but I am hopeful that the outcome would be rewarding⎈
We want to hear what you think about this interview. Submit a letter to the editors by writing to editors@republic.com.ng.
