With her latest short story collection, Ghanaian poet and author of Someone Birthed Them Broken, Ama Asantewa Diaka, set out to document the lives of contemporary youth in Ghana: ‘I wanted to create something that future youths could look back on—something they could hold up against their own lives and say, “This is where we came from. This is what it was like.”’
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?
I read everything that lived on my uncle and my father’s bookshelves. My uncle was big on crime and thrillers, he had every John Grisham, Michael Crichton, Stephen King and Dan Brown title you could think of. My dad, on the other hand, was curating his pan-African existence, so I was reading political non-fiction by Kwame Nkrumah and Camara Laye long before I could fully understand it. School introduced me to Ann M. Martin’s The Babysitters Club, Katherine Applegate’s Animorphs and all the playful, addictive reads of that age.
If your life so far was a series of texts, which text (fiction or non-fiction) represents you at this moment?
For book: Dialogues with Silence by Thomas Merton. It captures the tension of existence—being caught between faith and waiting. The book is about what it means to wrestle with God, yet also to sit in still, comfortable silence with Him. If that is not me right now, I don’t know what is. For text: ‘There’s something to be said about dying well. A well-done death. Living a life so well that my death is worthy of every breath I took.’ I lifted this from a WhatsApp conversation with a friend.
What’s the last thing you read that changed your mind about something?
The Chancellor by Kati Marton. It challenged my assumptions about power and diplomacy. It reminded me that tradition is never justification, that ‘this is how it’s always been done’ is never a good enough reason to keep doing it that way.
I was reading political non-fiction by Kwame Nkrumah and Camara Laye long before I could fully understand it.
What is your writing process: edit as you write or draft first, then edit?
I edit as I write into a draft, read the draft aloud and edit again. I repeat this process until I complete the draft.
What was your process for writing your debut poetry collection, Woman, Eat Me Whole?
It began as a gathering of moments and memories. I followed whatever feeling was most pressing at the time, writing without trying to shape it too early. But as the collection grew, I started to notice patterns forming, recurring questions and tensions around womanhood, consumption, self and wholesomeness. Once I recognized those four themes, they became the structure. From there, I gathered and wrote more intentionally into each one, letting the work slowly find its form.
Do you have a personal favourite poem from the collection? If yes, which is it and why?
It is always hard to choose, but I think I’d go with ‘A Good Day for Redemption’. It is a favourite of many readers’, and maybe that’s why it has become mine too. There is something special about seeing people connect so deeply with something that once only lived in your head.
What makes a poem unforgettable?
The ability to articulate what others are feeling. When a poem gives language to something you could not quite name yourself, it becomes unforgettable. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be true in a way that feels deeply personal, even when it is shared.
What’s the worst thing/advice to tell a poet?
‘Don’t read other poets.’ It is terrible advice. Reading other poets does not corrupt your voice, it sharpens it. Writing in isolation might protect your ego, but it will not grow your craft.
Tradition is never justification, that ‘this is how it’s always been done’ is never a good enough reason to keep doing it that way.
How did your approach to writing change while working on your collection of short stories, Someone Birthed Them Broken?
I don’t think writing Someone Birthed Them Broken changed my approach so much as it expanded it. It made room for cross-pollination; letting poetry, prose and storytelling bleed into each other. It reminded me that genre is not a boundary, it is a tool, and I could use whichever ones helped me tell the truth best.
Someone Birthed Them Broken is a ‘visceral and candid portrait of today’s Ghanaian youth.’ What inspired this collection of short stories?
The inspiration was a desire to capture and articulate the realities of contemporary Ghanaian youth. I wanted to create something that future youths could look back on—something they could hold up against their own lives and say, ‘This is where we came from. This is what it was like.’
And what was the trickiest/most challenging story to write?
‘Fear means Boy’.
What’s one thing about the reactions to the book that surprised you?
That I have not received a single bad review—that’s the real surprise. Even the so-called ‘bad’ ones are good! Someone gave it three stars on Goodreads because it was too short, and she wanted more. That is a compliment in my books.
What’s the first book you read that made you think you wanted to be a writer?
I don’t think a singular book that did that, but there is a poem that made me want to be a writer! ‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird’ by Wallace Stevens.
When a poem gives language to something you could not quite name yourself, it becomes unforgettable.
And what’s a book on your bookshelf that might catch people by surprise?
I’m afraid there is no book on my shelf that will catch anyone by surprise. My curiosity has a never-ending appetite and a capacity to entertain all, even if briefly.
What’s a book that brings you joy?
No Sweetness Here by Ama Ata Aidoo.
What’s the last great book someone recommended to you?
Man V. Nature by Diane Cook.
Which three books from/on Ghana should everyone be reading at this moment?
Anansi’s Gold by Yepoka Yeebo; The Year of Return by Ivana Akotowaa Ofori; and Flying Through Water by Mamle Wolo.
What’s one thing readers should be aware of when reading about Ghana?
That Ghana is not a monolith. It holds multitudes—contradictions, complexities and a range of lived experiences that cannot be summed up in a single story. So read with curiosity, not conclusion. Let the work introduce you, but don’t let it define the whole.
What is your favourite topic to write or read about these days?
Patterns. I am currently obsessed with patterns.
Ghana is not a monolith. It holds multitudes—contradictions, complexities, and a range of lived experiences that cannot be summed up in a single story.
What are you currently working on?
My novel! Something to do with patterns.
Question from Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond: What did you have to let go of, or let in, to write your latest offering?
My sleep.
Bonus: Please suggest a question for a future author’s First Draft
What question were you trying to answer or ask (consciously or not) while writing your book?
Who should we interview next?
Mamle Wolo⎈
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