In this compelling literature-focused interview conducted by ZEBULON AGOMUO, Editor, Oluwatosin Akinrinde, author of ‘Deathbed and Other Poems and Out-of-School Children and Other Short Stories’, sits with Dr. Ifeoma Odinye, associate professor of English and Literary Studies at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), to examine how literature mirrors Nigeria’s sociocultural realities. Centred on Akinrinde’s experimental fusion of poetry and prose, the interview, on one hand, explores how his writings capture the turbulence of Nigerian life while addressing themes of inequality, identity, and justice. Dr Odinye, on the other hand, situates his creative style within broader socio-literary traditions, which emphasise that every writer is inevitably shaped by their social milieu. Together, they reveal how contemporary Nigerian literature transforms personal emotion into collective consciousness, while bridging art, activism, and cultural critique. Excerpts:
Oluwatosin Akinrinde (Author, Deathbed and Other Poems & Out-of-School Children and Other Stories)
Your work in pieces like “Deathbed” and “Out-of-school Children” blends genres like poetry and prose in innovative ways. Can you walk us through how this experimental approach draws readers in and amplifies the emotional resonance of these stories?
I would like to address the first part of your question. Experimental writing has to do with the stylistic fusion of prose and poetry to meet a particular literary demand or literary urgency. Why I defined it that way is because a writer may feel that merely using prose may not meet the thematic demands of a particular literary urgency. As such, the writer would have to switch to another literary genre – poetry – in a bid to meet the literary urgency of such a literary engagement. This is why I felt that a stylistic fusion of diverse genres is important due to the contemporaneity of the subject matter of the two literary texts.
Speaking about how I amplified the emotional resonance in both texts, I ensured that both literary works were an outpouring of my powerful emotions. This echoes William Wordsworth’s definition of poetry as “a spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions collected in tranquility.” This brings to mind T.S. Eliot’s stance on poetry, which states that “no writer writes in a vacuum.” This, therefore, implies that it would be very hard for any writer to depersonalise him/herself from their everyday feelings. This is why the titles of my books – Deathbed and Other Poems and Out-of-school Children and Other Short Stories – are very crucial. Poetry and prose now serve as a vehicle of literary communication in expressing these thematic demands in contemporary Nigerian situations.
Looking at your two anthologies, what connections do you see between them, and how do these shape your own understanding of your evolution as a writer?
The two connections between the two texts are very simple. First of all, Out-of-school Children and Other Stories is a reflection of my journey in journalism, including my life experiences as a literary writer. As a journalist and a writer, there is a subgenre of writing called literary journalism, which is different from the feature observational writing in journalism. As such, literary journalism is a fusion of reportage and stream of consciousness writing, which is a rare literary skill in contemporary literature. This establishes the connection between both literary texts and my evolution as a writer. To my mind, literary journalism is a very important genre in my experimental literary writing style. I believe contemporary literary writers need to deploy this writing style in their literary works to effectively showcase their emotional turbulence, particularly in connection with our local and globalised realities.
Your anthology weaves Marxist and Feminist perspectives to tackle Nigeria’s contemporary challenges. How did you approach these frameworks to reflect the realities of women’s experiences in a patriarchal society, and what does this say about your broader mission as a writer?
Every writing has either a theoretical or a contextual framework that underpins it. My own perspective is heavily drawn from Marxism, although I identify as a Marxist because I am pro-people, and I lean towards writing about social injustice, which is a contemporary issue across the African continent. My writings tend to focus on how the bourgeoisie treats the proletariat. I love to dig deep into the discourse and the distance of power in my quest for literary exploration. You can, therefore, see how the distance of power runs deeply across my literary works.
Similarly, there is a feminist perspective evidently captured in my literary texts. I have always believed in the freedom and empowerment of women. Women should be equally educated, irrespective of their socio-economic class. Stories like “Let Them Die Alone” and “My Sister” address deep contemporary issues through which I have been able to capture the resilience, the subjugation, the oppression, and the manipulation of African women. As such, I adopted a unique stylistic blend of the content, language, theoretical compass, and structure to ensure the anthologies address critical gender-related issues.
Your poetry and short stories seem to speak to each other, creating a kind of intertextual dialogue. How do you see these forms complementing one another, and what role do they play in the larger cultural conversation about Nigeria’s struggles?
Intertextuality is what the reader can resonate with in both stories. Starting with “Out-of-school Children” itself as a story, you will see where the protagonist, Deni, is influenced by Marxist writers, and that is evident in the portrayal of the masses. By intertextuality, it does not imply that I have plagiarised; rather, it reiterates T.S. Elliot’s stance that no writer writes in a vacuum. This, therefore, means that you are a burdened writer who is influenced by your social milieu, which was further buttressed through the language I deployed in both texts.
In Deathbed and Other Poems, I infused deep Nigerian cultural elements like “amadioha,” “akudiya,” and “idibia.” Similarly, I referenced deep biblical allusions and symbolisms, particularly through the usage of “Jesus Christ” and “holy communion,” which brings the reader into my socio-cultural realities. I also wrote a play about the economic struggles of Nigerians. This reveals that Nigeria is a struggling country, and no one is absorbed from its realities.
You’ve blended reportage with stream-of-consciousness techniques in your storytelling. Can you share how effective you think this stylistic fusion is in bringing your narratives to life?
I have a journalistic background, where reporting stories, interviewing people, and writing feature stories have always been my everyday thing. Despite my venture into the literary world, there is no way I can detach myself from my professional experiences, which require me to get real-time information through speaking directly with people. This necessitated the reportage element, which was featured in my literary works.
Furthermore, my experience as a reader, not even as a writer, was influenced by modernist writers like James Joyce and T.S. Eliot, as they powerfully influenced my writing style. James Joyce’s powerful, descriptive writing style in Ulysses, alongside T.S. Eliot’s prose-poetry writing style, significantly shaped my stylistic pattern. James Joyce, for one, influenced me through the descriptive and stream-of-consciousness writing style, as he could penetrate the inner world of a character in a bid to reveal his internal recesses to a reader via internal monologues. Through exposure to the literary writings of modernist pioneers, I was able to skillfully blend reportage and stream-of-consciousness writing.
If you read the critical reviews by authoritative literary critics across globally recognised universities, including Nigerian universities, on my two literary texts, you would see how they appreciated the rarity of the stylistic mechanism, which addressed the peculiarities of a complex society like Nigeria.
What do you feel is the most striking aspect of your own creative versatility, and how do you harness that dexterity in your writing process?
The most striking aspect of my creative versatility is my ability to use language. As a writer, the tool you have is your language. It is your ability to use language to appeal to the poor, the rich, and the middle class in order to reveal the sociolinguistic environment of the people. That is my strength, particularly the ability to switch from Igbo, Yoruba, and standard English.
I would like to ask you these questions – have you read “My Sister,” for example? Have you read “Let Them Die?” These are sociolinguistically appealing stories, as they creatively embed code-switching and grammatical imperfections in terms of the English language use. That is the creative power embedded right there. If you read a story like “My Sister,” you would see Yoruba characters and unseen voices in the form of a chorus, contributing to the thematic drive and plot development of the story, which also reveals a typical Nigerian society, whereby some people are talking and other people are making their own contributions. Although they are not part of the story, they are also drivers of the plot development of the stories.
All of these reveal the author’s sociolinguistic capacities, which are a crucial part of the texts. The fact that these stories cut across the experiences of an average Nigerian reflects the versatility of my literary works.
Your anthologies sit within rich literary traditions. How do you see them contributing to or standing out within these traditions, and why should they be considered essential for understanding contemporary African literature’s role in addressing global issues?
Yes, I agree that my anthologies sit within rich literary traditions. In my literary works, you would see the modernist traditions, including the metaphysical, romantic, and transcendental traditions. Like I said earlier, I was heavily influenced by modernism in a bid to portray the struggles caused by industrialisation, which is currently present in Nigerian contemporary issues. I believe that I was able to intelligently blend these sociocultural issues, which are now evidently problematic within our local societies.
At a thematic level, you would see how I was able to skillfully create a nexus between tradition and modernism in “Motunde Brings Elon Musk Home.” This literary piece just shows the dichotomy between tradition and modernism, as Motunde, a Yoruba girl, brings home Elon Musk, who is, perhaps, the richest man in the world at the moment. This was how I was able to stylistically portray contemporary Nigerian experiences on a global scale as an emerging literary writer.
Your work often confronts raw social realities while maintaining a deeply personal tone. How do you balance the universality of your writing to connect with readers on both a local and global scale?
If you read the works of brilliant Nigerian literary writers like Buchi Emecheta, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Flora Nwapa, you would see that they predominantly write about their experiences, but they don’t use their names. If you read Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen, for example, you would see how she portrayed her marital experiences, including her childhood to adulthood experiences, through the protagonist called Adah. You would see that at a personal level, the reader can relate more deeply because the story originates from a personal perspective. As such, she was able to blend creativity into her personality.
Speaking about my personality, you would see that I have a journalistic background, irrespective of the fact that I studied English and Literary Studies at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). I have had a lot of conversations with my diverse audience, and they have shared various personal experiences with me on various topical issues. I was then able to include universal experiences like the “japa syndrome,” which were very integral to the everyday realities of Nigerians.
As an African writer, how do you navigate the expectations of representing Nigerian stories while pushing against stereotypes or external assumptions about African literature?
If you read my collection of short stories where I spoke on LGBTQ+ issues, you would see that there are already some forms of stereotypes against them. Regardless of the issues, I was still able to give a literary touch to it, irrespective of how Nigerians perceive such acts. As a writer with a journalistic background, I am a firm believer in equality, justice, and fairness. Through literature, I was able to push that socio-cultural boundary to write about them.
If you read most of my short stories, you may be able to understand that most of them are non-fictional in nature, particularly those written as reportage. You would have noticed a kind of divergence in other Nigerian or African writers. Most writers tend to find it difficult to blend reportage and stream of consciousness writing, especially when they do not have a background in journalism. This essentially is what stands me out as an emerging literary writer. I had to push against the stereotypes by writing about them, while also trying to protect their identity.
Every writer is burdened by their social milieu, as no one writes in a vacuum – Odinye
Dr Ifeoma Odinye, associate professor of English & Literary Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University
Deathbed and Other Poems and Out-of-School Children and Other Short Stories both grapple with weighty themes. How do you see the texts critically engaging with artistic, cultural, and thematic dimensions in ways that elevate them beyond mere storytelling?
Within the literary world, there is what we call “Africanness.” However, from the writer’s perspective, I would term it “Nigerianness,” which is a derivative of the word “Africanness,” as it reflects the core concept of the pan-Nigerian mentality. The fact is that the literary works were able to reflect the Nigerian socio-cultural experiences, which further spotlights certain psychological perspectives that are very damaging to the citizens. These issues revolve around emotional turmoil spurred by violence. When we talk about violence, it basically has a complex nature. Violence could be viewed through the lens of ethnic conflicts, as presented in both literary works. The other thematic preoccupations visibly present include thuggery, ethnic violence, and political issues.
I appreciate the writer’s choice of titles, as they resonate with contemporary socio-political issues within the country. For instance, the word ‘out-of-school’ in the title Out-of-School Children and Other Stories simply shows that a lot of things are lacking. This further implies that children of the poor, who do not have the privilege of accessing education, are relegated to the background. They are used negatively to work against the development of society. This is evident as they are mostly exploited by the political class, as they have not been properly refined to fit into society.
There is a common motif of hopelessness and disillusionment in personal dreams and public expectations. This further captures how people without political affiliations in Nigeria get relegated to the background because of their social status.
The issue of religious corruption is also prevalent in both literary texts, as it clearly shows how religious leaders easily manipulate women due to their vulnerable nature. That is why, within the Nigerian socio-cultural context, one will always find women patronising churches.
I would say both literary texts have a holistic perspective, as they perfectly captured the core social issues plaguing Nigeria as a whole. The writer was able to provide an eyewitness perspective through a detailed capturing of the realistic experiences of an average Nigerian. To my mind, the work possesses an accurate aura of verisimilitude and plausibility, as it effectively incorporates symbolic imagery and indigenous languages, which makes the literary text perfectly resonate with an average Nigerian reader.
Could you elaborate on how the author’s experimental blending of genres, like poetry and prose, enhances reader engagement and shapes the emotional impact of pieces such as “Deathbed” or “Out-of-school Children”?
In literature, there is what is called lyrical prose – a subgenre that provides you with a tone about the experiences of a writer, particularly through the use of poetic devices and a strong aesthetic quality within a prose format. This writing style is stylistic and experimental in nature, as it tells a story that perfectly captures contemporary issues across the country.
William Wordsworth stated that poetry is a spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions recollected in tranquility; however, I would say that the writer’s style of poetry is recollected in turbulence. This is because he was trying to experiment with the relatable things that have affected the psyche of the Nigerian people. For instance, he explored the japa syndrome, which explains the socio-economic issues Nigerians deal with, such as unemployment, currency devaluation, and violence, among others. This makes me regard his works as contemporary experimental writings, where he narrates his feelings from an eyewitness perspective.
In terms of distinctiveness, what qualities set each text apart, especially when placed against the backdrop of contemporary issues in Nigerian and global society?
The writer’s combination of lyrical prose makes the literary texts unique. The use of diction is worth mentioning, as the choice of code mixing and code switching presents the originality of the cultural context the writer was trying to present. Similarly, the combination of lyricism and narrative stances also makes the texts more contemporary. To a person new to literature, the style of writing might appear to be complicated. However, this should be considered as a stylistic advantage because poems should not be so simple to understand, as it should make you question the poet’s thinking.
I also appreciate the writer’s rich lyrical style combined with his storytelling approaches. To my mind, the stream of consciousness technique was also well adopted in both literary texts. For you to be an ardent reader of these texts, you must follow the author’s thought processes. The author’s deployment of rich imagery was apt, as it enabled readers to effectively visualise what was intended.
The aspect of modernism versus traditionalism was effectively captured in both texts. This further revealed the consequences of the new technological drive, as it shows how people tend to stray from the traditional patterns that were once upheld. This subtly echoes what Achebe said in his book, Things Fall Apart, in that technology has put a knife in the very things that held us together. As such, “things fell apart and the centre cannot hold.” This is very contemporary, as the writer was able to use new concepts, including well-known names, to buttress his perspectives on socio-cultural trends.
What parallels can you draw from the two anthologies, and how does this shape your perception of the writer?
I would say that the writer is a prose lyricist, as he combines pouring his feelings in lines, while also telling his stories in line with the lyrics that he has created. When reading his poems, I could see that he creatively weaved in narratives, alongside combining poems within his prose works. That demonstrated literary consistency.
Within literature, we say that poetry is the prose of the three genres of literature. This is because poetry is the first thing people do when they express their emotions. I could, therefore, say that the writer let out a cry of activism, while still being geared towards social justice. Then, the writer began to narrate the ordeals behind the reasons for his cry. I also appreciate the writer’s strategic use of the first-person point of view, as well as how he leveraged lyrics fragments with dialogic prose.
The author demonstrated creative dexterity in showcasing how Nigerians are trapped between death and sickness. Your work further shows the fighting spirit of Nigerians to come out of the death trap. The work also demonstrates the core of intertextuality, which spotlights the writer’s ability to creatively infuse a work within a work.
Tell us how the Marxist and Feminist dimensions deployed in the anthology address Nigeria’s contemporary problems, and what does this reveal about the author’s approach to representing women’s experiences in a patriarchal society?
To my mind, these are Marxist-focused literary works. This is also all about capitalism, as it focuses on how the highbrow, whom we call the bourgeoisie, control the society, as well as how they relegate the poor masses to the background. The concept of “out-of-school children” plays out in everything, as it simply speaks about the poor masses who cannot afford to be in school.
One thing I like about literature is that it does not offer you one meaning, as it is dependent on your interpretation. People who read these texts most likely have a different meaning; however, there is a collective sense of Marxism in your work in that many people are poor, and they are referred to as the proletariat. This further depicts a socio-economic fact that people tend to be denied opportunities in Nigeria because they do not have political connections. We, therefore, see a constant issue of voicelessness, which is attached to the Marxist stance, prominently featured in the texts. Essentially, Marxism is about agitating against the capitalists, who try to suppress the poor.
Furthermore, the writer perfectly captured the issue of patriarchy and infidelity in his collection of short stories. One of the short stories perfectly captured how spiritual leaders physically, psychologically, and sexually abuse women who seek spiritual help.
To my mind, these literary works are complex, as various literary theories could be used to analyse them.
You have noted points of resonance and divergence between the poetry and short stories. Can you discuss how they engage in an intertextual dialogue, perhaps complementing each other as voices in a larger cultural conversation about Nigeria’s struggles?
There is a current motif – one general theme that cuts across a literary work – present in the writer’s works. These literary works are predominantly focused on the socio-cultural realities in Nigeria. The writer’s collection of poems resonates deeply with the thematic preoccupations of the narratives in the prose format of his works. The work reflects prevailing issues such as violence, unemployment, Boko Haramism, death, and poverty. These are thematic factors that are so replete in the writer’s works. The writer has been able to skillfully present feelings in lines and narrations in stories, which have invariably spotlighted the challenges affecting the socio-cultural existence of Nigerians.
The writer’s work could be described as a literary piece that calls for advocacy, as it plays a pivotal role in raising the consciousness levels among Nigerians. I would, therefore, say that this is are pan-Nigerian literary text, as it reflects the writer’s concern for social justice. The literary works spoke about the heightened forms of disillusionment, including the destructive tendencies, that lead people into having unwanted desires to either japa (to leave Nigeria) or to commit crimes.
Some critics argue that style and voice can be as impactful as the subject matter. How would you describe the writer’s voice across both works, and what does it reveal about his creative dexterity?
One good thing about this writer’s literary pieces is that they skillfully combine prose reportage, as it involves dialogue. As the poet engages in an emotional outpouring, he concurrently reports other social issues. This collection of poems has characters who are telling their stories.
Looking at the wider literary tradition, where would you place these works? Do they contribute something new to Nigerian or African literature, or do they extend existing conversations in fresh ways?
Nigeria is a part of the African continent. These literary works contribute majorly to Nigerian literature; continentally, they also contribute to African literature. African literature is replete with different literary works from various countries in Africa. These literary works possess a universal tone, as they connect Nigerian socio-cultural issues to the diasporic world. This is made evident as the japa syndrome, which the literary text captured, makes the work contemporary and universal. The LGBTQ+ issue featured in the text, particularly within the Nigerian socio-cultural context, made the literary work have a global appeal.
Now, you need to understand that any literary work situated within the African continent has contributed to the development of African literature. To my mind, Oluwatosin’s literary works meet this requirement, as he has leveraged his craftsmanship to project the socio-cultural experiences of Nigerians to the outside world.
How might you compare the emotional resonance of Deathbed and Other Poems with the social commentary of Out-of-School Children and Other Short Stories?
The theme of disillusionment cuts across Oluwatosin’s literary works. The socio-cultural experiences captured in his collection of poems and short stories are very torturous. His collection of poems further shows that the issue of resistance is prevalent, as it captures the pains, including the mental health situations, Nigerians are trapped in. Oluwatosin’s works reveal how people are always trapped between the concept of pain and escape. Within this sociocultural context, Nigerians are essentially trapped between self-realisation and self-consciousness. The tone of the work is replete with disillusionment, agony, and psychic split. Oluwatosin’s works has, therefore, replicated the reality of Nigerians the way it is. This further shows the ultimate power of literature, as it shows plausibility. This makes these literary works very convincing, as the writer did not try to embellish Nigeria. The work possesses the aura of verisimilitude.
Finally, what do you think these books tell us about the writer, not only in terms of craft but also in terms of artistic vision and cultural responsibility?
Literature is a mirror held up in nature. A good writer is always burdened by what happens in society, and that is what spurs the writer to write. Hence, social problems spur the writer to write in a bid to raise consciousness about what is happening. I will simply say that the writer wrote out of social concern to raise awareness about social justice. The writer brings up concerns that bother people; hence, the writer is the voice of reason. He is laden with guilt to document his experiences as a way of advocating. As such, the writer is a unique voice that cries for people’s help. One could notice the concept of conscientisation in the writer’s literary works, as he spoke from his soul. This enabled him to mirror the myriad of social problems Nigerians deal with daily.
