Conversations with Amaka Felly Obioji

I have known Amaka Felly Obioji for quite some time and I remember the delight I felt when she told me about this book. It was also a pleasure to have anchored the book launch event and I am glad this collection is now out for everyone to read and engage with.

I hope you enjoy this interview!

1) Tell us a bit about yourself for those who don’t know you.

I am Amaka Obioji, a Nigerian Writer and Poet based in London. I am also the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of Diaspora Africa, a media organisation that uses data, research, and solutions journalism to document African migration. I have a background in journalism, content writing and media, spanning over 7 years.

I recently published my debut poetry collection titled “Mother, Did You Call My Name?” This collection of poetry I have written over the years is demarcated into themes that explore femininity, womanhood, migration and social problems.

2) When did you decide that you were going to write this amazing collection of poems and what inspired the journey?

I have always been writing short poetry that I usually share on my social media pages. After some time, I decided, since I have actually written a lot, it would be nice to put everything into a collection, but before that, It has always been my dream to become a published author. So first, I separated my works into four themes for the collection, the collection aims to share poetry that is raw and close to the heart. Also, because I love poems that cater to emotions, I wanted to create themes that everyone could relate to.

3) This collection has some poems with themes of vulnerability. What were some of the challenges you experienced writing this book?

Most of these poems were written as far back as 2017, and I’m not sure what I was feeling at that time, but I write best when I am trying to interpret my emotions or someone else’s. For vulnerability, as I mentioned earlier, I wanted the collection to be a reflection of our everyday life, the joys, the sorrows, and the act of living in the modern world, I wanted the work to be bare without trying to hide any form of emotions. I want people to read it and be able to relate to it.

4) How have people reacted to the book so far and have you been shocked at some of the responses? Do you think the book achieved some of the things you wanted it to achieve?

Yes, “Mother, Did You Call My Name?” has gathered a lot of responses, I think the common thing people said was that they were excited about the illustrations that were used, how it was able to convey each emotion in the poem, like giving them an image of what the writer is trying to say. For others, it is also how the writer was audacious to explore vulnerable topics.

5) Your book touches on some themes like feminism, depression, hope, and womanhood. Why did you choose to focus on these?

I didn’t set out to publish specific themes, the poems were a collection of things I have written over the years, when I wanted to prepare them for publishing I noticed that many of them fit into the same theme and I tried to group them so that each theme will discuss a specific topic. But, interestingly, over the years I was writing about similar topics, however, issues like feminism, womanhood, mental health and hope have always been dear to me so I am not so surprised that over the years my work reflected those interests.

The Afro Reader (Chimdinma Adriel Onwukwe) and Amaka Felly Obioji at the Book Launch of ‘Mother, Did You Call My Name’, in London, 2024.

6) As someone who is big on career, how have you been able to combine your love for writing, the process of writing this book, and a full career?

I don’t have a strategy for how I write, I simply write, some times I scribble ideas on my phone or notepad, and then I finish up the idea when I have the time. Another thing that has helped my writing is writing prompts, I belong to a writing group where we share writing prompts of the week, this has also helped me to write more diverse topics. While having a set-out time can work for many people, I think writing for me is more like something I enjoy doing when there is no timeline to it. I simply write when I feel like it, which is mostly often and somehow, I still have a lot of time to do other things.

7) Can you let us know some of the people who have inspired your literary journey?

First I would say my mother, my earliest memories of reading books were because my mother had this mini-library in her bedroom while growing up, and I would always go through them to look out for novels I could read. Then she started getting me more books from the public libraries, this passion for literature grew and I started exploring other genres and connecting with other writers. One of the authors I believe inspired my love for African literature is Chimamanda Adichie, then for poetry, poets like Rupi Kaur, Ijeoma Umebinyuo and Ocean Vuong were other writers I enjoyed their works and they also inspired me as well. Also, there is a network of young Nigerian poets on Twitter who write incredibly well, and I enjoy reading their works, this has equally inspired me to pursue my dreams.

8) What was the publishing process like for this book and how did you get your publisher to say yes to it?

I think the first thing I realised was, it was difficult getting literary agents who are interested in poetry, especially for emerging writers who are still new. For many young poets, they often rely on self-publishing. I experienced these difficulties as well. However, the first step most times is to get your draft ready, send it to many publishers, and then find which publishing package works best for you. Then follow through.

9. What advice would you give to people who want to write poems but don’t know where or how to begin?

The advice is to just write, to always write regardless, no matter how bad you think you are. I think most times, it is fear that holds people back, people are mostly worried about how their work would appear to others but it doesn’t matter. Share your work, get feedback, improve and keep writing.

10. What are you working on next? Do you care to share?

Currently, I am writing poetry collection that borders on social issues. I’m still at my earliest stages so fingers crossed at the moment.

Amaka Felly Obioji is a Nigerian writer based in London. She is the author of Mother, Did You Call My Name? a collection of mindfulness poetry, delving into the depths of human experience, unravelling threads of joy, sadness, resilience and rebellion. Amaka is also co-founder and Managing Editor at Diaspora Africa, an independent media organisation that uses data, research and solutions journalism to highlight stories centring on the movement of Africans in Africa and the diaspora.

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