Why I write love poems - Adeshina Olusanya
By SAM ANOKAM
Tuesday, February 21, 2006



Adeshina Olusanya, poet and accountant, is in the league of writers with no formal literary education. Interestingly, Olusanya who holds an HND in Accounting, has a passion for love and nature poems; the type made popular by foremost English romantic poets: William Wordsworth, Robert Browning, D.H.Lawrence, amongst others.

Currently the Financial Secretary, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Lagos State chapter, in this interview, Olusanya speaks on his love for poetry, the challenges of publishing, and how to make poetry more appealing.

Background
I was born on February 12, 1963 at Ebute-Metta, Lagos. I attended Saint Finbar's College, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos State College of Science and Technology, Isolo, now Lagos State Polytechnic where I studied Accountancy and Finance up to the Higher National Diploma (HND). After that, I did a post-graduate study in Management at Federal University of Technology (FUTO), Owerri.
Olusanya is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a member of the Nigeria Institute of Management (MNIM), and currently the Financial Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Lagos State.

I was nominated in the 'Poet of the Year 2005' category by the International Library of Poetry (ILP) for my poem, 'The Plea'. I have two poetry collections in my name: Heartstrings, and Hues lanes. At present, I work in Lagos State Polytechnic as a Principal Accountant in the Bursary Department.

Why I write
I love writing; I want to share my experiences, feelings and ideas with others. I write to inform, to inquire and to entertain. I love writing poetry in particular because I am able to say much with a little piece of poetry, whereas it takes much time to develop and say the same thing in prose. I am a very busy person, and I need a genre of writing that is easier and faster.

Poetry affords me the greatest opportunity to communicate my thoughts, viewpoints and observations quickly, effectively. Writing has provided an outlet for me to express my feelings, so I don't get stressed up or bottled up.

First book published
Heartstrings (poetry) is my first work. It is a 74-page work that contains 53 poems and is divided into four sections such as Love and Romance; Events and Ideas; Piety; Peace and Tranquility and Haiku.

Target audience
My target audience is all and sundry. 'The young shall grow', they say. But I have my focus on adults, particularly, married couples. Heartstrings is packaged to cement intimate relationships, warm the heart, entertain the mind, lift up the soul, and endear men to nature and its environment. The book serves to strengthen interpersonal relationships; generally, while it discourages separation and divorce. The family, they say, is the smallest unit of a society.

Style of writing
My style is simple, popular and universal. It takes after the style of William Wordsworth, Robert Browning, Alfred Lord Tennyson, David Herbert Lawrence, John Donne, W.D. Snodgrass, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Femi Osofisan, Akeem Lasisi, and Tony Kan. I am unique in my style and it serves as my own eclectic mark. Generally, my writings are didactic and direct. My language is lyrical.

Inspiration
My experiences, observations, convictions, intelligent quotient: these things inspire me. My motive, attitude and disposition propel me on. The musing of love plays a large part; love as opposed to hatred. I am essentially a peace poet as well as a love poet.

Challenges
Day-to-day activities challenge me. It's not easy being a writer in this part of the world given the prevailing socio-economic and political conditions infringing on one's peace of mind. Ironically, these challenges propel me.

Mood
Rarely 'supremely contented', oftentimes musing, soberly reflecting, or sometimes dissatisfied about situations, I have found out I get absorbed in varying moods such as grief, joy. I feel the pendulum of life dangling in the balance uncontrollably. I pour out my heart in hope though, and that is where the difference lies: the utopia engulfing present realities.

Publishing literary works
The same factors that affect poetry also affect other genres of literature and other cultural books. There are textbook publishers and there are publishers of books on culture. Those who publish cultural books do so with courage, faith and attendant risks.

At the end of the day, no one regrets, since on the long run, both the author and publisher get fulfilled. Some people in this business are even luckier that their books become best sellers or get recommended as reading texts within a short period. Those who see poetry as obscure, incomprehensible might consider it unappealing or unattractive; but those who truly love poetry would not. In fact, I deliberately make my poetry easy or simple to understand.

Themes
I explore the themes of love, peace, interpersonal relationship, relationships between man and nature, government and the governed, etc.

Language
I write in English. At times, I include French words. Sometimes I use pidgin English like "Yama Yama" (Mess) (Heartstrings); "Nepa", and "Enemy of Progress" (Hues Lane). Sometimes I write in the Yoruba language mixed with English language; sometimes, there are infusions such as in "Jagbajantis" (Junk).

Writing
My love for poetry motivates me to write. This is more evident in my presence on the internet.Type my name on virtually all the popular search engines on the internet, and you will enjoy reading my poetry.