In one short year of publishing his debut book Blessings, Chukwuebuka Ibeh, has become a powerful voice in African literature. In a recent profile in The Guardian, by Saeed Kamali Dehghan he talked about his journey as writer and the influence Chimamanda Adichie had on his writing. He also reflections on the challenges of writing, the weight of homophobia in Nigeria, and the transformative power of storytelling. Here are his words on these themes:
On the Power of Storytelling
“The book left me with a firm certitude in my gut that I wanted to make people feel the things that this book made me feel.”
“Now, you have so many writers from across the continent interrogating every concern under the sun, defying forms and structure, and refusing to be pigeonholed.”
“Literature is not really considered a profession in Nigeria, so I thought I would be a lawyer who wrote on the side.”
On Challenges of Writing in Nigeria
“I wrote most of my novel by hand because I was in my campus apartment in a community that had not had power supply for so many years.”
“I think it is safe to assume that these challenges are the result of what appears to be a rise in the migration of many young African writers to the US.”
On Confronting Homophobia and LGBTQ+ Rights
“To confront the [anti-gay] law is to trouble waters, and homophobia in Nigeria tends to be extreme, and possibly violent.”
“There is a silly idea perpetuated that homosexuality is un-African.”
“I come online and there’s yet another video of innocent men being paraded naked and bloodied for no reason other than their sexual orientation.”
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