Nwilo Bura-Bari

BNwilo: Yes, I do. But I am openminded about it. I think the biggest shot so far has been to be longlisted. It helps shape my faith in the stories I tell, that it has a place out there.

Bookshelf: You published a book ‘Diary of a Stupid Boyfriend’ in 2014. What was the experience like?

Nwilo: I felt there was a lot going on out there. Many people go into relationships with mono-directional rule books, forgetting that it could be a mutual affair. I have studied my parents and grandparents. For their marriage to have succeeded, someone was sacrificial. Someone swallowed a lot of unhealthy mess. I am not saying folks out there should do that. I am saying, if you truly love someone, then you will find a way to accommodate their mess too. The book is a playful approach to relationships, with life experiences told in the most informal of languages.

Bookshelf: What do you think of the Nigerian publishing industry?

Nwilo: I think it is a growing industry and I have faith in it.

Bookshelf: Will you self-publish again?

Yes, until someone walks up to me and says, we will like to publish you with our money. For now, I don’t know if anyone sees that much greatness in me yet. But I work with reputable book industry folks. I am a free-spirited and open-minded fellow. Being self-published is taking yourself and your craft seriously and trying to get out there. It has its advantages and disadvantages.

Bookshelf: Why did you pick such a title for the book?

Because if you try to carry your girlfriend’s bag, your friends would laugh at you and say you are such a stupid human being. And sometimes it is awesome to be stupid and happy.

Bookshelf: What do you hope to achieve by writing about your experiences?

Nothing much. Some of our experiences could be really boring. But these days I am converting my experiences into fiction. It is working for me. I am working on a book of short stories that would be released in late September. It is a beautiful collection of short stories - my first. It is entitled ‘A Tiny Place Called Happiness’.

Bookshelf: Your book, ‘Diary of a Bloody Retard’ is also another unconventional work. Why do you write the way you do?

Those were experimental works when I was a bit younger. ‘Diary of a Bloody Retard’ was written about six or seven years ago, playfully. It was a book of travels and thoughts. Then I was moving between states in Nigeria and was talking about my experiences. I just put it out there to be read. I am not sure I write that way anymore.

Bookshelf: What audience do you have in mind while writing?

I am not particularly selective of audience. Recently, I’m thinking about audience. During the writing of those works, I wrote for whoever cared to read. In my new book, the stories spread across ages. I have two stories for younger people in it.

Bookshelf: You are a poet and short story writer. Is there a particular reason why you chose to write non-fictional books, instead of fiction novels?

I have started writing fiction. I am starting with short fiction. Once I can sustain conflict and maintain longer writing, and when the muse calls, I will write a novel. I’ll do that. It may not be soon but it will come. Maybe if I get a residency somewhere nice, with good power and great view, I will write.

Bookshelf: What do you do aside writing?

I stay alive. I do a lot to stay alive. I am a screenwriter and recently hosting a TV show called ‘Deeayira’. It would be in English and Ogoni.

Bookshelf: What five books have shaped the writer in you?

A lot of books; fiction, nonfiction and poetry. W.H Auden has poems online that I love. Maya Angelou too. But in terms of books, the Shakespearean plays are awesome. Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’, ‘The House of Hunger’ by Dambudzo, ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe, ‘Ake’ by Wole Soyinka, a play - Athol Furgard’s ‘Sizwe Bansi is Dead’, Ken Saro-Wiwa’s ‘A Month and a Day Detention Diary‘.

Bookshelf: What are you working on at the moment?

I am almost done with my book of short stories, ‘A Tiny Place Called Happiness’. It’s a collection of twenty two amazing short stories.