BAJAN SUN
Bajan Sun Magazine
Where do you do your writing?
In the park, on the bus, on the beach or most
times in my room listening to instrumental
music. I love to watch people going about
their everyday lives, I get such inspiration.
There was a time when I was trying to put
into words what my friend would have experienced because of the abusive situation, and
I ended up at another friend’s house in her yard which houses a bird
sanctuary, it was just freeing to sit and be soothed by nature.
AUG 2014
Another valuable point is that some of the victims are in situations where
they don’t work and have to depend on the significant other, who is the
bread winner in the home. As much as people would sympathize, they
are not going to take that person in and help them to find their footing.
What we need to be aware of is that both men and women are victims of
this whole stigma. A boy child might have grown up in a home where
violence were present and that would be his way of dealing with what he
saw as a child. That anger he feels and the emotions he holds inside
might just take one incident for that individual to snap and thus an abuser is born.
Now, about ADEGOR, what inspired you to write the book in the first
place?
How long did it take to write the anthology and how many poems are in
it? Which two are your favourites?
I have a ministry, “Girlfriend’s Café” and I come into contact with women in and around the group where many of their stories ring the same.
Abuse is not new, but it is something that we are still afraid to address in
some circles. What inspired me to write this book was an incident in
April of 2007 that took the life of my best friend from school days. The
fact that she had to die at the hand of abuse still haunts me; this book is a
way of healing for me.
Actually these are pieces that I would have written over a two year span,
as I came into contact with persons, who shared their pain with me.
There are twenty four pieces in the anthology, all of them are my favourites of course but there are two that stands out.
What are the responses you have been getting about ADEGOR?
It is well received amongst persons that know I write; many have expressed their desire to read the book and some are saying it is long overdue. The responses have been really positive.
Tell us some more about ADEGOR – the title, the cover, the inspiration
and your writing style.
The first one is about a woman who is a professional. She is smart, she
seems to love life but she lives behinds a mask of pretense, and that is a
problem in our society we are afraid to be ourselves, to speak out, and
we die inside daily at the end of it all, we live to please people at the
expense of our health, our sanity and our lives.
The second one is the final poem in the book: it speaks about overcoming and that is the message I want to send out to everyone who is, has or
would experience some form of abuse. The key to surviving is to overcome and walk away with your life and sanity intact.
The name ADEGOR in Yoruba, means surviving ones or the ones who
survived. It grew on me the instant I heard of it. The name also has personal meaning for me.
All the entries are done in free verse, so there is just a natural flow to
everything. The cover portrays a woman who has overcome, yes you can
see the physical scars, but her demeanor is one of contemplation - yes I
went through it all but I overcame. The artwork is by Cher Corbin and
the Graphic Design by DeOlivere Originals.
My inspiration for this particular project came from knowing that the
words on the pages of this book could make a difference in someone’s
life; to help someone to heal from whatever their circumstance might be
or recognize the signs of any forms of abuse.
These poems are poignant now at a time when violence against women
seems to be on the rise – what are your thoughts on this?
I am of the opinion that our society is still way behind in terms of dealing
with violence against women. For instance, if a woman is known to be a
victim of abuse, sometimes she is looked upon as weak, it’s like she
can’t be trusted to make the right decisions. How could she not have seen
that something like this could happen?
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