Ebube Ugorji on Writer's Focus

Francisca Ogechi Okwulehie chats with Ebube Ugorji as he lets us into his writing journey and unconventional love for writing.

FOO: Tell us about yourself.( Name, Schools attended, Family etc)

EU: My Name is Ugorji Ebube Emmanuel and '2much' a name I picked up in secondary. We all have our nick names the one infamously bequeathed to us by our frienemies. 2much was one of them. Pardon me, I will digress a little. I schooled at Madonna Model Secondary school Owerri. Around my SS2 when my brain I think began to function, to aspire for greater heights, (I would think myself a late bloomer) I answered questions thrown left and right. I was unassaible and so I thought I deserved a worthy name and I unceremoniously baptized my self 2much. Well we are a family of six, four boys two girls. Third son, Fifth Child. Last Born for Eight years. Yeah I know what it feels like to live like a king (smiles). I have a B.ed in English Education and am currently finishing up my LLB.

FOO: How did you get into Writing?

EU: Well it started with Waec,with Jamb. That was my earliest and strongest connection with literature and by extension writing. It started with the poem Sitting on the Fence By Lenrie Peters.
“There where the need for good
and doing good conflict
there I lie.”
For the first time I came in contact with the powerful images capable of being evoked by lining up beautiful words. And then came 1984 by George Orwell. The book left a scar. As a young boy, growing up with more than enough. I thought the world was perfect. Until 1984 tore my heart. And lastly, My first poem my first adventure into writing came with the Aluu Four Killing, spilled brains, charred bodies. What scared me most wasn’t the violence alot needless. But that they were innocent they did not. I felt unsafe. I felt my mortality and I ran to poetry for succour.

FOO: Who are your favourite Authors?

EU: No doubt the first on the list is Graham Greene especially his book “Heart of the Matter” which unfortunately is his only work I have read. Nevertheless, the effect was total. He is that writer that names your Ghost.
Second on the list is Araundhati Roy. I think she missed out a lot on her childhood. Because she plays a lot in her prose, which is at once annoying and at the same time unputdownable. And lastly Abubakar Ibrahim. When you thought you’ve read it all. And from nowhere, someone springs something new hard and concrete. Nevertheless, this is less a rating of the writer and more a rating of the effect, the novel mentioned had on me.

FOO: Do you have published work(s)/ articles? ( Where can they be found?)

EU: Yeah, sure my first set of published works could be located in a soaked jotter far rottend like a corpse in the dust bin (smiles).
Being an Editor at Ngiga, my works have found home at ngigareview.com and also on my Fcaebook page. Here’s a link of my most recent poem “How to read a Tribute” (https://www.ngigareview.com/2019/04/poem-how-to-read-a-tribute-by-ugorji-ebube/) do enjoy !

FOO: What is the most fascinating thing about Writing?

EU: Apart fom creating life playing with it and disposing of it? Breaking a heart, shredding it and beginning to fix it back piece by piece? Writing is power!

FOO: Do you have writing Mentors?

EU: I don’t have writing mentors per say. I just have writers who I seriously admire their work and really hope if I master this art. I write like them. Writer’s like Chidera Duru, Tj Benson. They write the kind of stuff I would love to write. And my very good friend Omotayo Jones Obinna.

FOO: Is there anything you think the Writing Industry can do to get better?

EU: Defintely! I think the attention given to writing competitions and prizes is perhaps becoming dangerous. Most writers now write for these prizes. Forgetting we write because we have a story to tell and not what we think some editors may want to read.

FOO: What is your fashion sense, on a scale of 1-10 ?

EU: Lols..ah my fashion sense is quite horrible. Maybe -1, just give me a t-shirt, jean (either black or blue) and a slip-on. I am good.

FOO: Do you have a specific time for writing?

EU: Nah I don’t think so. But I do prefer to write on Sundays.

FOO: What sort/ genre of books do you read?

EU: I definitely love Psychological fiction. The deal with the interplay and foreplays of the mind. What interests me in a book, is not the events, what happened or would happen so to say. But actions, reactions and inactions of the character that either led to or prevented an event.

FOO:  If you were to go on a date with an Author or Writer, who would that be and why?

EU: I prefer to watch from afar, watch them talk talk, read, lecture. But to go on a date with one. It will be difficult to dislogde your idea of them from their books you have read. It could get awkward. But if  I have no choice. Then Chimamanda Adichie. She’s real. And she can really inspire and get you to believe in your self. Which is what upcoming writers definitely need.

FOO: Do you think Writers should depend on the profits of their writing alone?( What's your opinion on Writer's having a side hustle?)

EU: Well I definitely think writing should be the side- hustle. From facts, only few actually break through the industry.

FOO: If you were to go on a vacation, what will be the five things you take along as a Writer?

EU: My Laptop, jotter and then books, books and books and yeah palm wine.

FOO: Drop your social media handles so your readers can get in touch with you.

EU: Alright follow me on Instagram @ugorjiebube twitter @UEbube and facebook My Full Name Ugorji Ebube Emmanuel