{"id":5256,"date":"2021-12-03T11:41:28","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T11:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/?p=5256"},"modified":"2021-12-03T12:03:11","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T12:03:11","slug":"samuel-adeyemi-on-winning-nspp-2021-i-wrote-the-poem-in-a-day-pin-literary-interviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/samuel-adeyemi-on-winning-nspp-2021-i-wrote-the-poem-in-a-day-pin-literary-interviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Samuel Adeyemi on Winning NSPP 2021: \u2018I wrote the poem in a day\u2019 | PIN Literary Interviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 1.7.8 -->\n<div class=\"quads-location quads-ad1\" id=\"quads-ad1\" style=\"float:none;margin:0px;\">\n\n <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.1.7.8 Content AdSense async --> \n\n<script async data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\">\nvar quads_screen_width = document.body.clientWidth;\nif ( quads_screen_width >= 1140 ) {\r\n\/* desktop monitors *\/\r\ndocument.write('<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5983616716487778\" data-ad-slot=\"\" ><\/ins>');\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n}if ( quads_screen_width >= 1024  && quads_screen_width < 1140 ) {\r\n\/* tablet landscape *\/\r\ndocument.write('<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5983616716487778\" data-ad-slot=\"\" ><\/ins>');\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n}if ( quads_screen_width >= 768  && quads_screen_width < 1024 ) {\r\n\/* tablet portrait *\/\r\ndocument.write('<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5983616716487778\" data-ad-slot=\"\" ><\/ins>');\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n}if ( quads_screen_width < 768 ) {\r\n\/* phone *\/\r\ndocument.write('<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5983616716487778\" data-ad-slot=\"\" ><\/ins>');\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n}<\/script>\n\n <!-- end WP QUADS --> \n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-rounded\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img data-attachment-id=\"4496\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/118790839_697640774152335_692204456045484125_n-1-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/118790839_697640774152335_692204456045484125_n-1-edited.jpg?fit=391%2C521&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"391,521\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"118790839_697640774152335_692204456045484125_n-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/118790839_697640774152335_692204456045484125_n-1-edited.jpg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/118790839_697640774152335_692204456045484125_n-1-edited.jpg?fit=391%2C521&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/118790839_697640774152335_692204456045484125_n-1-edited.jpg?resize=88%2C118&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4496\" width=\"88\" height=\"118\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/118790839_697640774152335_692204456045484125_n-1-edited.jpg?w=391&amp;ssl=1 391w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/118790839_697640774152335_692204456045484125_n-1-edited.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 88px) 100vw, 88px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Portrait of Water<\/em> authored by <strong>Samuel Adeyemi<\/strong>, a student of Federal University, Lokoja, won the first prize of the 2021 edition of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP). In this brief conversation with <strong>Semilore Kilaso<\/strong>, he discusses his winning work and previous participation in the NSPP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><em>Samuel A. Adeyemi is the author of the chapbook, Heaven is a Metaphor. He is a Poetry Editor at Afro Literary Magazine and a Poetry Reader at Salamander Ink. A Best of the Net Nominee and Pushcart Nominee, he is the winner of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize 2021. His works have appeared\u2014or are forthcoming\u2014in Palette Poetry, Frontier Poetry, 580 Split, Agbowo, Brittle Paper, Jalada, and elsewhere. When he is not writing, he enjoys watching anime and listening to a variety of music. You may reach him on Twitter and Instagram @samuelpoetry<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>PLI: Hi Samuel. It&#8217;s great to have you back on PIN Literary Interviews, this time as the winner of the Nigerian Student Poetry Prize 2021. Congratulations, again. It is interesting to note that your poem <em>A Monochrome Grief <\/em>was on the last page of NSPP 2020 anthology\u2014 <em>The House That Built Me<\/em>, and now this year&#8217;s anthology is named after your poem Portrait of Water. How do you feel about this win?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Samuel A. Adeyemi: Thank you very much, Semilore. It is a pleasure to talk with you again. I noticed that as well\u2014my longlisted poem closing 2020&#8217;s NSPP anthology, and my winning poem beginning this year&#8217;s. I also noticed I used the word &#8220;portrait&#8221; in the last stanza of the poem in 2020&#8217;s anthology, and the title of this year&#8217;s prize-winning poem had the same word. Of course, it is all coincidence, but, like you, I found that quite interesting. I still am surprised by the win, but I feel great and happy I could go that far.<\/p>\n<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 1.7.8 -->\n<div class=\"quads-location quads-ad2\" id=\"quads-ad2\" style=\"float:none;margin:0px;\">\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<script>\r\n  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({\r\n    google_ad_client: \"ca-pub-5983616716487778\",\r\n    enable_page_level_ads: true\r\n  });\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>PLI: How did you feel about writing with a theme for NSPP? How did you decide on the theme you were going write on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Samuel A. Adeyemi: To be honest, I&#8217;m not a big fan of writing for magazine issues or contests with themes. I&#8217;m not so good at that, adhering to a particular theme. Most times when I submit to themed issues, it&#8217;s because I already had a poem written which coincidentally corresponds. It was a little different with NSPP this year, since there were three themes to pick from. I chose &#8220;Politics of Retrogression&#8221; because it screamed &#8220;Nigeria.&#8221; During that period, I was writing a lot of protest poems, so writing another one seemed natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PLI: How long did it take to write the winning poem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Samuel A. Adeyemi: I wrote the poem in a day, which was unusual because most of my poems take weeks or months to complete (there&#8217;s this stubborn one I&#8217;ve been writing since last year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PLI: Evidently, your win is giving hope to Nigerian contemporary poets. It&#8217;s huge to see a familiar name win NSPP. What is your reaction to this<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Samuel A. Adeyemi: Well, I think it&#8217;s great that there is a little shift. One reason I never imagined winning is that my style of poetry, judging from the previous winners, hasn&#8217;t really been favoured. And that&#8217;s okay. Taste, you know. Admittedly, I did dream someone would break the trend, and weirdly it was me who did. Maybe I&#8217;m just being modest, but I&#8217;m not so sure about giving hope to &#8220;contemporary&#8221; poets\u2014that&#8217;s for them to testify, I think. But if it is so, if my win does inspire contemporary poets alike to be drawn to the prize, then that would be beautiful to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Portrait of Water<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is left of a country if it keeps receding<br>into its shadow? Wherever you stand, gaze at<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>the sky. There is an abyss swallowing the sun;<br>my country draped in black, a bride mourning<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>towards light. Yesterday, a massacre stained<br>my sight. Today, I am running to the stream<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>to wash my face, &amp; my eyes begin to pour. The<br>people say it is proof the wind is still poisoned<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>by grief. Still, I run towards the stream. I fetch,<br>&amp; the water is blood. The people say it is proof<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>the water, too, mourns. So I sit on the stones,<br>wondering what to do with all this red. I weep<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>into the water, but my tears cannot cleanse the<br>poison\u2014each drop rippling gently to its death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Truly, everything dies here. Even the flower<br>is returning into its seed. I know nothing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>about newness anymore. Will you teach me,<br>little bird? The river I go to cleanse myself<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>begs me to cleanse it. In the end, we sit<br>beside each other, praying for rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Read Samuel A. Adeyemi previous interview here:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-wordpress wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-poets-in-nigeria\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"yCu21EidDl\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/poetry-does-not-scare-people-away-anymore-samuel-adeyemi-pin-literary-interviews\/\">\u2018Poetry does not scare people away anymore\u2019 \u2013 Samuel Adeyemi | PIN Literary Interviews<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;\u2018Poetry does not scare people away anymore\u2019 \u2013 Samuel Adeyemi | PIN Literary Interviews&#8221; &#8212; Poets in Nigeria\" src=\"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/poetry-does-not-scare-people-away-anymore-samuel-adeyemi-pin-literary-interviews\/embed\/#?secret=yCu21EidDl\" data-secret=\"yCu21EidDl\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 1.7.8 -->\n<div class=\"quads-location quads-ad3\" id=\"quads-ad3\" style=\"float:none;margin:0px;\">\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<script>\r\n  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({\r\n    google_ad_client: \"ca-pub-5983616716487778\",\r\n    enable_page_level_ads: true\r\n  });\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Portrait of Water authored by Samuel Adeyemi, a student of Federal University, Lokoja, won the first prize of the 2021 edition of the Nigerian Students&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[718],"tags":[235,721,842,767],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5195,"url":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/nigerian-students-poetry-prize-nspp-2021-winners-announced\/","url_meta":{"origin":5256,"position":0},"title":"NIGERIAN STUDENTS POETRY PRIZE (NSPP) 2021 WINNERS ANNOUNCED","date":"October 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"NIGERIAN STUDENTS POETRY PRIZE (NSPP) 2021 WINNERS ANNOUNCED Adeyemi, Titus, Udeoba win NSPP 2021University of Uyo emerges as top-performing schoolOluwasegun Oluseyi Adesina, Ubeke Mark Eche clinch consolation prizes Poets in Nigeria (PIN) has announced Samuel A. Adeyemi, Divine Inyang Titus and Ebubechukwu Ifenna Udeoba as winners for the sixth edition\u2026","rel":"nofollow","context":"In \"Activities\"","img":{"src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5142,"url":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/poetry-does-not-scare-people-away-anymore-samuel-adeyemi-pin-literary-interviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":5256,"position":1},"title":"\u2018Poetry does not scare people away anymore\u2019 \u2013 Samuel Adeyemi | PIN Literary Interviews","date":"August 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It is all about poetry and personal literary endeavours in this conversation between Semilore Kilaso, moderator of PIN Literary Interviews, and Samuel Adeyemi, a young poet and writer. Samuel A. Adeyemi is a young writer from Nigeria. A Poetry Editor at Afro Literary Magazine, his poems have appeared or are\u2026","rel":"nofollow","context":"In \"PIN Literary Interviews\"","img":{"src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4344,"url":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/i-wrote-micah-nspp-2019-winning-poem-for-an-entire-night-ogugua-micah-okoye-pin-literary-interviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":5256,"position":2},"title":"\u2018I wrote Micah (NSPP 2019 winning poem) for an entire night\u2019 \u2013 Ogugua Micah Okoye | PIN Literary Interviews","date":"August 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ogugua Michah Okoye, a student of Enugu State University of Science and Technology, won the fourth edition of the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize with his poem titled \u2018Micah\u2019. He is interviewed by Semilore Kilaso, who asks him questions related to penning the winning poem, his sojourn as a poet, Nigerian\u2026","rel":"nofollow","context":"In \"PIN Literary Interviews\"","img":{"src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5256"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5260,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions\/5260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetsinnigeria.org.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}