Enit'ayanfe Ayosojumi Akinsanya

I am Enit'ayanfe Ayosojumi Akinsanya. I am from the Yorùbá tribe of Nigeria, a country in Africa. I live in Ogun state in Nigeria. When I'm not writing or teaching a class of teenagers, I love to watch sitcoms & Netflix, and read poetry. Or just spend time on the Internet to entertain and educate myself—and also quarrel with misogynists, fanatics and homophobes.

Question 1: What inspired you to start writing?

The silence and absence in books of the truths that are most central to humanity.

Question 2: How have your past experiences influenced you as a writer?

I identify with the LGBTI+ humans living in Nigeria. I am also a man who believes women are full human beings, and that men do not have to be stones. Therefore, I have a collection of dissatisfactions and hurts that often make me want to talk, question, probe. I want to show the world its shamelessness in how it maligns people like me and everyone else misrepresented and undermined in societies. I want to say, “This is unfair and we must remember that it is.” And I do that best through writing.

Question 3: What have you written that you're the most proud of?

A book, a collection of short stories about LGBTIA+ Nigerians that I titled “How to Catch a Story That Doesn't Exist”. It is up on Amazon as paperback. Below is the link lineup to get it: https://bit.ly/3Tcwvvh

Question 4: What do the words “writer’s block” mean to you? 

The words “Writer's block” mean “Let the baby come, let the baby grow. Give it time. But take your meds, open up yourself, keep your eggs fertile. Or the baby may never come, or grow properly.” It is simply a stage where you have to slowly remind yourself that you are a reader first, an observer first, before you are a writer.

Question 5: When did you first call yourself a writer? 

I was 8 when I started writing plays. But I did not call myself a writer until I was 12 and writing my first ORIGINAL prose. That was 2007.

Question 6: What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?

I am a dish of both servings. I receive the idea, keep it like a baby, try to ignore it, then find out that the universe is slowly plotting alongside with me. Sometimes, the buildup takes its time and I have enough time to dawdle and doodle. But most times, the story whooshes in with the urgency of winking deadlines. I churn out things that surprise me when I'm under the pressure of time running out.

Question 7: If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose?

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Question 8: What is your kryptonite as a writer?

I am not vast in registers. I usually have to make rather exigent research while writing about a field I'm not used to. My Livina Press story, “To Judge a Country”, swallowed some urgent Googling.

Question 9: Do you play music while you write — and, if so, what’s your favorite?

Yes, I do. Afro music does it for me. R & B, too, sometimes.

Question 10: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

Has to be Toni Morrison's, "If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."