INTERVIEW WITH MR. SHOLA BALOGUN, A
PLAY WRITGHT, FILM MAKER, POET.
Yoruba creative vision that
has really inspired me in my artistic undertakings by SHOLA BALOGUN
E.P: Can we know you?
AND: My name is Shola Balogun, I am from Igboora, Ibarapa Central, Oyo
State Nigeria, I obtained a masters degree in theatre Arts from university of
Ibadan, I am a play wrighter, poet, film maker and writer, my creative music is
the mystic Ladder in the Yoruba world and judeo Christian thoughts, submit that
my poetry is in the ladder seeing by Jacob the Hebrew patriarch in the vision
whose top of it is said to reach to heaven. My creative music moves beyond the
world of forms to the world of formlessness, from interpretations to experience
from the natural to the supernatural.
A poet, sometime is a priest in such a role one must know how to bridge the
gult between what should be said through observation and what needs to be
encoded through diction. The Yoruba world vision that “Oba Ki Mu Onkorin” comes
in handy. The poets fury and bitter anger against injustice looting, immoral
actions of the rulers are coined playfully but dangerously.
I have featured as a guest writer and contributor, especially in the areas
of poetry, post colonial studies and dramatic criticism to various
magazines,
Anthologies including international journal of rescued (Edupadic publication
scholar support scheme) New Delhi, India.
The creative launcher, an international open access pear reviewed and
refereed E- journal in English vol. 11, I issue iii (August 2017).
European languages, university of Allahabad, Udkar Pradeshi, India.
The Tai literacy and visual Art
Journal of Lourdes university, sylearia, ohio, the invisible bear, a journal
affiliated with Duke university’s English department graduate poetry working
group (Durham, north Carolina)
Creative Talents
Unleashed: cupidp arrow anthology. 60 years of the muse VI (edited by
Professor Femi Osofisan
Question 2, What inspires you in your artistic undertaking?
Ans: It is Yoruba creative vision that has really inspired me in my artistic
undertakings by Yoruba creative vision, I mean the Yoruba traditional theater,
cultural festivals, poetry and language permit me to come in here both as a
poet and acid reader of several world literatures from my youth background to
shake spare’s England, Arabic poetry and what I would refer to as Judeo –
Christian thoughts. As you correctly observed those poems writer poets whose
English is not their first language carry some meanings beyond the shores of
English language. They carry in them the profundity, the spiritual intuition
the unbroken chords of native symbolism as which could not be defined in the
mould of any other tongust in my summation as an example, a perceptive of look into
Yoruba contexts serves to provide me with what I call “cosmic esthetics
apprehensions of imageries which are both sensual, dramatic and esoteric.
Every creative intellectual who is truly ardent in his native dialect, arts
and spiritual visions will not fail to understand what ties with t as the times
between the familiar and the unfamiliar. It is one to be a poet, it is quite
another to be a true poet. A true poet does not only have a way with
words. It true poet is a word smith, a true poet is a great is a imaginer, to
write in English, he must bring more of his lagunity, so maturity and pyro
dynamic course seasons into English not only to meet or bend his native
language to suit the familiar but mainly to bring the unfamiliar into English
in the world of his native tongue. This is a form of awakening, not expatriated
from having the proper nativity and creative transmission help me prapoting
this with all humility that there are some expressions in Yoruba whose
consciousness and weights could only be understood by melting English into a
totally different English without leaving out the Englishness.
The impact of this approach has enlarged the bodies of English, added more
volumes into English vocabulary and a distinct genre to worlds literature in
several of my poems, especially those that deal with traditional Yoruba
projectional such as “The Road”, song’s “Balled”, the statue of Moremi “Fakon”
“Eyes in the Cile” “Rain whispered” “Othello” I step out to Hwaad this creative
line of thought, one convinced my essays further specially “Theatre Aesthetics”
in pre colonial Africa.
E.P: Tell us some of your works that have been published or produced.
Ans: Some of my books that have been published are “The wrestling of Jacob”
“Death and sucide in selected Africa plays” “praying dangerously” “the cry of
blind bertimaus” they are available as e-book and paper book formats. My films
and screen plays are:
“The Gods are laws
“Wrestling with Shadokws”
“The secret place”
“Deliverance From the rod of the wicked”
Some of my published scholarly articles include:
“Theatre Aesthetics in pre-colonial Africa”
“Mystic ladder in the Yoruba world and Judeo Christian vision”
The Tragic conventions in African play”
“Tragedy in African theatre”
“Traditional Religious festival as theatre”
“woman, Yoruba, festival drums and the theatre”
E.P: How will you describe the attitude of the productive?
Ans: The attitude of the Nigerian reading poetic to published works and
production is at best honorous to me, by “Productions I assume you mean home –
videos and television, networks. You can hardly find a single book, not to talk
of a book shelf in a Nigeria home but you will surely find out to your
battlement not that almost each home has a convertible theatre. No thanks to
cable networks. We embrace the sensual to the detriment of the intellectual. It
is not truly encouraging. There is a reason only the jews are called “People of
the book” and we witness to what they have contributed as a verse to the world
in an fields of linage endeavours. We need to reconsider only world
perceptions.
E.P: Who are those, you look up to in the Arts.
Ans: In the arts, I look up to in such geniuses as Wole Soyinka, A;miri
Baraka (Leroi Jews) the mystic poet Sum, Rumi, Omar Khayyam, Duro Ladipo,
Efdward Said, Tunde Awosanmi, Leopold Religious circle, I look up to Dr. D. K.
Olukoya, Laster Sumrall, Martin Luther.
E.P: Sir how rewarding is the vocation?
Ans: One’s love for creative vision is quite rewarding on its own. It
sharpens one thoughts and help to have a purposeful living with the joy that
one is contributions to world literature as an imaginer. But in terms of
monitory reward, it is my belief that one may still be in the period of sowing.
E.P: Any new work from you e.g new book, film production or concert.
Ans: At present, I have two books which are set to be out soon.- The Demonic
Third eye, and The Book of Jasher.. likewise a film titled The Spirit Behind.
These works will be available at book shops across Nigeria especially
Mountain of Fire and Miracles ministries bookshop, they will also be available
for direct purchase from me.
E.P: Your projection for the next five years.
Ans: Candid is to have volumes that will really shake the foundation of Africa
creative writings. Now this is amusing, may be to considered a chair in Harvard
or worthy of Nobel prize in literature (Laughs)
E.P: Finally your message to your readers?
Ans: My message to my fans and my readers is that I love them with the love
of Christ the power and the wisdom of God.
Thank you so much.
