My music is extension of my poetry, says James Eze

As he dashes about preparing Things Fall Apart Festival in Enugu, UDUMA KALU traps its organising chair and poet, musician, journalist James Eze who spoke to his art

You have been away from the scribal tradition, doing performance and music since you left the chief press secretary job. Is this a twist to your art?

THERE is no twist to my art whatsoever. My art has been in ascent, growing in intensity and scope. My music is a continuation of my poetry. There is no marked difference there. Critics and admirers have always observed that my poetry is lyrical. I don’t write narrative poetry or the kind of poetry that comes across as prose, pretending to be poetry. I have a lot of respect for poets who write prose poetry but that is not my style. So, when you write poetry that has internal rhythm and lyrical harmony, it is always easy to turn them into songs. Besides, I have always been passionate about music. I was a rapper, an MC, in my undergraduate years. I had always known that given the chance, I wouldn’t flinch from taking a shot at music. When the chance presented itself, I grabbed it. However, I am still writing poetry. And as you would probably have figured out already, I am never in a hurry to publish my works.

You are essentially a love poet. How true is this?

I have often wondered why many Nigerians, including poets and writers, look down on love poems. They look at people who write love poems as soft… poets who lack the grit to engage political and socio-cultural themes. Even the way you put this question across to me suggests that I may be apparently worshipping on the wrong altar. That is fine. However, let me put it this way: love poetry is the foundation stone of the tradition of poetry. It carries the very essence of poetry and its unwavering relevance across cultures, traditions and eras. Love is a universal theme. Writing about love cannot be a lesser art than any other theme. Some of the most famous poems known to the world are love poems. Shakespeare’s “Shall I compare you to a Summer’s Day” is a love poem. So are other great poems listed among the best poems ever. So, yes, I write love poems. But I have written about other themes too. You have not actually read my collected poems otherwise you would have realized that the title poem of my debut collection dispossessed had nothing to do with love. The collection has three segments covering major themes like childhood, love and serious politics. The title poem itself is about the Biafran War. So, I consider it extremely belittling to describe me as a love poet. I have a much wider range than that and I have demonstrated that time and again. However, if it is my love poems you feel the most, I can understand that. But it is not correct to christen me a love poet. That tag does not sit well on me.

And your performance. How do you go about it? I mean the filming, acting, costuming, setting etc. Will it take you to Nollywood?

I am essentially a poet. I am a poet whose poetry finds expression in music. I am not deeply involved in the performance of my works. Yes, it is true that I have a few videos of my songs on YouTube but they serve merely as an effort to bring my poetry closer to the people. I had made it clear elsewhere that I was seeking new audiences for poetry. Most of my songs are protest poems set to music. You may want to sample “Shege,” “Make the world a better place” and “Survivor” to understand what I am talking about. They are not so much about performance as they are about the message. And no, I am not eyeing Nollywood although I also write documentary scripts fairly well.

You seem to have a grouse with performance poetry and spoken word poetry. What is the difference? Which is your preferrence?

I have no grouse with performance poetry and the spoken word art. I simply think that not enough poetry comes through from most of the spoken word performances I have seen. The emphasis is more on performance than the message. It sort of waters down the entire thing for me. I take poetry seriously. I push myself very hard when I write poems, seeking fresh metaphors and imageries that stand like the sound of ogene. Poetry is a high office. It is not a space for people who have no rigour and patience to incubate their emotions and burnish their expressions. I feel put off when I come across spoken word artists who think that saying clever things in a prosaic language… things that lack imaginative thought and serious reflection are poetic enough. Poetry is more demanding than that. It is a tortuous deployment of imaginative language. Sometimes the process of creating a good poem could be as painful as extracting a bad tooth or as easy as scooping a dollop of ice cream into the mouth. Unfortunately, most spoken word poets are more attracted to the glamour of performance and terribly averse to rigour.

And hiphop and your music. What is your music? I see a tilting towards Flavour. Why?

My music does not easily fall into Flavour’s category of music. Nor is it Afrobeat either. My music is essentially conscious music, since it is an extension of my poetry. I wouldn’t call myself a music artist or a musician. I am a poet who understands the use of music to heighten the feeling that comes with the tradition of poetry.

James Eze