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Writers' Forum
Q:
Propriety of Poetic Imagery
Won't your flight to Grecian myths (Prometheus, et al)
seem far-fetched and alien considering that you had the choices of
comparison between Ken Saro Wiwa's fate and the fate of others
either in your locale or African neighbourhood such as Okigbo of
your country or Steve Biko of South Africa?
USHIE:
 This
is a good question. There is no doubting the fact that we have
enough heroes and martyrs in Africa to use as reference points in
writing such as this. I am usually conscious of this. However, I
also believe that literature is like a sea, which takes in water
from many rivers, rivulets and streams. Once the water from these
tributaries enters the sea or ocean, it becomes common property of
all men, and all can fish in it�. In this case, I think of the image
that is most apt for my immediate need. First, I explore for the
African image, if it is not sufficient, I would go for an
alternative. I would be concerned with the image that gives me the
greatest tellability ratio, not necessarily the most African. This
does not make me Eurocentric, I suppose, because I've come to know
that my strength, even as a writer, is in my Africanness, and in my
African indigenous language.
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