After a two month hiatus-- seemed longer, to be honest with you-- EA: Creatively Creative returns to speak with a woman who is not only a writer, author, and poet, but is also a motivational speaker, and known by some as the "Queen of Spoken Word Poetry." From Nigeria, I introduce, Sheefah Zarma.
EA: When did your journey as a writer begin?
SZ: My journey as a writer started in the year 2015, where I did my project on creative writing, personally poetry, where I wrote an anthology of poetry, and my supervisor saw the talent before I even realized I had it in me, so he motivated me to write more, which I did and later had my poems published, where The Silent Noise and other poems was birthed and launched on 16th April 2016.
EA: Describe the feeling of having your written work published across Nigeria.
SZ: The feeling of having my work being published across Nigeria is quite fulfilling and heartwarming; it made me realize the art of consistency and hard work really pays off someday, because when you do what you love, it innately gives you juice. And when the society gives you some accolades for doing what you love doing, then the feeling is of unfathomable euphoria.
EA: What is the concept for your upcoming book, Black Rose?
SZ: It is a collection of prose, poetry and aphorisms which relates to our day to day lives, from the issue of love, hate, friendship, heartbreak, deceit, accusations, slavery, oppression, cultures and so on. The book is segmented into five chapters, which is the petals, thorns, leaves, stem and roots, each category symbolizes a particular thing: the concept is to make it as relatable as possible.
EA: What is the basis, the driving theme of your messages as a motivational speaker?
The basis behind my messages in my motivational clips is to bring more awareness, support, and motivate the female gender. I want a lot of women to realize their strengths and capabilities, to not allow criticism weigh them down and never allow people to define their capabilities in a limited way, and also tell women there is more to just being dolled up, in order to look pretty or sexy. They need to be aware of the fact that, those days are gone, when women stay unproductive; we are in the 21st century and we should have dreams and become leaders of luminious intellects.
EA: In comparison, which would you consider to be the most challenging between writing and motivational speaking?
SZ: Honestly, writing is more challenging because you always have to proofread, do some editorials, revisit your claims and proofread again, you never feel fulfilled, but my motivational speaking just comes from within. I just speak without the thoughts of having any grammatical imperfection. I believe English is a borrowed language, not my L1 but a lingua-franca, so I don't really worry much about my clips.
EA: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
SZ: My advice to any aspiring writer would be to always believe in their craft, believe they are worthy of writing, believe they can be writers or even be the best some day. "Belief" is a strong key to success, and doubt is the fire that burns away luck.but nonetheless, they should develop the habits of reading, knowledge indeed lies in between pages of a book, and always be open to corrections and criticisms. That's how you ever become better.
EA: Finally, tell the readers why Black Rose is a must-read.
SZ: Well, what I can say is, any human being on earth who has ever loved, been hurt before, being misconstrued, betrayed, feel oppressed, batting with self confidence and uncertainty about one's self- worth should definitely grab a copy of Black Rose, and see his/her reflection in the pages of my book. I promise you! You won't be the same person, after reading this book, because it will heal and give you that push up you were searching for.
Epilogue
2015 was also the year I started writing professionally, in terms of my first published book. Writing, as therapeutic and rewarding as it is, also comes with its challenges, such as the ones Sheefah describes. Belief is a strong key to success in anything that you partake in. That's where it all starts. Without belief in yourself, you won't get very far with your aspirations.
With that, I would like to thank Sheefah for taking the time to speak with me. To purchase Black Rose, click the hyperlink below.
Barnes & Noble: Black Rose
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