OMOSUN SYLVESTER URDEEN
Silver Fox's Den
INTERVIEW
Omosun Sylvester Urdeen
author - poet
SF -  Where do you get the inspiration for your written works?

USO - From what little experience I had with the world, and the acceptance that I am different
 
SF - Are there parts of you contained in your works?

USO - Yes, good writers are said to write what counts to them, my talent and the fact that I am here against all odds, I write more by means of myself, pulling words all out of myself, like a conjurer pulls a duck out of an empty hat
 
SF - What t form(s)of expression are you most comfortable with?

USO -  The whole of nature inspired me, the beauty in its universal state

SF - Where do you hope to see your creative career go?

USO - To get international recognition and financial security, with the aim of helping other young writers financially more capable in getting their works out
 
SF -  Have your life experiences influenced your work?
If so, how?

USO -  In the beginning, I wrote more about my hearing impairments at an early age. As I matured and accepted my state It helped me to grow.
My mind moves away from my own weakness, to find strength in helping others. The contact and association with the minority influenced the direction of my writings
 
SF - What, if anything, would you like to share about you, the person?

USO - I knew pain and am afraid of feeling it again. I am still trying to break hold of the fear.Most of my writing portrays my state of mind. When I wrote of the Sudan conflict, the Rwanda genocide and the Iraq war, they are all from the inner well of the pain i knew about. It always takes one to know one. Those who have themselves suffered, are those who are best at this. Their experiences help them to sense the inner struggle of others
 
SF - How has your transition to publication gone?

USO - I can't really say. I keep on trusting, even after being ripped off.It ever comes out, my best chance is as an ebook. I can't afford one, here in Africa. Not now, due to financial constraints
 
SF - What would you like to do differently the next time?

USO -  Teach others in a different country. Join the Red Cross, in a region that needs volunteers.  Christ-likeness is the direction in my sight right now
 
SF - To whom do you seek advice and / or support from?

USO - From my mind. The mind is a friend. I sit and ponder and talk with it. My friend and my lord Jesus Christ keeps me company and directs me. They speak through others, but the final decision always comes from the mind

SF- When can your fans expect to enjoy your work again?

USO - There are 4 volumes of works in my archive.  One of them, I hope, will be out this year
 
SF - How can your fans reach you?

USO - Through email - [email protected] or at myblog- www.tribalpoetry.blogspot.com
 
SF - Do you have any presently scheduled events for the next few months?

USO -Yes. I will be in three Nigerian states observing the Nigerian cultural festival. There is something, about being in the field of study that inspires the works you write about. The spirit lives in what you study
 
SF - What books / poetry / artwork have you read / seen lately that you would like to recommend?

USO -  A Month and a Day.. by KEN SARO wiwa

SF -What is your idea of fun?

USO - -Wallowing in the stream with the village kids, doing new things, turning fictions into poems, dancing

SF - What experiences do you hope to one day have?

USO - To hear the sound of my lovers� voice again. To live way beyond the sound barrier.,and the sense of security generated by peaceful matrimony

SF - - What places do you still wish to travel to?

USO - -USA, South Africa, Sudan, Rwanda

SF - Do you have an agent and if not are you looking for one?

USO - No, I am looking for one, in any country

SF - Are there any other professionals you are seeking to enhance your career?

USO - Web design and development as well as career counseling

SF - How many not yet to be released works do you have keeping warm on the back burner?

USO - four

SF - When, where and what type of environment are you most creative in?

USO - My tribe, I watch the farmers walk, and my mind walks with them. In the field the pencils are out, in the city, the hawkers screamed, gaining my respect and admiration, putting words in my manuscript. In solitude I speak with God. He gave me the wisdom of the wise, there three. The tribe, the city or in solitude, they are all same

SF - What other talents should everyone know you have?

USO -  Stage art/dance, martial art (judo), songwriting

SF - Where would you like to see your life five years from now?

USO - My greatest wish, is  to be with people, who are well read, in order to share my works with others, to cross borders with the local or foreign writers, and be recognized by my own difference in my views

SF - Is there anyone out there you would like to acknowledge?

USO - The catholic monastery in my home town, who made it possible for me to live among the villages with peace of mind. All my online pals as well as the  writers in the groups I have ever come in contact with.  They helped me to grow

SF - I'd like to thank Omosun Sylvester Urdeen for accepting my invitation for an interview. Within the poetry community he is very well known. However, due to constraints resulting from living in Nigeria, has undoubtedly impacted negatively on him receiving the level of recognition he deserves. His poetry and prose are very raw. What is not perfect in its English grammar is more than balanced in his command of word usage in evoking vivid imagery.  His words and messages are raw and unapologetic. He has voiced the feelings and experiences of  a largely voiceless peoples. Not that Nigerians do not speak nor express their feelings. The messages are smothered to the rest of the world beyond its borders. Not since completing the books written by Chinuea Achebe have I felt, seen and hear life in Nigeria so eloquently expressed.

  The fact that Omosun aka Tribal Poet is deaf has no more prevented him from allowing the reader to hear the sounds than Stevie Wonder describing the loveliness of his daughter upon her birth.. There are  not enough words I can personally think to use that would adequately express how powerfully moved I am when reading Mr Urdeen's works . His debut release Over The Tall Straw Grass  is a remarkable collection that will be a must have to all lovers of poetry. His prose an honor to every activist for improving the human condition that has ever existed.
 
Beyond his written works Omosun has lived a selfless life and spends most of his time either working with the absolute most destitute youth in his native land, working and learning  from monks. He is also quite often  found talking and learning from the tribal elders. Like Frederick Douglas , Tribal Poet is for the most part self taught. Yet, has the genus of a man if letters. I have the deepest respect for him as a man, as a poet and as a voice of hope for the future generations of mankind.  Please visit his web sites at  http://www.tribalpoetry.blogspot.com and at http://soulfulchemistry.com/whyiwrite.html     

And by all means, please feel free to write commentary on his sites. He strongly welcomes the opinions of his readers. I personally look forward to all future collections of his work.
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