– Abubakar Adam Ibrahim has been pegged as one of the fast rising literary stars in the country.
– His latest book, Season of Crimson Blossoms, published in 2015, has been receiving rave reviews both locally and internationally.
– Season of Crimson Blossom is a story about a 55-year-old Muslim woman who has an affair with a 25-year-old thug.
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim is a writer and journalist based in Abuja. His short story collection, Whispering Trees, which was published by Parresia in 2012, was long-listed for the Etisalat Prize for Literature in 2014 with the title story shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2014.
Prior to his latest work Season of Crimson Blossom, he published his first novel is The Quest for Nina in 2012. Currently the arts editor of the Daily Trust newspaper, Ibrahim spoke to Kullove.com contributor, Nikki Duke, in Abuja about Season of Crimson Blossoms and why he chose to write about the sex life of a menopausal widow.
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What inspired you to write Season of Crimson Blossoms?
You know how you sometimes feel like you’re going mad when you hear voices in your head? That was how it started, with these characters whispering in my head, telling me stuff. Some very kinky stuff. The principal inspiration was to tell a good story and as I wrote, it became something else. It evolved, it grew.
How long did it take to write it?
It started in 2011 and I had the first draft ready in 2013. I’ve made improvements since then so, more or less, three to four years.
What was the hardest part of writing it?
Maybe the sex scenes. I mean, it wasn’t that hard anyway but it was complicated writing about this very respectable woman doing naughty things. So, it was finding the balance between respecting her integrity, and by extension the culture she represents, and having her do all the stuff that she did in the book. That was probably the hardest part of the book.
Was this your first sex scene?
No. I’ve written a really kinky sex story. The whole story happened during the intercourse; it’s a very short story anyway. No, I didn’t publish it. But it’s always been there. I’ve read it in some gatherings. This is the first (sex scene) that is published.
Because you hadn’t really written one in this way and it was going to be shown to people, how did you feel about it?
I’m not particularly fond of writing sex scenes except they are absolutely necessary. If the sex is not absolutely relevant to the story, I don’t see any point of putting it there because I feel that sometimes you write sex scenes and another one and another one then the reader goes ‘yeah, so we know they are doing it, so what’s the point of it?’ For me it’s important that every interaction they had has a purpose in the story and the way they have sex depicts exactly their state of mind and how they relate to each other.
What do you love most about your main character, Binta?
I like that she is relatable; that even though she is different, she is still typical in a way that is not exactly stereotypical. She is sort of your average 55-year-old woman but she is not average because of her ideas and thoughts. She is the sort of woman you could easily situate in a community; you could be walking down the street, looking at someone and thinking oh this could be Binta.
In your first novel, The Quest for Nina, published in 2009 by Raider publishing, Biko Maiyaki’s love for his deceased wife leads him to her secret diary and to uncover his own family secrets. What brought about such a story line?
Can we not talk about that book? I’m pretending that book doesn’t exist at all.
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Why?
It wasn’t properly done. The contract was dodgy and so in the end I had to revoke everything and stop the selling and publishing.
Are you still comfortable with it as a novel or it’s just the bad experience with the publishers?
I’d probably write it differently now. It is a story that I still like very much and people who have read have thought I should have gone ahead and published it on a larger scale. But you write something and then you move on; you grow. You don’t want to do it again.
In the six years between publishing Quest for Nina in 2009 and Season of Crimson Blossoms in 2015, how much has your writing changed? Or is it the same?
It can never be the same. There was Whispering Trees in-between. With Whispering Trees, the first story was written 15 to 13 years ago. It’s been a while but every time, I evolve as a writer, I like to challenge myself to tell better stories and create better characters. So in terms of how my writing has evolved, I’d rather that my readers tell me. But I’ve had feedback that the style is different from Whispering Trees even though some elements are still present. Perhaps the language is more elaborate, more ornate.
A recurring theme I noticed in your writing is the influence of women. Is this intentional or accidental?
I love women. So it is natural that women should have important roles in my novels. Even without, women constitute the large part of the population so how do you write a novel and kind of neglect women or give them insignificant roles? It’s possible but if you are going to reflect society and what’s happening then women have to play a permanent role. When you think about it critically, what people do is often determined by the women in their lives. Maybe the kind of jobs they do might be influenced by mother or their aunty. They kind of person they eventually become is mostly shaped by their mothers or the women they’ve dated and all that. Sometimes they have experiences with women that shape the way they think. For instance, a man could have a fight with his friend he grew up with and nobody talks to each other for 15 to 20 years. Then it’s possible he could meet a woman for 6 months and she breaks his heart and that completely upsets his psyche over the last 20 to 30 years. You can’t underestimate the influence of women in shaping society whether for good or for evil.
Let’s talk writer’s block. Do you feel you have to sit and train yourself to write through it or you should wait for inspiration?
Any writing that is forced is false. Sometimes when people read you, they know it is forced and doesn’t come naturally so it’s going to be defective in some ways. No matter how hard you try to perfect the writing, there’s going to be something missing. Writers are like mad people but not completely mad because they retain some elements of sanity. They have to be on the fringes to be able to communicate with people that don’t exist. So you’re ability to liaise with these characters in your head determines the level of your sanity to a large extent. When you relate with them, you have fun with them; they show you places and tell you things and life is good. But sometimes they get into grumpy moods and don’t want to talk at all.
What to you are the elements of a good story?
Good plots. I love my plots very well, they are important to me. Good characters too. And language is equally important.
As a writer, how do you deal with rejection?
Take it on the chin and move on. It happens. No matter how good you are. Writing is a relative thing and there are people who simply cannot connect to what you write. Wole Soyinka won the Nobel Prize for Literature and there are people who can’t stand anything Soyinka has written, same with Ben Okri who won the Booker, till today people still read that book and go, I don’t understand it. If someone doesn’t like your writing, there are others who will eventually. As I’ve always said, for a writer, it’s important to have faith in yourself and belief in your craft and you should also challenge yourself to be better. So if the rejection comes, fine and good. Just put in it in the waste basket and move on.
What key advice do you have for upcoming writers?
Write hard. Write from your heart and with your head and believe in yourself.
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