CREATIVE WRITING AND WRITERS'
RESIDENCIES
By
Nureni Oyewole Fadare, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and
Linguistics
Sokoto State University,
Sokoto
nureini.fadare@ssu.edu.ng
fadnur982@gmail.com
+2348070885707
KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE RECEPTION FOR EBEDI FELLOWS AT THE
EBEDI INTERNATIONAL WRITERS RESIDENCY, ISEYIN, NIGERIA ON JANUARY 21 2023
Observation of Protocols
Introduction
I welcome our four eminent writers:
Justica Anima (Ghana), Fatima Salihu (Nigeria), Anatu Ben-Lawal (Ghana) and
Ramatoulie Onike Othman (Gambia), to the ancient and creative city of Iseyin
for their four week writers’ residency.
Today, most of us live in the big
cities with all its challenges and stresses antithetical to a state of minds
capable of bringing forth novel ideas that creativity requires; hence, the
needs to seek for a serene environment outside the tumultuous city life to
fulfil our writing dreams and career.
Ebedi Writers Residency was
established by our revered mentor and community leader, Hon. Dr. Wale Okediran,
to create such avenue where writers can converge and concentrate on their
creative writings.
Creative Writing is an act of
creating something new or novel out of our imagination based on our experience.
The experience can be what we have read, seen, taught, etc. Nobody writes on
what they have not read, taught, seen or experienced.
It was the Romantic Poet William
Wordsworth in his 1798 seminal titled Lyrical Ballads that defined poetry as
“…spontaneous overflow of feelings…emotion recollected in tranquility.”
Wordsworth was a Romantic poet alongside with his friend Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, who were known in literary history as Romantic Poets.
They wrote about nature; they
glorify the beauty of nature and nature serves as a source of inspiration to
them. Today, Ebedi Writers’ Residency is located beneath the Ebedi Hill in its
majesty, serenity and ambience of tranquility.
Therefore, there is no other better
place to recollect our feelings and emotion in tranquility and have it pen down
than here and now. Therefore you are welcome to Iseyin, E kaabo, Sannu da Suwa,
Akwaaba, dal al jamm, Karibu, you are all welcome to Ebedi Writers’ Residency.
The Writers’ Residency
Writers’ Residency are created all
over the world to create avenue for creative and academic writers to settle
down and complete their on-going works or initiate a new one.
Writers’ Residency is always located
in a serene environment such as being located beside a lake, hill, resort,
cottage or castle. Writing is a private affair and has to be carried out in a
conducive atmosphere and environment.
In the words of Virginia
Woolf, a foremost English feminist writer and author of A Room of One’s Own,
she said, “…a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write
fiction.” (p. 6) The argument here is that to have the right state of mind to
write, one needs to be independent minded and be physically independent too
(Veronica Suarez, 1). Such an atmosphere is created here at Ebedi Writers’
residency.
Writers’ residency takes you out of
the crazy and tumultuous city life.
The bucolic ambience of the writers’
residency helps to ignite writers’ creativity and imagination. Again, it takes
you out of your dependents and loved ones that might serve as distraction to
you while writing. The migration, the longing for your loved ones all help to
ignite your creative imaginations.
There are different policies guiding
the operation of the Writers’ Residency. For instance, at City Writer Residency
of Ottendorf at Gartenhaus am Sudawall, resident writers must relate with the
members of the community just as we have at Ebedi Writers’ Residency.
The same thing is applicable to
Caversham Centre for Artists and Writers in Kwazulu Natal. Some writers’
residencies are fully sponsored, some are partly sponsored while writers have
to pay in some instances.
Types of Residencies
Writers Only Residency: This type of
residency welcomes only those that are into literary works such as poetry,
drama or prose. Mostly the residency are connected with the publishing
houses.
Multi-Disciplinary Writers’
Residency: This type of residency welcomes creative writers, academic writers,
artists among others. Examples of such multi-disciplinary residency are: Tyrone
Guthrie Centre or Capacete. Most big writers have participated in one writers.
Residency or the others.
Ebedi Writers Residency is a
Multi-Disciplinary Writers’ Residency
Between MFA and Writers Residency
There is a difference between MFA
(Master of Fine Arts) and Writers’ Residency. MFA programme is meant for a
young scholar planning to go into academics and becomes professors. MFA
programme includes attending classes, lectures, mentorship among others.
Whereas, Writers’ Residency is organized for writers and, or academics to
complete their creative or academic works.
A typical example of MFA programme
is MFA Programme for Writers at Warren Wilson College which was
established in 1976 by a renown poet and teacher Ellen Bryant Voigt.
For the avoidance of doubt, Ebedi
Writers Residency was established as an interdisciplinary writers residency
with focus on established writers and academics who are expected to work
independently, complete a specific planned work and interact with the members
of Iseyin community so that they can give back to the host community in terms
of sharing of knowledge and mentoring the younger ones.
It was not established as a training
centre for the writers but a centre of comfort for writers to realize their
dreams of completing their on-going research which might be difficult for them
to achieve while at the comfort of their place of abode.
The Resident Writers in the
Residency
The ultimate goal of the resident
writers while staying at the residency is to meet up with their targets in
completing chapters of their books, completing a story book, play or poetry as
well as other related academic works.
The resident writers should divide
their period of staying into three and make judicious use of their time, before,
during and after the residency.
Pre-Residency Period
Proposal: A would be writer must
have a well written proposal that will set out the work plan while at the
residency.
The writer should set out a
clear cut goal and ensure that the target and the expected works to be
completed are within the capacity of the writer to be completed within a time
frame of four (4) weeks.
Choose a Familiar Terrain to Work
on: The prospective resident writer should choose a specific area that they are
familiar with especially if it is pure academic work. Writing on a subject one
is not familiar with makes the writing more tedious and strenuous.
Don’t be too Ambitious: You must set
out the scope and limitation of your work; be specific on what you intend to
write on. What matters is that you should come up with a specific, well written
and publishable work at the end of the residency.
Writing and Research Materials:
Ensure that you have enough writing materials as well as having a good computer
to ease your writings. Be sure that your gadgets are in good shape to make your
work easier.
During the Residency
Be Disciplined and Organised: For
you to achieve your target goal, you need to be disciplined and organized. Be
conscious of why you left your comfort zone and came to the residency.
Keep to your work plan.
Schedule your time: prayer time, breakfast, reading, tea-break, lunch, siesta,
recreation time among others.
Residency is not a period of holiday
but work. Relate with others while focusing on the main reason that has brought
you here.
Always have your writing materials
with you: Even when you are sleeping, your writing materials should be with you
so that you can jot down any new idea that comes to your mind.
Ensure you are committed to your
Original Plan: Follow your original plan and ensure that you are actually
working towards achieving your set goals.
Be Time Conscious: Always spend your
time judiciously and avoid time wastage. Every time counts while at the residency.
Always ask yourself, have I met with
my target today? How much have I achieved today and how much more can I achieve
before the closing of the day? My target is to write at least ten pages of my
novel per day, have I achieved this or not?
Eat Good Food, Sleep and Rest: Do
not over work yourself. Ensure that you eat well, sleep well and take your
rest. All these will energize you and make you more productive.
Use Library Often: By the mention of
library, some people would ask, do we have a library here? Yes, Iseyin is
blessed with a world class library, Raji Oke-Esa Library which is well
furnished and well located in a conducive environment.
Again, there are a lot of
online library that can be consulted such as: z-library.org,
Library Genesis, pdfdrive.com among others.
There are also search engine that
could be of help such as: Research Gate, Google, Google scholar, Academia,
among others. Consult your physical and online library to validate your ideas
while at the residency.
Mentorship: One of the main
objective establishing this centre is to interact with the members of the
immediate environment, through teaching, training the young ones, mentoring
among others.
Having social interaction with
the members of the community will serve as the sign-posts and things that will
linger-on in your minds years after you have left the residency.
Be Socialized: Spend your time well
by meeting people and interact with people well. One of the precious advantages
of travelling is that you meet people.
You can also visit our tourists’
attraction centres such as: Ado-Awaye Suspended Lake, Osoogun, the home-town of
Samuel Ajayi Crowther, Ikere George Dam, the Manor House, Aseyin of Iseyin Land
Palace among others.
After the Residency:
Review Your Initial Work Plan: You
need to review your plan in order to evaluate how judiciously or otherwise you
have spent your time while at the residency.
Editorial Work: Ensure your work is
thoroughly edited and prepare them for publication.
Assessor: Get a good assessor to
assess your work objectively to ascertain whether or not they are suitable for
publication.
Publication: Look for a good
publisher and get your work published. Publishing your work will help the
public to learn from the pool of your knowledge and research outputs.
Addendum: Towards an Effective and
Efficient Ebedi Writers Residency
Many writers, both upcoming and well
established writers have benefited from Ebedi Writers’ Residency and the task
before us is how to sustain the programme. I have identified some areas that we
need to work on for the sustenance of the Residency.
Funding: As much as I know, this
residency is being solely sponsored by Dr. Wale Okediran. We may need to look
at how to sustain this residency in the future by looking for alternative ways
of funding it. International organizations, government at all levels and
philanthropists can be contacted to support this noble cause.
Collaboration: The centre needs to
collaborate with other necessary agencies and individual in order to develop
the centre such as: media partnership, technical partnership, security, etc.
Establishment of Ebedi Writers
Alumni: There is also a need a to have an Alumni Association for the centre
where past writers would meet and discuss how the centre will be sustained for
the benefits of next generations of writers.
Publicity: The residency needs more
publicity. The events at the residency should be publicized though media. Good
and wide publicity will attract goodwill to the centre.
Conclusion
My concern in today’s interaction is
to look at Creative Writings and the Writers’ Residency. I tried to
explain what creative writings means and how it is exigent for us to have
a writers’ residency where the ideas in the minds of the writers will be
transformed into writing.
I also looked at the
differences between the MFA programme and the writers’ residency, and I argued
that the main difference between writers’ residency and MFA is that MFA is more
of a training ground for young scholars while a writers’ residency is meant for
established writers to complete their ongoing work or initiate a new one.
I also discussed what the resident
writer should do before, during and after the residency.
An addendum was added on my
suggestions on how to improve the residency.
I hope you will enjoy your stay at
Ebedi Writers’ Residency located in Iseyin, the ancestral home of Aso Oke.
Ensure you move around and see the beauty of our great City.
Thank you and have a wonderful stay
with us.
Bibliographies
https://www.transartists.org/en/air/europ%C3%A4isches-%C3%BCbersetzer-kolloquim.
Accessed on 20/01/2023
Suarez, Veronica, “Writing
Residencies: What are they, and is it for you?” Retrieved from: https://www.readpoetry.com/writing-residencies-what-are-they-and-is-it-for-you/
“The MFA Program for Writers-Warren
Wilson College.”
https://www.warren-wilson.edu/programs/mfa-in-creative-writing/
Wordsworth, William and Coleridge,
Samuel Taylor, Lyrical Ballads London: J & A. Arch., 1798
Woolf, Virginia, A Room of One’s
Own. London: Horgart Press, I929
