Interview with Titilope Sonuga

Who is Titi? or Titilope?

Titilope is a writer and poet with a desire to articulate the complex nuances of the human experience. A woman searching for her purpose and reaching for the highest expressions of love. 

When did you start writing?

I don't remember the exact age I started writing in general. I took an interest in poetry in particular at about 13.  

What inspires your poetry?

Inspiration is an interesting thing. It often comes in the most unexpected places. I'm inspired by love, I'm inspired by watching a group of women tell their truth, I'm inspired by the things people are not saying when they are speaking, by body language and the way our eyes cannot tell a lie. I'm inspired by heartache and hurt, as much as I'm inspired by romance and joy. I'm constantly living out experiences while simultaneously thinking about how to write about it.  

Whose works inspire you?

This list is long and spans all kinds of genres. A few of my favorite writers in no particular order: Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Warsan Shire, Racheal Mckibbens, Dominique Ashaheed, Aracelis Girmay, Aja Monet, Sonia Sanchez, Junot Diaz, Paulo Coelho...

What is the best thing about poetry?

Poetry is an attempt to take the human experience and distill it to its purest form. For me it comes from a desire to say what is most difficult to explain. My favourite part of writing and performing poetry is when people who come in contact with my work say "you know, that's exactly what I was feeling, but I didn't know how to say it". That kind of human connection, this place where people who are total strangers can share in a feeling and can acknowledge each others humanity. It's beautiful to me.

When did you start spoken word and how?

My first spoken word performance was at an open mic in 2007. I had been writing for a while and I decided I wanted to try. It was a 30 second poem that I had memorize and recited over and over again. I'm not even sure it was particularly good, but I went up and did it anyway. I guess I never stopped. 

How did you feel the first time you performed?

Extremely nervous. I wasn't sure if I was going to cry, pee or faint or everything at the same time. But afterwards I wanted to do it again. 

What does being creative mean to you?

It means everything. 

Can you describe the time when you first realised that creating was something you absolutely had to do?

I'm not sure it was one moment in particular. I think it was a gradual planting of roots until creating was this thing that stood at the centre of my life and I didn't know how to be any other way.

What kind of creative patterns, routines or rituals do you have?

I wish I had a really poetic ritual to share, about rising at the crack of dawn to do yoga and sit at a desk to write epic poems. That's not the case. Inspiration comes at different times so I make a note in my phone of a line or an idea. I usually carry that idea in my mind and turn it over and over for a while. I start to form the poem then and eventually I sit down and just start putting words on a page. I write as much as I possibly can first then I go back and edit ruthlessly. 

The most consistent part of my routine is that I always have music on. I've built a playlist of music specifically for when I write. There are melodies and sounds that literally pull poems out of me. I also almost always type my poems on my computer, it's the quickest way to get the words down. I have a pile of empty notebooks that don't get used.  

What’s your favourite thing you’ve ever created?

Choosing a favourite poem for me is like choosing a favourite child. I love each one differently.

One of the things I'm most proud of is creating a poetry night called Rouge Poetry in Edmonton, AB. It's a platform for poets to share their work and to bring poetry into schools and communities. It started 5 years ago and has grown into a community that has a life of its own. Contributing to something outside of myself always feels good. 

What messages are you trying to pass across with your art?

That everyone has a voice and that voice is valuable and important. Just by telling our own true and authentic stories we create momentum around us that allows others to want to do the same.

Which creative medium would you love to pursue but haven’t yet?

I would really like to learn an instrument. I play acoustic guitar (very badly). I would love to improve. I would also like to take up drawing and painting again. It's something I used to love to do.  

What’s the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative?

There's a quote by Maya Angelou that I love:

“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat,’.... And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.”

That about sums up my creative experience.
 

Any advice for anyone trying to follow the creative path or have a go at spoken word?

Go for it. Read read read as much as you can. Get to know other artists in the field that your interested in and begin to refine your own voice. Take on as many opportunities to learn as possible. Talent is like a muscle you still need to exercise it. No one is above learning. 

Listen to some of her amazing poetry here :)
  https://soundcloud.com/titilope