How Idoma Tales Became Ochoche Agada’s Poetic Muse

In this edition of The Lane, Moveee sits down with poet Ochoche Agada, whose collection Conversations with Midnight charts an intimate terrain of solitude, resilience, and hope. From the oral traditions of the Idoma people to the universal echoes of Rumi, Agada’s influences are as layered as the 80 poems that make up this evocative work. In conversation with James Melbin, he reflects on the voices that shaped him, the quiet force of midnight as muse, and the enduring power of poetry to carry us through storms while kindling light.

JAMES MELBIN: What kinds of books, poems, or oral traditions shaped you growing up, and how did they prepare you for poetry?

OCHOCHE AGADA: Several books have influenced my writing style, especially Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. This book had a profound influence on me and how I conceived literature as well as the African cultural identity from an early age. Chinua Achebe’s seminal work Things Fall Apart had and has had a profound influence on my conception of African literature, culture, and post-colonial studies by presenting a nuanced, insider’s view of African society that countered negative colonial stereotypes and brought the story of the African people to the centre stage. 

The oral tradition of the Idoma served as the lens through which I first came to appreciate the art of storytelling and how folklore can be a source of instruction, guidance, social engagement, and, more so, a source of stimulating creative thought.

Finally, coming in contact with and studying the work of Jalaladdin Rumi, a Persian poet, scholar, and sufi mystic, helped me find my expression through poetry. Rumi did not just write poetry; he told stories in a way that opened doors to the human spirit. With his words, he spoke directly to humans and the heavenlies, as if bringing them together under the shades of his stories. He, just like Achebe, has a profound universal connection through their work.

I would not say that I am a poet in the sense of giving my life to it, for me, poetry is a way of expressing the stories I cannot tell in many words. Characters, comedy, and tragedy that are too profound to expound. Poetry, for me, is a product of the connection I have with all forms of creative storytelling that started from an early age in my life. From as early as my formative years, I knew I wanted to write stories, but in the exact form they would appear, I could not tell.

How did the idea for Conversations with Midnight first arrive — was it a single spark or an accumulation of moments?

The idea for this collection of poems is surely an accumulation of moments. Each poem in the book tells a unique story, and they were conceived at different times. The book has certainly been organised to flow in a fashion that betrays the unique nature of each poem as a story, but they are collection of stories that came to the fore over a period.

Midnight is an evocative choice. What does “midnight” mean to you, and how does it shape the mood of the collection?

Midnight is an evocative voice indeed. Midnight means the inner voice that always comes alive when we are most quiet and becomes louder at the steepest points of our solitude. Midnight means the rain that starts when the tempest of our struggles becomes tepid. In the calm after the storm, there is a quiet wind that draws us into our thoughts. Midnight means the dust that rises in our hearts deep into the dusk.

With 80 poems spanning landscapes and emotions, how did you decide what belonged in the collection?

The poems in this collection are designed to engender hope and resilience, to encourage the reader to see beyond their struggles. Hope and resilience serve as the theme, and that is what this book set out to curate; this made it easy to decide which poems belong in this collection.

Walk us through your creative process: how do you move from raw feeling or image to a finished poem?

It is very difficult for me to explain the creative process because inspiration comes to me at very different times and conditions. Many of my poems or stories come to me very early in the morning, so I keep paper cuts and a pen by my bedside, and others come as a spark in rowdy places, such as in traffic or in a meeting. Some poems start as a single line or sentence, others are short stories that I create into poems.

The poems explore hope, fear, struggle, and resilience. Which of these themes felt most personal or urgent to you while writing?

Hope and resilience. Hope defeats fear, resilience fans the embers of hope!

You describe storms and silences. Do you see poetry as a way of confronting life’s storms, or as a way of finding shelter from them?

Poetry does not serve as a shield or shelter from the storms of life; poetry is not an escape from consequences. I see poetry as a way of first coping with the storms of life, then gaining the energy, the spirit, and the courage to confront life’s storms.

How does your Nigerian identity, its landscapes and cultural rhythms, filter into the voice of this collection?

My Nigerian identity provides a unique platform for me and features prominently in my style of poetry, influencing how the story is told, the drama conveyed in the poems, and the words I use to present them. Hope and resilience are very prominent in the spirit and nature of Nigerians. We practice hope without effort; the culture of resilience feeds the confident and indomitable nature of the average Nigerian.

Were there particular influences — poets, thinkers, musicians — that shaped the language and rhythm of Conversations with Midnight?

There are a few writers who have shaped my tone and style of poetry, but there are also those writers whose poems and stories deeply influenced the rhythm of Conversations with Midnight. Maya Angelou has had a profound influence on me as a writer. The celebratory tenor of her poem, “Still I Rise”, filters into the message of this work; to cling to hope and rise from ashes. 

Some poems provoke, some comfort, some even chastise. How do you balance tenderness and confrontation in your writing?

Some poems provoke, some comfort, some even chastise. Balancing these features and blending them was achieved by embedding at least two of these aspects into most poems, making it difficult for the reader to travel far through the book without feeling a gentle or a brash nudge to forge a new direction for themselves if there is, indeed, a need to do so

Was there a poem in this book that came to you in a particularly surprising or unforgettable way?

There is a poem that came to me in a particularly unforgettable way, it is called “The Panacea.” It is a fusion of all the titles of other poems in the book. Writing this poem was quite amazing because of the nature of the poem itself and how I was able to make it flow from one title to the other without losing the message and essence of the poem. It gave me the gift of assurance that the book as a body of work stayed on message and has a profound rhythm to it.

What has the reception been like so far from peers, mentors, or the wider literary community?

The book has been well-received by lovers of poetry. We are noticing that the book is also being well received by distributors, indicating that we are hopefully heading towards attracting a wider audience in a short time.

What do you hope readers carry with them after reading this book — a feeling, a question, a shift in perspective?

I hope that the reader gains speed, garners stronger winds beneath their wings, and more fire in their embers after reading this book. The poems push the reader to awaken to the best version of themselves, gaining light and spreading that light to all that they meet.

After Conversations with Midnight, what creative directions are you curious to explore next?

Though this is my second poetry collection, writing Conversations with Midnight has been a deeply rewarding experience. It has led me on a journey to a place of deep connection with the human spirit, leaving me wanting to do more with my creative energy. Though there is more poetry in my quiver, I am now quite keen to make my foray into prose. Many of my poems easily dovetail into prose; they are stories waiting for characters to rise out of the corners and crevices.