<body><div class="booster-block booster-read-block">
 <div class="twp-read-time">
 	<i class="booster-icon twp-clock"></i> <span>Read Time:</span>3 Minute, 45 Second </div>

 </div><p>Fast rising poet and short story writer, Covenanted Nonso is out Poet of The Week (#POTW).<br>
Nonso is the first son of his parents, who has a healthy appetite for reading and writing. The only think the ace poet in the making loves more than poetry is beans which he east much as a 300level English Language and Literature student at the University of Benin.</p>
<p>Nonso, who calls himself ‘Shake Dagger’, is known for his crazy sense of humour, though he claims to be an introvert.</p>
<p>He resides in Benin where Sam De Poet caught up with him for this <em>tete-a-tete</em>…</p>
<p><em><strong>When did you start writing poetry?</strong></em></p>
<p>I wrote my first poem in the year 2012.</p>
<p><em><strong>How would you characterize your poetry?</strong></em></p>
<p>My poems were mostly comical; satirical, that is, except, of course, when I’m writing an Ode or a Eulogy or Love Poem.</p>
<p><em><strong>What inspires you to write?</strong></em></p>
<blockquote><p>My inspiration comes from a phobia I have. The fear of living an anonymous life causes me to pen.</p></blockquote>
<p><em><strong>Which poets and writers influenced you most? Would you say their style is visible in your poems?</strong></em></p>
<p>I admire Shakespeare’s works. Chinualumogu Albert Achebe,Christopher Okigbo and Prof. Wole Soyinka and their works also influenced my writing at varied points in time. The truth is I don’t really dwell on a particular style for long. I write as the muse dictates.</p>
<p><em><strong>Apart from poetry, what other passion do you indulge in?</strong></em></p>
<p>I admire Prose writing. Short stories mostly (very short ones oh!)</p>
<p><em><strong>You describe poetry as a means for enacting change in our society? Highlight reasons why you think this is so?</strong></em></p>
<p>Poetry is a ministration. Every time a particular poem is read by an audience, there has to be a message, no matter how ‘shallow’ the poem turns out.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>I strongly believe that if people are hearing and reading the right things, the tendency of their absorbing the wrong things decline. Thus, Poetry should not just serve for entertainment. There should be enlightenment, encouragement and education.</em></p></blockquote>
<p><em><strong>Define African poetry? Point out what makes it different from poems written elsewhere?</strong></em></p>
<p>Africa is a unique continent; hence, her poetry takes a similar shape. African poetry transcends physical joining of words to a spiritual connectivity. There’s something in African Poetry that touches the soul. That alone, differentiates it from poetry ‘written elsewhere’.</p>
<p><em><strong>Plagiarism is fast growing, especially on a social network like Facebook, what steps are you taking to minimize the risk of falling victim?</strong></em></p>
<p>I have fallen prey to plagiarists time without number, the latest one being the case of a ‘fan’ copying my poems with the aim of ‘sharing’ them and yet omitting my name. However, Social media (Facebook especially) is a very potent means of sharing creativity.</p>
<blockquote><p>I had earlier decided to stop using the platform but realized that to hoard something from ‘many’ because of the sins of ‘one’ would amount to a sin itself. So, I’ll maximize social media platforms as well as I can.</p></blockquote>
<p><em><strong>You recently created a new style of poetry, can you tell us a little about it? </strong></em></p>
<p>Errmm… The new style of poetry which is yet without a name came to me in a flush of adrenaline. I’m still working on it. Due to the limitedness of words in this style of Poetry, it appears hard to develop it. But I hope to grow the art. Here’s my only poem on it:</p>
<blockquote><p>i<br>
go<br>
too<br>
near<br>
their<br>
hearth.</p></blockquote>
<p>Note how the word count increases by one after each line? Viola! The New Style of Poetry. *smile*</p>
<p><em><strong>Talking about poetry, what would you say was your highlight of year 2014?</strong></em></p>
<p>2014 wasn’t exactly rosy. I developed my writing skills, I had school work to deal with and then I wrote my highest number of shortstories this year. The highlight would be getting to meet more creative writers. Yeah.</p>
<p><em><strong>Where do see yourself in poetry in the nearest future?</strong></em></p>
<p>In the near future. Oh, I can’t wait. I see myself achieving the goal of presenting (i.e. Performing) poetry to a large audience; hosting writing competitions and workshops, doing spoken word poetry and writing a novel collection of literature.</p>
<p><em><strong>Care to give a parting shot or two for individuals who are interested in writing poetry?</strong></em></p>
<p>To all aspiring writers, you can’t please everyone. I tried and failed. Write all you can, when you can and make sure you’re not buried with your talents. Peace!</p>
<p><strong>Contact:</strong><br>
<strong>Phone:</strong> 08174968628<br>
<strong>Facebook:</strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ccbenji116" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covenanted ChimNonso </a><br>
<strong>Twitter:</strong> @nonsoWORDSMITH<br>
<strong>Email:</strong> nonsopoetic@gmail.com</p>
 
 <div class="booster-block booster-author-block">
 <div class="be-author-details layout-square align-left">
 <div class="be-author-wrapper">
 <div class="booster-row">
 <div class="booster-column booster-column-two booster-column-mobile">
 <div class="be-author-image">
 <img alt="" src="https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/3de36b6da89639b3d80d015f84d2cfc35212bb0678ceb13c46dc8c712831d196?s=400&;d=mm&;r=g" class="avatar avatar-400 photo avatar-img" height="400" width="400" loading="lazy"> </div>
 </div>
 <div class="booster-column booster-column-eight booster-column-mobile">
 <div class="author-details">
 <header class="twp-plugin-title twp-author-title">
 <h2>About Post Author</h2>
 </header>
 <h4 class="be-author-meta be-author-name">
 <a href="https://www.wrr.ng/author/admin/" class="booster-url-link">
 Words Rhymes &; Rhythm </a>
 </h4>
 <div class="be-author-meta be-author-email">
 <a href="mailto:%20info@wrr.ng" class="booster-url-link">
 <span class="booster-svg-icon booster-svg-envelope"><svg class="booster-svg" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewbox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24"><path fill="currentColor" d="M0 3v18h24v-18h-24zm6.623 7.929l-4.623 5.712v-9.458l4.623 3.746zm-4.141-5.929h19.035l-9.517 7.713-9.518-7.713zm5.694 7.188l3.824 3.099 3.83-3.104 5.612 6.817h-18.779l5.513-6.812zm9.208-1.264l4.616-3.741v9.348l-4.616-5.607z"></path></svg></span>info@wrr.ng </a>
 </div>
 <div class="be-author-meta be-author-url">
 <a href="https://wrr.ng/about-us/" target="_blank" class="booster-url-link">
 <span class="booster-svg-icon booster-svg-sphere"><svg class="booster-svg" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewbox="0 0 24 24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24"><path fill="currentColor" d="M 11.25 1.5 C 5.035156 1.5 0 6.535156 0 12.75 C 0 18.964844 5.035156 24 11.25 24 C 17.464844 24 22.5 18.964844 22.5 12.75 C 22.5 6.535156 17.464844 1.5 11.25 1.5 Z M 17.617188 16.5 C 17.816406 15.550781 17.941406 14.546875 17.984375 13.5 L 20.972656 13.5 C 20.894531 14.535156 20.652344 15.542969 20.253906 16.5 Z M 4.882812 9 C 4.683594 9.949219 4.558594 10.953125 4.515625 12 L 1.527344 12 C 1.605469 10.964844 1.847656 9.957031 2.246094 9 Z M 16.078125 9 C 16.304688 9.960938 16.441406 10.964844 16.484375 12 L 12 12 L 12 9 Z M 12 7.5 L 12 3.109375 C 12.34375 3.210938 12.679688 3.375 13.011719 3.609375 C 13.636719 4.050781 14.230469 4.726562 14.738281 5.566406 C 15.085938 6.148438 15.386719 6.796875 15.640625 7.5 Z M 7.761719 5.566406 C 8.269531 4.726562 8.863281 4.050781 9.488281 3.609375 C 9.820312 3.375 10.15625 3.207031 10.5 3.109375 L 10.5 7.5 L 6.859375 7.5 C 7.113281 6.792969 7.414062 6.148438 7.761719 5.566406 Z M 10.5 9 L 10.5 12 L 6.015625 12 C 6.058594 10.964844 6.195312 9.960938 6.421875 9 Z M 2.246094 16.5 C 1.847656 15.542969 1.605469 14.535156 1.527344 13.5 L 4.515625 13.5 C 4.558594 14.546875 4.683594 15.550781 4.882812 16.5 Z M 6.015625 13.5 L 10.5 13.5 L 10.5 16.5 L 6.421875 16.5 C 6.195312 15.539062 6.058594 14.535156 6.015625 13.5 Z M 10.5 18 L 10.5 22.390625 C 10.15625 22.289062 9.820312 22.125 9.488281 21.890625 C 8.863281 21.449219 8.269531 20.773438 7.761719 19.933594 C 7.414062 19.351562 7.113281 18.703125 6.859375 18 Z M 14.738281 19.933594 C 14.230469 20.773438 13.636719 21.449219 13.011719 21.890625 C 12.679688 22.125 12.34375 22.292969 12 22.390625 L 12 18 L 15.640625 18 C 15.386719 18.707031 15.085938 19.351562 14.738281 19.933594 Z M 12 16.5 L 12 13.5 L 16.484375 13.5 C 16.441406 14.535156 16.304688 15.539062 16.078125 16.5 Z M 17.984375 12 C 17.945312 10.953125 17.816406 9.949219 17.617188 9 L 20.253906 9 C 20.652344 9.957031 20.894531 10.964844 20.972656 12 Z M 19.46875 7.5 L 17.222656 7.5 C 16.785156 6.121094 16.179688 4.914062 15.457031 3.949219 C 16.453125 4.429688 17.355469 5.066406 18.144531 5.855469 C 18.648438 6.359375 19.089844 6.910156 19.46875 7.5 Z M 4.355469 5.855469 C 5.144531 5.066406 6.046875 4.429688 7.042969 3.949219 C 6.320312 4.914062 5.714844 6.121094 5.277344 7.5 L 3.03125 7.5 C 3.410156 6.910156 3.851562 6.359375 4.355469 5.855469 Z M 3.03125 18 L 5.277344 18 C 5.714844 19.378906 6.320312 20.585938 7.042969 21.550781 C 6.046875 21.070312 5.144531 20.433594 4.355469 19.644531 C 3.851562 19.140625 3.410156 18.589844 3.03125 18 Z M 18.144531 19.644531 C 17.355469 20.433594 16.453125 21.070312 15.457031 21.550781 C 16.179688 20.585938 16.785156 19.378906 17.222656 18 L 19.46875 18 C 19.089844 18.589844 18.648438 19.140625 18.144531 19.644531 Z M 18.144531 19.644531 "></path></svg></span>https://wrr.ng/about-us/ </a>
 </div>
 </div>
 <div class="be-author-profiles">
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </div>
 </body>
POET OF THE WEEK: COVENANTED NONSO POET
