Eneh Akpan Writes

Monday, April 1, 2013

Day 1: Still I Ride

Photo: toppstiles.co.uk

I can’t lie and claim I

Never aimed high only to drop off like a dime.

But yeah still I try; I find it throws some weight off the upward climb.

Still I can’t pretend I don’t squirt a tear off my eye

Every once in a million while.

I don’t act up like my mind ain’t sometimes, a mile wide of the prize.

But I deal with it and shutdown my system to compromise;

And still I ride.

I ain’t sitting around all day long and whine,

I hear voices calling out for me,

I leap on the neck of the wind

And ride out to meet with Divine Company.

Even though prospects’ blown out of sync;

I shall not be moved.

‘Cause I sense an inner connect with my individuality,

I shall have my due.

All my colors shoot through liquid air like balloons.

And every time I close my eyes

I can certainly visualize

And still I ride.

I see destiny as a one-way ticket,

And the days of my life are programmed to self-instruct.

It’s the sole reason I keep sticking out long after my force is spent

And the world keeps screaming for me to flip the record.

If I had no choice left, I’ma still be a loaded gun;

If I ran out of options, I’ma pull up my resources and get gone.

I heard “impossible” once too many to recognize it’s unacceptable.

I’m wringing myself free of the excess burden,

Grasping all I can handle and shooting for a whole new level.

The mystery I am cannot be boxed in.

So, for every word I lay on this rhyme

I’ma stay on my grind, reach for the sky,

And still I ride.

The ghosts of childhood wake the dead;

And my wits, all out of joint moan in dread.

My shoulders droop like dead mass of flesh

As useless as seaweed caught in a mesh.

I cry for the morning; scream for respite;

My groaning turn growling; my bark to bite.

I’m howling and deadlier than a slither’n starlight.

No bones about it; ain’t quitting this fight.

The game’s about to change,

The caged bird escaped the cage.

I’ma ride all over competition

Until their very breath ignites in spontaneous combustion.

My sweat’s my trophy,

My pain’s my gain.

I take a step into the unknown if I trip

Something’s gonna take hold of me.

I’m dope on hope and I’m high

And still I ride.

I’m walking on sunshine

Hidden from all harm in plain sight.

I set my goal in focus don’t even try to hide.

There’s fire in my drive.

A high-octane version of adrenalin.

Like inspiration busting through the realm of dreams

Shattering walls between imagination and reality,

Promising the second wind of inevitability.

I found a reason to press forward,

I picked up courage to be strong,

To not cut and run in face of defeat,

To not back away from jeopardy.

I ride

Though outcome’s aligned contrariwise;

I ride

If the denouement pigeonholes into suicide;

I ride

And my conviction is bona fide;

I ride

So if I let go it won’t die.

Through inhumane cold and blistering heat

I levitate like vapor off a seething liquid.

It’s an addiction that’s caught on like a fever,

It’s like I’m rolling on spinners.

Still I can’t lie and fantasize

Everything’s alright but I survive

And still I ride.

Akpan

Friday, March 15, 2013

In the Shadow of the Persona

Cover of And Still I Rise

Very few situations are quite as absorbing as trying to push a poem in a voice not exactly your own.

It is not so much a question of losing touch with your creation, as it is a moment of transmutation; stepping outside your consciousness into the mind of the other. Leaving behind all you are and have been and striving to define the essence of the individual, unique and quite different from you.

The very first time I read Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise”–I was in high school at the time and barely knew the poet–I was emotionally charged up by the boldness of the poet and the audacity of the words she picked for her poetry. Several years later, I discovered online a collection of poems written by Maya Angelou. The mentioned poem was a part of the collection. The opportunity of knowing Maya and her style of poetry better was a genuine pleasure. Poems spawn out of the bitter experiences from years of slavery and inner turmoil and the sweeter days of hope fulfilled.

Maya Angelou’s situation is unique and so is her style of poetry. She writes about stuff she experienced on first-hand basis. On the other hand, let’s take a look at Coleridge’s “Ancient Mariner;” a reader who takes this poem literally as Coleridge’s personal experience would have himself in a terrible fix. Probably, end up beat up by the magnitude of the mystery it evokes. Although, he wrote it in first person POV, nonetheless Coleridge wasn’t bound in chains and shipped off to the tank for writing his masterpiece.

So must a poet not shirk the responsibility which calls him out of himself and all he stands for to take possession of the voice and feelings and beliefs of the other. And thereby, craft a material which is exclusively detached from anything he believes in.

The interpretation of a poem may hinge on a poet’s personal experiences or it may not. Poets must not restrict themselves by writing poems that ain’t offensive. Many “hate-poems” are misidentified by individuals who classify these poems because they confuse the voice of the poet persona for the voice of the poet. Take for example a horror-themed poem written in the POV of a psycho. You expect such a verse to be hate-filled.

Apparently, what the poet/reader both need is a little education; the poet can view his world through the eyes of whichever character he is pleased to view it. Remember this every time you write or read a poem. It would be way easier to embrace the message whatever it might be.

Remember, NaPoWriMo 2013 comes up in April from 1 through 3o. It’s 30 poems in 30 days, baby!

This is possibly my last post for the month of March. I need to set myself up for the poetic odyssey come April. See you at NaPoWriMo!

Keep your poem bleeding!

Akpan

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Observation: Fodder For Poetry

It takes a lot of energy to write a poem–a good poem–and to go on through the seemingly complicated set of words, which becomes the draft to the revisions.

When you write a poem, take a moment to reflect. Take some time to call up the ordinary things you observe every day of your life. The common uninteresting things you choose to notice and stow away in your memory room have a knack for beating their paths to the edge of your consciousness just when you need them. This statement is especially true if you are fond of digging into your recollection for treasures every time you write. Pigs grow fat where lambs would starve.

Very few details are expendable in themselves. That said, I am not of the opinion that you have to short-circuit and peter out by overloading your internal RAM. That would be a very unpleasant tragedy.

“And the only thing more dangerous than not noticing is convincing yourself that everything you notice is interesting just because you noticed it.”

– Robert Wallace,

Writing Poems

Not the official NaPoWriMo 2013 Image

You don’t have to indulge in exotic adventures like ride a dolphin or make a trip to the sunken churches of Ethiopia to discover imagery to make your poems interesting. (Sometimes, you might have to. Wordsworth and Coleridge are noted for their travels and walks.) Many times, you don’t just have the time and energy to live it up in such unbridled escapade. Look around you might sound clichéd but it’s still open sesame when it comes down to the particulars of writing beautiful poetry.

“Assuming that things too close to your nose can’t be interesting is a kind of blindness hard to escape. Look at things.

– Robert Wallace,

Writing Poems

As NaPoWriMo 2013 (National Poetry Writing Month) comes knocking at your doors it’s difficult to ignore this indispensable tip. You will be amazed what you see.

Look at things!

Keep your pen bleeding!

Akpan

Friday, March 1, 2013

The Coming of 'Doctor Sleep'

Photo Courtesy: StephenKing.Com

Scribner has revealed the hardcover edition artwork for Doctor Sleep. View it here.

Official Release Date: September 24th 2013

Stephen King explained the sequel to his third novel The Shining as "a return to balls-to-the-wall, keep-the-lights-on horror."

After thirty-six (that's 36) years, Stephen King decides to revisit the world of the 'talented' kid Danny Torrance.

In an EW interview, the writer opens up on what inspired him to write the sequel to one of his most loved stories;

"Probably five years ago, I saw this piece on one of those morning news shows about a pet cat at a hospice, and according to this story the cat knew before anybody else when somebody was going to die. The cat would go into the room, curl up on the bed, and the people never seemed to mind. Then those people died. I thought to myself: ‘I want to write a story about that.’ And then I made the connection with Danny Torrance as an adult, working in a hospice. I thought: ‘That’s it. I’m gonna write this book.’"

Dan who is now a middle-aged man turns Doctor Sleep with the aid of a cat that can foresee the future. In the book, Dan who has been a drifter much of his young life decides to settle down in a New Hampshire town where he uses his shining to provide comfort to the dying. He meets a 12-year-old girl, Abra Stone whose shining is the brightest of all. Dan has a fight on his hands when a tribe of almost immortal travelers called The True Knot hit town.

King had this to say about this tribe;

"they don't like dogs and dogs don't like them … You might say dogs see through them – to the sharp and watchful eyes behind the cut-rate sunglasses, to the strong and long muscled hunters' legs beneath the polyester slacks from Wal-Mart, to the sharp teeth beneath the dentures waiting to come out. They don't like dogs, but they like sick children. Yes, they like sick children very much." - For more see The Guardian

These tribe of crazy quasi-immortals feed off the 'steam' of children who possess the gift of the shining produced when these kids are slowly tortured to death. Dan must win an epic war between good and evil if he must save the life of 12-year-old Abra Stone.

Akpan

Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Contemporary Folklore

There's some old guy opening this page on his Ipad. Somebody else is probably, doing the same thing with his cell phone. And still it is a certainty, many folks are viewing this blog on their laptop and desktop PCs.

Isn't science awesome?

Science fiction museum Photo credit: pelican

The genre or subgenre (depends from which side you view it) of fiction popularly called science fiction was not always known by that name. Like lots of stuff in art and life, inspiration and invention come first and then, the naming. It's never the other way around.

Maybe I ought to let you in on a secret from the onset so you don't end up getting disappointed by the end of this write up; this is not a term paper on the history of science fiction. Do not expect an overdose of quotes and proofs. Believe me, you don't need the attention. Rather, try to see how this wonderful and amazing genre has evolved over time to become for us what fantasy was for folks of the Dark Ages.

We've left behind the age when science fiction was primarily a work of speculation as more discoveries and inventions are brought to the fore. Especially, inventions predicted in the writings of several scifi writers. The people of the Middle Ages were up to their neck in tales of dragons, enchanted forests and talking animals. Literally, swarming with stories of evil stepmothers and witches, of poisoned apples and frog princes, of ogres and magic mirrors (who needs magic mirrors when you have Google's internet glasses?).

In modern times-our time-we grew up with tales of computer crashes; hacked Facebook accounts; Bluetooth transfers, tethering, email... Today's folklore is communicated through Cable. Who needs a crystal ball when Google Search gives you access to the world's information with a few keystrokes? Nobody needs worry about preserving ancient scrolls for future generations, just PDF, XPS, DOCX or whatever it. And if the message is for a chosen individual who's got to slaughter a dragon to prove his mettle? No problem, encrypt the document and give him the password. Easy.

Take a look around you and see the reality which for a time was fiction, science fiction.

We talk science, breathe science, eat science, sleep science. Why combat dragons when unmanned drones can go to work for you? The internet, exploration in space, the eBook, air travel (remembering Icarus of blessed memory); we talk about this kind of stuff day after day, it's become a way of life for us, our culture and tradition.

Much of the credit for this technological advancement goes to the literary genre of science fiction, the folklore of the computer generation.

Keep your pen bleeding.

Akpan

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Frodo Baggins & Harry Potter: A Comparison

Frodo Baggins
Photo credit:
fromlandptoenglishtea.blogspot.com

The Hobbit, Frodo Baggins of The Lord of the Rings franchise and the bespectacled wizard, Harry Potter the eponymous character of the fantasy series by J. K. Rowling have striking similarities and peculiarities that all but beg to be recognized.

As far as speculations go, J. K. Rowling's series take after Tolkien's work but my topic is a mile wide of such theories. I'm not even about how the Harry Potter character is a spin-off of Frodo Baggins. What you have here people, is a fan's obsessive streak; a highly opinionated view of two of my favorite fictional characters.

Note: The bold and italicized fonts mark out the similarities.

In Tolkien's LOTR, Bilbo Baggins, who is his Uncle adopts his cousin, Frodo Baggins. The latter's Parents are almost non-existent in the plot. Harry Potter shares a similar fate difference is his parents are indeed dead. He lives with his aunt and uncle-in-law. While Frodo's task is destroying the immortal Dark Lord Sauron and Saving Middle Earth, Harry Potter has his hands full fighting off psycho wizard Lord Voldemort whose mind is bent on taking over the world.

The process by which Frodo becomes the Ring-Bearer and thereby the chosen one is a little complicated but somewhere down the line is An Act of Love that put the show on the road. Frodo's uncle Bilbo whose love for his favorite cousin made him adopt Frodo as heir gave him charge of The Ring before embarking on his journey. In the HP universe, the love of his mother who gave her life for his, saved baby Harry Potter's life and somehow, picked him out as the special one.

Harry Potter
Photo credit: harrypotter.wikia.com

As the fate of their worlds come to rest on the shoulders of these two characters, they are accorded Chaperons. Frodo goes to the Dark Tower with Samwise Gamgee and Gollum (a most unlikely of escorts); Harry leaves on his quest with friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. I have my doubts though, but I perceive the creature Gollum as Frodo's Dark Side. The despicable creature the easygoing and cheerful hobbit could become if The Ring takes over the control of his mind. And who is Harry's dark side but the Lord Voldemort in whose bloodstream flows Harry Potter's blood cells? One of them (Harry or Voldemort) must die if the other is to function maximally.

The Wizards add a twist to the entire storyline. In both characters' lives, two wizards play a major role; one good, the other not-so-good. Frodo has Gandalf the Grey (the good wizard) and Saruman (the evil wizard); Harry has Dumbledore (the good wizard) and on the other hand is Lord Voldemort (the evil wizard).

Another similarity that stares you in the face is the Persuasive ability both Frodo and Harry exhibit in their separate but unique macrocosms. When Frodo and his faithful companion and friend, Samwise catch Gollum riding their backtrail, Frodo talks the creature into guiding them to the Dark Tower where he would destroy the One Ring. And Harry is called upon by Professor Dumbledore to assist in retrieving information from a fellow Hogwarts professor. After much ceremony, Harry successfully drags out the secret about Voldemort's seeming immortality from the villain's former teacher.

Just in case it crossed your mind to ask, who of the two characters is my favorite? That's an easy enough question. I should get you an answer say... in my next lifetime; when I reanimate as a crossbreed of Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter.

Keep your pen bleeding.

Akpan

Monday, February 25, 2013

Science Fiction + Horror: A Match Made in Mars?

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Science fiction is sensational for a genre which not only explores several delicate issues but attempts to proffer the fundamental reasons behind them. However, I would have you mull over the peculiar twist that takes shape when the storyline of a scifi makes the acquaintance of a shock/suspense plot.

Both genres are masters of their own universes nevertheless, there are such times when a writer crosses the two and creates a sort of art hybrid. The masterpiece which evolves during this literary copulation is something which quickens the human heart to awe. Science fiction with all it's possibilities, limitless multi-verses and travel through time. Horror on the other hand, gripping you by the balls, evoking the worst kind of nightmarish ecstasy, holding its cold claws to the stuff that speeds up your heartbeat and not for the better.

Some of the best science fiction flicks are tinged with horror themes. Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park brought dinosaurs to life. Yet, the weight of the potential disaster, if science decides to delve into such enterprise as pictured in the movie, slides home with relatively greater force because of the horrific content of the story than in spite of it.

The memories carved by images and by implication from Jurassic Park is something that would go to the grave with me. The Resident Evil series is another fine example of a mix of science fiction and horror that hits you on the head with a message of world domination. Just finished watching a scifi film tinged with horror themes and felt compelled to write this.

The next time you watch a scifi flick I challenge you to judge how much themes of the macabre moves the plot, holds you by the hand and leads you into the grave dangers abounding in the subject matter.

Somethings were made to bond.

Keep your pen bleeding.

Akpan