Dr. Chika Unigwe is a Nigerian novelist based in Antwerp, Belgium. She is a novelist and short story writer. Among her books are the Phoenix and On Black Sisters' Street which won the prestigious Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) prize for literature in 2012. Besides being our guest for this month, Unigwe reveals a lot about her writing career and habit and why she chooses to write when her kids are in bed. She says: 'the kids have bedtimes and once they are in bed, it is my time.' In this on line interview and some of the views she expressed in an earlier chat with Edozie Udeze, we present to you a unique writer whose works dwell mainly on women issues in Nigeria and around the world
Who are your favourite authors in the world and why?
I have many favourite writers and the list keeps changing. I love Alice Munro's short stories.
What sort of books do you like most?
Well-written books.
When you read a book, what are the salient things you look out for?
A good story, stunning language and remarkable characters.
When and where do you like to read?
I read everywhere. On my lazy days, I love to read in the bath. I can stay hours in the bath, reading.
What is your preferred literary genre?
Literary fiction of any kind: short stories, novels, novellas. I also love essays and travel writing.
What book or books have had the greatest impact on you; why and how?
Little Women because it was the first 'adult' novel I remember reading.
As a child, what books tripped you most?
Things Fall Apart when I discovered it. And then Emecheta's Second Class Citizen and Nwapa's Efuru. I had to re-read all of them as an adult but I remember being very overwhelmed with something I now realise was gratitude when I read them first.
At what point in your life did you begin to nurse the idea of being a writer?
When I met Flora Nwapa in primary school.
How has writing shaped or molded your life?
It has made me much more observant of the world around me
If you met your favourite author(s) face-to-face, what would you ask him/her?
I have met a few of my favourite authors face to face, and they have all been very easy to talk to. We talked about everything except, perhaps, writing.
Of all the works you've read, which character strikes you the most?
Kemal Bey in Pamuk's Museum of Innocence. There is something both to be admired and to be pitied in his obsession.
What book do you plan to read next?
I am reading books for research at the moment and I have quite a long list to work through. Probably the next is Wuthering Heights.
Are you a re-reader and how often?
I am reading Pride and Prejudice on kindle at the moment.
How do you arrange your books in your private library?
Hardbacks at each end to keep the paperbacks up.
What does writing mean to you?
Oh, writing is my career. It is the only profession that I know. It is my passion. It is the only thing I've always wanted to do. I wrote as a kid and I am very happy that I've managed to make a career out of my passion and hobby.
How do you get your inspiration to write?
Ha! That's a difficult one. My inspiration to write? Ah, it comes from everywhere. If it comes while I am on the road, I jot a few things down. However, I eavesdrop a lot into conversations. Sometimes just one thing they say lodges in my head. Then a story idea will begin to form around that line. But I always carry a note book with me. With it, I can take notes. Whatever strikes me while on the way, I write it down. And when I sit down to write, I look through my note book to get the ideas right and correct.
How do you decide which of your stories will be a short story?
Oh, I think the story decides by itself. I just start writing and then I see where it leads me. But then, for me, short story writing is very difficult.
Why?
Because, you don't have such space to experiment. But in a novel, you have plenty of space to say what you have to say. So that's why I said short story is very difficult for me to write.
So, you write mostly when?
The kids have bedtimes and once they go to bed, it's my time. Sometimes I write at night, sometimes early in the morning. But I always try to make out time to write. It's a job and not my hobby. It's my career so I treat it like a nine-to-five.
What was the most important book to you in 2012 and which one for 2013?
Behind Their Beautiful Yesterday, which is about slum dwellers in India. It is a non-fiction. For 2013, it is two collections of short stories by Igoni Barret and Chioma Okparanta.
How did your days at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) shape your writing career?
Well, we had a very vibrant creative department. It was well structured with good teachers who had time to teach us to write. The English Department was a good place then to develop talents. Those creative writing classes really helped me a lot and I am very grateful for that opportunity to be there when I did.
I think for me what made Nsukka very inspirational was the professor I had. That was Professor Enekwe. He was there for us; he taught us how to look at issues from the creative point of view.
For him, it was proper for us to be well-educated in the field of creative writing. And when you have such a teacher, all you need do is look at those issues that would help you to become yourself in the future. That was all we needed and I promptly grabbed the opportunity it offered me.
