Interview: Meet Okenwa Igbokwe; Author – The Eclipse Of The Son

Lifegiva.com recently interviewed Okenwa Igbokwe, who is the author of the poetry-inclined book titled- The Eclipse Of The Son. Kindly read through and be blessed by his inspiring and thought provoking story:

1. What is the story behind the book title?

   Hmmm, The Eclipse of the Son. I remember that this was just a title of a piece I had written sometime in 2011. But fast forward to later in 2013, it became what I wanted to title a book I had not started writing. The Eclipse of the Son felt bigger than a title for just one write-up.

   The Eclipse of the Sun has to do with the Moon coming in between the Sun and the Earth, causing a momentary darkness. Then I asked myself, was I coming in between the Son (Jesus) and the Earth? Were people looking unto me instead of Jesus? Was I causing darkness instead of being the light? What was strong for me was that I was giving an impression of being perfect when I knew I had struggles I was dealing with (Now I know better) and I was just like the people I had issues with.

   Having grown in the knowledge of God to an extent, the desire to boast in all the things I was trying to hide to ensure that Jesus is seen through me became strong, hence the book title. So instead of my contact with Jesus being one of insincerity (darkness), He made me realize that it is a relationship.

   

2. Why ‘first contact’?

   First Contact because the natural Eclipse of the Sun has 5 stages (1st contact, 2nd contact, 3rd contact, totality, & 4th contact). The First Contact describes my first contact with Jesus and what came out of it. It was also a solution to making the book easy to read through instead of bombarding it with lots of poems.

3. Why did you decide to start from the back?

   Because I knew three years before I started writing it that I wanted it that way. I was not sure how it would come out in the end but thank God it did.

4. What was your state of mind during the writing and compilation of the poems?

   The writing of the poems was just me baring my heart to God because I knew He was closer to me than I thought. I just wanted to experience God and pray through my writing.

   When compiling the poems, I was confused on what exact write-ups will make the book. But somehow , I was able to finally settle for what I wanted in the book. And because there were a whole lot of poems, the idea to break it into different books came and I was so peaceful. I knew Jesus helped me with that wisdom.

5. Do you write something else apart from poems?

   Yes, I do. I’m getting into the zone of songwriting (rap verses). I think I can do script-writing.

6. What/who is/are your Inspirations?

   My inspiration is how I think. Because I discovered my strength is word-play. A whole write-up can be done with just one line of word-play but now I just believe my inspiration is everything I’m going through while growing in the knowledge of God. I think that is what inspires me to write.

   I also have influences from artists who have helped me stay in faith through sharing their struggles in songs, interviews etc. Wait oh, the artists of Reach Records, HumbleBeast (old, new, gone), GOM, Indie tribe, SocialClub misfits, Chris Durso, Joseph Prince etc. are my G’s. My background in physics and other sciences inspires me too.

7. Any words for upcoming poets?

   You are not an upcoming poet if you keep writing. Don’t force it, I mean, writing. There are many times I had a concept to write something and then I forgot about it when I was ready to write which is very painful. But do not worry a better idea will come to your mind again. Finally, there is no end to creativity. Creativity is forever.

   

8. How did you get your book published?
   

   I published it knowing I wanted to publish, then got involved with people who had an idea of what it would take to publish. Of course, money is involved. Send emails of your manuscript to publishers like 6 months before you want to publish. Google these publishers and find out their criteria for publishing. If you don’t have money, you can do e-books. It costs nothing and you can earn from it. I want you to do better than I did. And don’t worry, you’ll succeed as a writer.

I bet you have learnt a whole lot from this interview and I bet you have also been inspired to go for that dream you penned down back in 2013 (or whenever). Kindly leave a comment, we’ll love to know.

To read Okenwa’s poems; Click https://www.lifegiva.com/author/okenwaigbokwe/

To download a free chapter of The Eclipse Of The Son, Click;  https://www.lifegiva.com/eclipse-son-pre-order/

To download The Eclipse of the Son – First Contact Book; Visit

kobo books

Okadabooks

Crystalframes book store

Noisetrade

Kindle for Amazon

Follow Okenwa;

Twitter: @Ok3nwa
Instagram: @Ok3nwa
Facebook: Okenwa Igbokwe