Why Literature

What does it mean to write with urgency? And what does literature make possible for the person who chooses to carry it?

We recently sat down with Iska author Ayo Oyeku for a conversation about writing, legacy, and the place of literature in his life. Across prose, poetry, and children’s literature, Ayo approaches writing as both witness and expression, paying attention to the world as it was, as it is, and as it might become.

When asked why he writes, he returned to Nina Simone’s famous words about the artist’s duty to reflect the times:

“Nina Simone once said that ‘an artist’s duty is to reflect the times.’ I agree with her line of thought as this strongly reflects on my works: to write about the past, present and possible future, across every literary climate, and genres I’m comfortable with. This is the purpose behind my writing.”

For Ayo, writing is also an act of preservation. His understanding of legacy is rooted in the belief that urgent writing can become a record of the things that might otherwise disappear:

“Writing born of urgency remains the true witness in the act of preservation. It is a testimony to the times we live(d) in, because it etches the unseen wounds of trauma and the aroma of nostalgia into the collective memory. I am an urgent writer who sprinkles his art form across multiple genres: prose, poetry and children’s literature. I write with the keen eye of an observer; it’s left for my readers to learn, criticize, be entertained or inspired.”

And when asked why literature, his answer became a metaphor for the relationship between the writer and the art form:

“People go under the tree shade, because of the quiet, calmness and gentle breeze. But the trees do not tell the wind where it blows; instead, they carry it and own it. This is how I see literature: it is a wind and I’m just a tree. I’m a lazy dancer, and a singer who falls out of notes. But literature came to me, as a medium with which I can express my innate ability, and I owned it. I think it’s the same for most writers.”

Perhaps that is the simplest way to understand Ayo Oyeku’s work: literature came, and he chose to carry it.

Discover Ayo Oyeku’s books at our store and read the work for yourself.