Trauma Of Being A Poet In Nigeria: What Writers Rarely Talk About — Pawners Paper

Being a writer and a poet in Nigeria, however comes with numerous challenges, one that appear to be traumatic at times

Trauma Of Being A Poet In Nigeria: What Writers Rarely Talk About

Poetry seems to be the easiest ways to perceive the world in a different stance, to express feelings and emotions with words, to narrate heartbreaks, and one of the most fancy ways of being exotic with words.

Being a writer and a poet in Nigeria, however comes with numerous challenges, one that appear to be traumatic at times.

 

Few of the things a poet in Nigeria has to face are plagiarism, low-publicity and appreciation of works, more competitions, little or no-recognition of a poet in Nigeria in which alternatively leads to few Nigerian organized poetry contest.

Plagiarism for poets in Nigeria seems to be the one that surfaces most and this has led to many writers and poet in Nigeria to publish less of their works online and and on social platforms. A poet in Nigeria nowadays, prefers a publication in an online magazine, where it appears to be more protected and free from any other person from acclaiming to be the original owner.

The issue of copyright in a stance among Poets in Nigeria, seems vague, absent as plagiarism thrives daily due to ineffective ways of having their works protected. An average poet in Nigeria, especially the tagged "Facebook Poet" and "Instagram Poet", ordinarily believes that his works are protected once the © are added underneath his works. Whereas, his works is far from not being plagiarized. 

Little or no recognition of a poet in Nigeria sometimes affects the mental confidence of few writers and poets. Most poets who seek recognition and appreciation of their works, at times, deny themselves opportunities, by not bearing in mind that the writers world is like an ocean wide enough for every fish to dive, dine and survive.

Building of Self-confidence among Poets and writers in Nigeria is a topic most writers would avoid. The online space sometimes, seems choking. There are instances where some writers and poet right off the newbies as incompetent, though, often times indirectly. 

Most self-acclaimed pro-writers, while reviewing other people's works often do this with a restrictive approach. That is, focusing and judging a person's style of writing in comparison with theirs, thereby, justifying a work based on pure sentiment without even taking a critical thought about the exact piece.

Insecurity could also be suffocating on these online spaces. Most especially, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram where the number of writers are endless.

 Still, you can always seize opportunities.

Few tips for a newbie writer/ poet in Nigeria

• Flow with writing skill's pace. 
• Try to be better.
•  Learn from others.
• You are good. You can be great.

What the pros should do.

• Encourage the newbies
• Review without sentiment
• After review, give tips for improvement
• Set the pace.

This however, seems little less traumatic for a poet in Nigeria .Getting published in a magazine. This is actually a thing for every writer and poet in Nigeria. It creates confidence and instill the courage to persist more. There are cool magazines a poet in Nigeria can get published on, such as: Brittle Paper, Kalahari Review, Barren Magazine among many others.

Another thing to reiterate on is awareness. Avoid being sidelined or left in the shadow.

There are hundreds of competition available for every writer, mostly of which are even available to a writer or poet in Nigeria. We usually get most of them published in our archive. You can easily access them there.

Advise! Just Write Down Those Things In Your Head Down.