‘I use poetry as vehicle for self-discovery’

Poet Umar Abubakar Sidi said poetry is a vehicle for the exploration of human anxieties and so he uses it for self-discovery. He said this at Caliphate Art and Literary Forum in Sokoto where he talked about his latest poetry collection, ‘The Poet of Dust.’ Sidi said poetry is “about developing an outlook, how we […]

Poet Umar Abubakar Sidi said poetry is a vehicle for the exploration of human anxieties and so he uses it for self-discovery.

He said this at Caliphate Art and Literary Forum in Sokoto where he talked about his latest poetry collection, ‘The Poet of Dust.’

Sidi said poetry is “about developing an outlook, how we view our reality, interact with ourselves and existence and our place in the universe.

“What I tried to do is use poetry as a vehicle to explore those anxieties, to understand myself in relation to the universe and in doing this I was inspired to a great extent by the tradition of Sufism.”

He added that he uses poetry as a vehicle to explore himself, to go deep into the depth of his soul to understand the universe. “In Sufism, I found the need to embark on a journey of self-discovery.

“I have always tried to engage myself and other thinkers and writers when I meet them about the functionality of poetry, because it is very evident that poetry has not yet been put to use in the service, not of government or economy, and so it appears useless.”

He however reiterated that the core function of poetry is the exploration of human anxieties. “Poetry comes from the soul no matter how you want to disconnect it,” he said adding that poets are either guardians of truth or seekers after truth.

“I used to proudly call myself a poet but when I got into reading, when I got into engagements and interactions with other great thinkers and poets, I realised that the search for truth is a difficult one. Truth itself is elusive and its pretentious for poets to say that they are seekers after truth.”

Sidi also commended Caliphate Art and Literary Forum for bringing creative writers together. “Poetry is ours, we own poetry, we own literature, we come from a background which is literature,” he stated.

Founder and Coordinator Caliphate Art and Literary Forum, Khalifa Aliyu Adamu, described the forum as a special avenue where creative writers and poets come together. “We harness young creative minds to make sure that these talents don’t go to waste,” he asserted, adding that Umar Abubakar Sidi was invited by the forum to speak on his book Poet of Dust, why he wrote it, what inspired him and the outcome.

Sidi who is also a helicopter pilot with the Nigerian Navy said ‘The Poet of Dust’ is a reflection of the connection between body, mind and spirit and therefore a summary of his life experience.