Writing my first book in Taraba was magical – TJ Benson

TJ Benson is author of ‘We Won’t Fade into Darkness’, a collection of short stories that explores the fate of an abusive father, an Ogbanje in a near post-apocalyptic Nigeria and more. His short story ‘An Abundance of Yellow Paper’ was the joint winner of the Amb-HBF contest in 2016. He was the first runner-up […]

TJ Benson is author of ‘We Won’t Fade into Darkness’, a collection of short stories that explores the fate of an abusive father, an Ogbanje in a near post-apocalyptic Nigeria and more. His short story ‘An Abundance of Yellow Paper’ was the joint winner of the Amb-HBF contest in 2016. He was the first runner-up for the 2016 Short story Day Africa Prize themed ‘Migration’, and he is a two-time writer-in-residence at the Edebi Writers Residency Nigeria. Here, he talks about the process of writing his debut book and more. Excerpts:

Bookshelf: What was it like working on your first collection of short stories, ‘We Won’t Fade into Darkness’?

TJ Benson: First of all, I didn’t know I was writing a book until I wrote the last story. I was serving in Taraba State and felt removed from the rest of the world, because as far as I am concerned, Taraba is away from Nigeria. I felt lost and isolated. That was where I was able to create. It was magic because it was just I and what I was creating. It’s this place where there are trees everywhere, so it became the perfect place for me to work. I think the entire collection took a year to put together.

Bookshelf: What themes did the Taraba environment cause you to explore in your writing?

Benson: I started writing the first story innocently. I was trying to imagine what the future would be like. I think I was disenchanted about the Youth Service. It made me more disenchanted with the things going on in my country. It forced me to start asking the question, what does it mean to be Nigerian? What are the things that come together to form that identity? As a young person, what dreams does my nation have for me? I realised that, it seems like nobody is thinking about the future, and literature is always about the past. This is important. But I was also interested in imagining a future for young people. There seems to be a gap based on what is happening right now. I tried to imagine alternate realities and the future based on the things that were in progress at the time.

Bookshelf: Aside being a writer, you are also known as a photographer. How did this happen?

Benson: I started writing fiction before I started taking images. There is a very close gap. My father got me a camera when I was nine. They seemed to be in competition for my attention. It’s like speaking different languages for me. I’m often asked if one influences the other, and it doesn’t at all. I started writing stories first and it’s an entirely different realm. Most of my photography is mostly conceptual, so to an extent I have to dream up what I create. However, photographs have inspired me to write stories. I have written an entire short story from a photograph of an artist.

Bookshelf: Why did it take you this long to write a collection of short stories.

Benson: I have four manuscripts already, but the publishing industry is very tough. I decided that I wanted to publish traditionally as opposed to self-publishing.

Bookshelf: You are also into poetry. How does it come to you?

Benson: My poetry is very hidden. I try to hide it. Poetry is very tricky. It comes from a very vulnerable place for me. There is poetry in everything. For some malicious reasons, I don’t want my poetry to be for Nigerian audience.

Bookshelf: What are you working on at the moment?

Benson: Right now, I am editing my novel manuscript. I am also trying to complete a novella I hoped was going to be a short story. It’s about ogbanje’s who go to the farthest future to see how we can solve our problems as a nation. So, they are in the farthest future they could re-incarnate into. I have been writing it for two years and it has been very hard. But I think I am coming to the end. be Nigerian? What are the things that come together to form that identity? As a young person, what dreams does my nation have for me? I realised that, it seems like nobody is thinking about the future, and literature is always about the past. This is important. But I was also interested in imagining a future for young people. There seems to be a gap based on what is happening right now. I tried to imagine alternate realities and the future based on the things that were in progress at the time.

Bookshelf: Aside being a writer, you are also known as a photographer. How did this happen?

Benson: I started writing fiction before I started taking images. There is a very close gap. My father got me a camera when I was nine. They seemed to be in competition for my attention. It’s like speaking different languages for me. I’m often asked if one influences the other, and it doesn’t at all. I started writing stories first and it’s an entirely different realm. Most of my photography is mostly conceptual, so to an extent I have to dream up what I create. However, photographs have inspired me to write stories. I have written an entire short story from a photograph of an artist.

Bookshelf: Why did it take you this long to write a collection of short stories.

Benson: I have four manuscripts already, but the publishing industry is very tough. I decided that I wanted to publish traditionally as opposed to self-publishing.

Bookshelf: You are also into poetry. How does it come to you?

Benson: My poetry is very hidden. I try to hide it. Poetry is very tricky. It comes from a very vulnerable place for me. There is poetry in everything. For some malicious reasons, I don’t want my poetry to be for Nigerian audience.

Bookshelf: What are you working on at the moment?

Benson: Right now, I am editing my novel manuscript. I am also trying to complete a novella I hoped was going to be a short story. It’s about ogbanje’s who go to the farthest future to see how we can solve our problems as a nation. So, they are in the farthest future they could re-incarnate into. I have been writing it for two years and it has been very hard. But I think I am coming to the end.