Lit Fest: Musa Okwonga on poetry, sports and JK Rowling

By Ned Kelly, November 4, 2015

The multitalented Brit will be pulling triple-duty at this year’s lit fest. On November 4, he'll draw upon 10 years of experience as a performance poet to break down the essential elements needed to write great poetry. The teacher will be in action on November 6 with a free Glam Slam poetry event followed by a talk on November 7 where he discusses details of his other life as an award-winning football writer.

You were trained as a solicitor – can you tell us about the decision to quit and become a poet?

I was always going to quit one day to be a writer – I qualified as a lawyer because I knew that being a writer was a precarious way to make a living, and so I would need a fallback if it didn't work out. I actually tried to combine writing with the corporate life, but I was just too exhausted at the end of each week to get much writing done, and my work as a lawyer was suffering. And so one weekend I just lay on my back and stared at the ceiling, and I thought – I've got to leave, I've really got to do this. So I drafted an email saying that I would be leaving, and without telling anyone else what I was doing – because I knew that well-meaning friends would try to talk me out of it – I sent it to my law firm. That was ten years ago, and I haven't practised law since.

Your first book of poetry Eating Roses for Dinner has just come out. Can you tell us about it – the subject matter and inspirations?

Sure. The book is a collection of the first ten years of my poems, and covers a wide range of subjects – basically, anything that inspired me at the time. So that could be love, race, sexuality, technology... People ask me what my work is about, and I find myself shrugging. I have never limited myself to any issue – I am not a political poet or a love poet. I just try to describe the human condition as I see it.

J.K. Rowling tweeted your poem ‘Invisible Men’ from the book, about online trolls and those that direct rape threats at women. That must have made you happy?

Ha, happy is an understatement. She is someone whose work I greatly respect – of course, she is an outstanding storyteller – but, beyond that, I admire her very much as a person. Her support of my work has meant much more than I can ever say.

And you then got some angry messages from Invisible Men, right?

Haha, yes, I did. Can you imagine being an anonymous Internet troll though, spending your whole life marinating in such frustration and bitterness? It really is a pitiable existence.

You have also written two books on football, including A Cultured Left Foot, about the key virtues that combine to make the perfect player. Who is the closest to being the perfect player and why?

Leo Messi, without question. That is the obvious answer, I know, but I have never seen someone with such a blend of skill, vision and desire. Messi has extraordinary physical and technical gifts – he is remarkably fast with the ball at his feet, quicker than most people without it – but his sheer relentlessness, his ability to adapt his game with each passing season, is something unique.

On the surface of it, football is a simple game – yet you are described as a ‘thinking man’s football writer.’ What is it that you bring to the table that is different?

Well, that is a very flattering title – I don't know if that's accurate though. I guess I try to look at football as a really interesting social phenomenon – why are we obsessed with such an apparently simple sport? Why did this game catch on so quickly?

You are quite the Renaissance man, also being one half of electronica outfit The King’s Will. How would you describe that work?

I guess – spoken word and electronica? The closest thing is The Streets, I suppose.

Tell us what people can expect from your poetry workshops.

I will hopefully make it a bit easier for you to write about the things you care about with greater clarity, compassion and resonance. Let's make some great art, if we can.

> Poetry Workshop: Nov 4, 3pm, RMB120. M on the Bund, tickets.
> Glam Slam poetry performance: Nov 6, 9pm, free entry. Glam.
> The Love of the Game - Talking & Writing About Football: Nov 7, 5pm, RMB75. M on the Bund, tickets.
> Will You Manage?: The Necessary Skills to be a Great Gaffer is available on Amazon.