Geraldine Sinyuy Interviews Yussif Abubakari, a Determined, Budding Writer from Ghana

Geraldine Sinyuy: Hello Yussif, it’s nice having an interview with you. Could you please tell us about yourself?
Yussif Abubakari: I'm a language enthusiast and I love the beauty and power of language in poetry and in philosophy. I also feel I could tell my story and maybe others' stories with the purpose of entertaining, informing, educating, persuading and inspiring.

Geraldine Sinyuy:  Beautiful. Actually, the language of poetry is unique and often evokes powerful emotions in the readers. It’s somehow something magical.  Alright, at what age did you start writing and what was the easiest genre for you at that time?
Yussif Abubakari:  At the age of 28 and I chose poetry because it's shorter to relay my emotions as compared to other genres of literature. 

Geraldine Sinyuy: Exactly, poetry deals with the economy of words and just a few lines of a poem can express an idea which a novelist would otherwise use millions of words in order to express it. Different people prefer different times of the day during which they find it more comfortable to write, at what time of the day do you find more inspiration and energy to write?
Yussif Abubakari: At midnight when the world is fast asleep, ideas are brewed in the silence and serenity that engulf the moment. This is the best time ideas gush through my head like a fountain.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Your description of “ideas gushing out like a fountain” is poetic language; simile as we all know. That way of speaking creates vivid images of your subject matter. I wish I could read some of your poems.  How do you manage social media distractions and the writing career?
Yussif Abubakari: Once I lift up my pen to write, social media and any other issue becomes secondary and had to wait until I'm done or take intermittent breaks to attend to other life's pressing issues. It's during such intermittent breaks that new ideas may surge through.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Excellent. You’re a very disciplined person and I guess that you will make a great writer in the future.  Can you describe what your writing workspace looks like?
Yussif Abubakari: It's serene and reclusive, I consciously have to make it so. As this is essential to sustain an avid engagement with my ideas and the advancement of same into a crafty piece.

Geraldine Sinyuy: I agree with you on the idea of solitary during writing. Almost every writer experiences isolation in one way or the other because it is then that ideas flow spontaneously.
Yussif Abubakari: When I engage in other responsibilities it's like taking a break for the brain to regain its plasticity and at this very moment my subconscious mind generates and refines ideas which I can later develop and advance into creative art pieces.

Geraldine Sinyuy: According your context, what is the most trending issue in present day literature as far as human rights are concerned?
Yussif Abubakari: I honestly can't find any at the environment where I live.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Can you tell us which of your works brought you to the lime light of the literary circle? Can you tell us where we can find any of your books?
Yussif Abubakari:  I've no book to my credit and as a budding writer, I've a number of pieces in my word bank, though none of my art pieces have I posted in the open spaces but looking forward to realizing my dreams of authorship in the near future.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What is the most important lesson you've learned in your career as a writer?
Yussif Abubakari: He who dares to write must never stop the habit of learning. The most accoladed literary work you've ever come across is not the finality in the literary art space, the world is still waiting on what your creativity has to offer.

Geraldine Sinyuy: It is said that a writer is the voice of the voiceless, have you written any piece of work that calls for any kind of justice in a sense? If yes, what was it?
Yussif Abubakari: I've written a few about that but as I said earlier, as a budding writer, none has been able to make its way to the media prominence and visibility.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What advice will you give a young aspiring writer?
Yussif Abubakari: Read every material you lay your hands and when you need words to write, they would flow to you like a stream.

Geraldine Sinyuy: How does your community receive human rights related literary and artistic works?
Yussif Abubakari: With open arms tinged with resentment and hopes of a better tomorrow.

Geraldine Sinyuy: Have you ever felt threatened in any way due to the kind of writing you produce?
Yussif Abubakari: Absolutely, no.

Geraldine Sinyuy: What can you say about the future of African Literature?
Yussif Abubakari: I hope fervently and pray that any writer who bleeds his/her pen clamouring for a change does not do so in vain.

Geraldine Sinyuy. Yussif, thank you so much for your time and insightful responses. it was nice talking with you. Your ideas are deep and we hope to have you here again in the nearest future and hope that by then you would have developed much more in your writing career.
Yussif Abubakari: Welcome.

Yussif Abubakari is a Ghanaian.  He attended high school at the Ghana Senior High, Tamale and later Bagabaga College of Education where he was trained as a teacher. Later on, he went to the University of Education where he got a bachelor's degree in education and finally the University of Ghana, Legon and where he obtained another degree in accountancy. He loves nature and is an active questioner of events. He enjoys reading as well as explorations.