VOICE OF VERSE: CONVERSATIONS WITH POETS ✍️

29/06/2023-Interview with Fyserl Quotes

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to a talented wordsmith and poet of two captivating worlds – the page and the stage.

Thank you so much.

🎤Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Faisal Tijjani with the pen name Fyserl Quotes. I am a Poet, A Spoken Word Artist and a Graphic Designer. A student of Kaduna State University.

🎤How did you first get involved in poetry, and what drew you to this art form?

I’ve been a fan of poetry for a very long time and I’ve been following up many poets and enjoying from their works until January, 2022 that I started giving it a try thou the inspiration came from a horrible experience.

🎤Could you expand on how the horrible experience inspires your poetry?

The story behind it was that of a heartbreak which moving on was very difficult and seemed almost impossible that I came up with the idea of having this girl in my imagination that I named “Miss Faisal” (it is the title of my first poem which is now a series) and I decided to be with her and be writing for her to ease the pain from the heartbreak and to help myself in moving on. It was just a trial at first but luckily, it worked. It helped me move on successfully.

That's incredibly touching and inspiring.

Yes it is.

🎤How would you describe your poetic style or voice?

Love. Most people say I’m a love poet and my voice fits love poems… I’m not sure.

🎤What themes or topics do you find yourself most drawn to in your poetry?

I mostly write about love and it is something I enjoy doing. My first poem was a love poem and after it, my audience seemed to like love poems most. Not that I’m limiting myself to be a love poet. I probably might look at other things anytime.

🎤Could you walk us through your typical writing process? Do you have any specific rituals or habits when writing poetry?

I don’t have any rituals or habit  in my writing process. I don’t force words. I write only when I feel the muse which is why it takes weeks or months for me to finish up a single poem.

🎤How do you deal with writer's block or challenges during the creative process?

I don’t think I have a way of dealing with it. I leave it when I feel the writer’s block and come back to it when the muse comes.

🎤As a page poet, your work is often read silently. How do you approach crafting a poem to engage a reader's imagination without the aid of performance?

As a page poet that also do performances, that spirit we apply during performance to draw the attention of the audience never seize to appear even when writing a page poem. So I’ll say that the poetic devices I use are always doing the magic.

🎤As a spoken word poet, how do you use your voice and body language to enhance the impact of your performance?

For the voice, I can only thank God for it. While the body language is not something I rehearse for, I do freestyle it while on the stage.

🎤How do you feel your poetry connects with your audience, whether on the page or during a spoken word performance?

I think every poet should sometimes put himself in the shoes of his audience and understand exactly what they’ll like. That is what I do. I think I’m giving exactly what they want and I’m always open for corrections, suggestions and advices.