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Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today - Literature - Nairaland

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Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by lalasticlala(m): 7:46am On Feb 26, 2018
Lola Shoneyin (born Titilola Atinuke Alexandrah Shoneyin; 26 February 1974 in Ibadan, Nigeria) is a Nigerian poet and author who launched her debut novel, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, in the UK in May 2010. Shoneyin has forged a reputation as an adventurous, humorous and outspoken poet (often classed in the feminist mould), having published three volumes of poetry. In April 2014 she was named on the Hay Festival's Africa39 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria, where she runs the annual Aké Arts and Book Festival.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Shoneyin

2 Likes

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by forreelinc(m): 7:48am On Feb 26, 2018
She no even fine sef
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by justi4jesu(f): 7:54am On Feb 26, 2018
forreelinc:
She no even fine sef





Upload your own picture, let's judge

4 Likes

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by femolacqua(m): 8:05am On Feb 26, 2018
And the winner is @justi4jesu?

1 Like

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Brooke60(f): 8:14am On Feb 26, 2018
Im looking for this monkey

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Nobody: 9:06am On Feb 26, 2018
THE SECRET LIFE OF BABA SEGI'S WIVES... that book is very interesting. I pity baba segi, poor man.

3 Likes

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Manzip(m): 11:02am On Feb 26, 2018
HBD 2 Her
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by OnyeJombo: 11:02am On Feb 26, 2018
angry
Dis is how we are sending this daura ogogoro champion

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by livebynite: 11:02am On Feb 26, 2018
How does this reduce the cost of Garri? angry
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Bota: 11:05am On Feb 26, 2018
forreelinc:
She no even fine sef

Your comment says more about you than her. Let me explain..
Ever heard of : Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

5 Likes

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by LaudableXX: 11:06am On Feb 26, 2018
lalasticlala:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Shoneyin

Lola Shoneyin is the wife of Olaokun Soyinka, former Commissioner for Health in Ogun State, and Wole Soyinka's first son. So she is Soyinka's daughter-in-law. It appears that the muse does run in the family. Happy birthday to Lola, the wordsmith.




INTERVIEW: Being Married to a Soyinka is Great, But I Have My Own Identity – Lola Shoneyin




SU: Was it a deliberate decision not to use the Soyinka name, given that you are married to Professor Wole Soyinka’s son, or is it that you didn’t want to be seen in the shadow of the great man?

LOLA SHONEYIN: Well, most significantly, I think changing your name confuses the reading public, if you’re an author. In any case, why should female authors have to change their names, because their circumstances change? I find it absurd. My life has been so much simpler because I chose to stick with my original name.

SU: But in your own case, being a writer and married to a Soyinka…

LOLA SHONEYIN: It works for some, like the three generations of Desai, and then you have the Theroux where both father and son are authors. I don’t know how changing my name to ‘Lola Soyinka’ would have worked for me in this terrain. The Soyinka name and everything it stands for was pretty much established, before I was born. I like that I have my own identity, my own voice, my own name. The other thing is this: using and keeping my dad’s name is a tribute to him. He has contributed so much to writing my career by pushing and encouraging me.

SU: But has marrying into the Soyinka clan conferred any privileges on you as a writer?

LOLA SHONEYIN: None at all. I heard about a conversation that took place in Northern Nigeria a few months ago. Apparently, a lady was saying really pleasant things about The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives until someone answered, ‘What do you expect, is she not Soyinka’s daughter-in-law?’ This made me laugh, because Professor Soyinka didn’t even see the novel in manuscript form. I sent him the finished product – the book (because) I wanted to surprise him. I knew that he would be even more proud of me if he knew I had done it on my own. I didn’t get a leg-up. I worked my ass off! (laughs). I found an agent, got my manuscript organised, sent it out, and somehow got through all those rejections. My partner has been great though. I can’t give him enough credit for being my first editor.



SU: Let’s talk about The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives. It has been translated into several languages and is one of the international bestsellers from this part of the globe. It’s also a very personal account of polygamy, yet you’re not from a polygamous home. How did you find the inspiration to write that?

LOLA SHONEYIN: I might not be from a polygamous home, but I definitely have a polygamous background. Both my grandfathers were polygamists. They had several wives, especially my maternal grandfather. He was an Oba, the Alaperu of Iperu, and he had five wives. I grew up hearing a lot of stories.

It is difficult to grow up in Nigeria and not encounter people who are coping with polygamy: kids dealing with being treated like second-class citizens because they were the children of subsequent wives, or sometimes the children of the first wife, dealing with that sense of entitlement that comes with that position. When two people enter into a marriage contract, the expectations are the same on both sides. The man doesn’t feel the woman will go off, marry another man and have more husbands. That is exactly how women feel.

And I’ve found that whether it’s Christian, Muslim, you come from a polygamous or monogamous home, whether you’re traditional, from the rural areas or the city, no woman goes into a marriage believing that she wouldn’t be enough for her husband. When a man takes on another wife, the message is simple: you’re inadequate. As expected, this can really damage a woman’s self-esteem. Everything else that comes after is part of a coping mechanism.

The way women change, is of interest to me as well, how a polygamous setting can change a woman’s personality, make them mercenary and defensive to the point of aggression. But also, I’d been reading The Lion and the Jewel, Professor Wole Soyinka’s play. Baroka disgusted me. He knew he could have any woman. He believed very much in his loins, his magic member. For him, having sex with women was like taming them. I really wanted to explore this and interrogate it.

SU: Your poetry is very personal. You’re never afraid to literally bare yourself naked. Is that a deliberate ploy?

LOLA SHONEYIN: It’s personal, but not personal in the way that people think it is. I always say that if there is one gift that Providence has bestowed on me, it’s the gift of empathy. If you ring me up and tell me your story, from that moment, I am living in your shoes; I am you. I know what you’re going through. It’s like being a method actor. That’s the way I see it.

So, sometimes when I’m writing, especially in first person, it’s the poet persona. I can see how easy it is very easy for people to assume it is me.

And I write about all sorts, infidelity, religion, my grandparents and their beliefs, sexual molestation and stuff like that, and these are all not necessarily my own personal experiences. Obviously, some are more personal than others.
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/126696-interview-being-married-to-a-soyinka-is-great-but-i-have-my-own-identity-lola-shoneyin.html

4 Likes

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Dollabiz: 11:07am On Feb 26, 2018
Hmmmm
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by forreelinc(m): 11:09am On Feb 26, 2018
Bota:


Your comment says more about you than her. Let me explain..
Ever heard of : Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

grin Spoken like a really ugly person
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Dollabiz: 11:09am On Feb 26, 2018
Oh
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Nobody: 11:21am On Feb 26, 2018
[quote author=forreelinc post=65376255][/quote]So u think say u fine ?

1 Like

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Bota: 11:27am On Feb 26, 2018
forreelinc:


grin Spoken like a really ugly person

No, just as someone making an effort to let you realize how narrow minded you sound - clearly a lost case.

4 Likes

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by forreelinc(m): 11:27am On Feb 26, 2018
Yigiyaga:
So u think say u fine ?
hell yea hell yea hell yea f*cking right damn right alright cool
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by forreelinc(m): 11:28am On Feb 26, 2018
Bota:


No, just as someone making an effort to let you realize how narrow minded you sound - clearly a lost case.
spoken like a PAINED ugly person grin
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Nobody: 11:33am On Feb 26, 2018
forreelinc:

hell yea hell yea hell yea f*cking right damn right alright cool
Foolish boy

1 Like

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Nobody: 11:36am On Feb 26, 2018
Bota:

Your comment says more about you than her. Let me explain.. Ever heard of : Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
d boy no get brain

1 Like

Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by forreelinc(m): 11:41am On Feb 26, 2018
Yigiyaga:
Foolish boy
ugly boy
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by AAlozie(m): 12:11pm On Feb 26, 2018
sexybbstar:
THE SECRET LIFE OF BABA SEGI'S WIVES... that book is very interesting. I pity baba segi, poor man.
I read the book when I was an undergraduate(200L). Very interesting with lots of twists, I tell ya
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Rovingheights: 12:46pm On Feb 26, 2018
Happy Birthday Lola Shoneyin

Author, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives

A story of a polygamist Baba Segi, his collection of wives and a gaggle of children are his symbol of prosperity, success and validation of his manhood. Everything runs reasonably smoothly in the patriarchal home, until wife number four intrudes on this family romance.

Check our Signature to order for this great read
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Bota: 6:47pm On Feb 26, 2018
forreelinc:

spoken like a PAINED ugly person grin

Lost case!Cant save ya!!
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by forreelinc(m): 8:04pm On Feb 26, 2018
Bota:


Lost case!Cant save ya!!
Ugly nigga
Re: Lola Shoneyin Celebrates Her 44th Birthday Today by Abdulmujeeb52(m): 9:46pm On Feb 26, 2018
Omo ajorosun

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