Poetry, tool for shaping society positively – Author
An up and coming author, Lt. Sandra Hitarh, describes poetry as an active component for generating positive societal change in the country.
Hitarh, also, Communication Officer, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) KADA, made the assertion at the unveiling of her book titled: “The Voice of Your Village” which held on Saturday at Naval Dockyard Ltd., Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to her, poetry can be used to express oneself in a more unique way compared to other written forms because poems can mean a myriad of things.
“My book has had several reviewers that have generated different meanings from what the author intended just from reading one poem.
“Poetry gives us a room to have an array of meaning from just one word. One simple line of work can have different meanings thereby addressing different issues at the same time,” she said.
The author said that her book, “The Voice of Your Village”, was written out of the need to endear the society back to their village, the roots from which they came.
“Your village is your foundation and there is no structure without a foundation, so if you leave your roots then you would not have enough strength when the winds blow.
“So, the ‘voice of your village’ is that voice, within your foundation, inside of you, calling you to action and realisation so that you can eventually become the person you ought to be.
“If you are not attached or standing on your foundation, you will not be able to experience your fullness as a being,” she said.
Hitarh said that she got inspiration to write from her daily experiences of real life situations, which could come at any point in time as well as non-fiction books.
“I read a lot of non-fiction because this exposes me to true knowledge that I can eventually weave into good poetry.
“Also, in the constance of time, I find poetry in the knowings, on Mile 2 Bridge, in the ship surrounded by water, there is poetry.
“So, I try to keep an open mind to recognise when it comes so that I pen down as much as I can and research to make the work valuable,” she said.
Hitarh said that she came up with a line, in order to motivate the society find their passion, which she wrote as “Find your heART, let it BEat”.
“This simply means, ‘find your art and let it be’ because when you find your art, you will be your fullest self.
“Whether you are painting , sculpting or whatever you’re doing, when you find your art it will make every other thing you do beautiful,” she said.
Also speaking, a former Commandant, Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), Maj.-Gen. Chukwuemeka Onwuamaegbu Rtd, hoped to see more positive development from youths showcasing their passion in the future.
Onwuamaegbu added that he had been told to document some of the things that he did while in the military or some of the things that he wanted people to read about.
“This will be a wake-up call for me to start documenting my experiences, hoping that it will be as interesting as that of Hitarh’s,” he said.
Onwuamaegbu said that the author should start thinking of producing her work in audiobook so that those who cannot read much anymore can simply listen to it.
