An interview with Joe Odey. Read our review of his collection of poems, Becoming a Whisper here.

LE: Hello Joe, please tell us a bit about yourself.

Joe: I majored in Civil/Structural Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. I’m happily married to the love of my life, Eddie and we’re blessed with two amazing little princesses, Kayla & Talia.

LE: What you do for a living? Is writing your full time job?

Joe: At dawn, I work for a Global Energy Company, designing oil & gas production facilities. I’m what I like to call a ‘poet at dusk’ based in Lagos, Nigeria. My first poetry publication was a chapbook titled “Everything I Didn’t Say” and self-published early in 2017. “Becoming A Whisper” is my first full-length & illustrated collection of narrative poems, recently published in December 2018.

LE: When did you start writing and what prompted it?

Joe: I started writing poetry more than 2 decades ago and completely fell in love with expressing myself via the free verse poetic form at a really young age. In some ways, poetry breathes life and expression that transcends merely trying to communicate and this was its primary attraction to me. I found it helped me crystallize thoughts in a medium that preserved not just its intent, but also had the ability to resonate across boundaries, race, color, gender and creed. My favorite poetic theme revolves around the flawed human experience and the potpourri of feelings, relationships and realities that define this journey for each of us.

LE: Are you currently working on any book and if you are, what is it about?

Joe: I’m currently working on my second full-length poetry collection. It’s billed for release sometime in the first quarter of 2020.

LE: Lastly, what are your hobbies?

Joe: Aside from an obvious poetry writing hobby, I’m also an avid chess player and soccer fan. My picture of a restful vacation – summer on a quiet beach in the French Riviera, drinking scotch, painting and writing poems.

Joe has two published books:

Everything I Didn’t Say (A chapbook)

Becoming a Whisper

He is on Instagram and Twitter.