Artist, poet and jewellery designer Jacqueline Massawe. PHOTO I ELIZABETH TUNGARAZA
Jacqueline Massawe
is an artist, a poet and a jewellery designer. She is a Tanzanian who
is passionate about the creative arts and creative business. Success magazine interviewed her about her Walk it Out poetry album.
How did you get started as a poet?
I have always had a
love for words. My interest in poetry began when I was at school. I was
greatly inspired by my Literature teacher, the writer and poet Neil
Curry. I remember studying the poetry of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath and
being in awe at how much could be expressed through few carefully
selected words. He taught me to appreciate the art of poetry and
encouraged me to enter poetry competitions as he saw a talent in me.
What inspired you to write this poetry album Walk it Out?
The album was
written over the course of time. I believe I started writing words to
the first poem Contentment in 2008. The album was completed and mastered
and available on iTunes and other digital platforms in 2012. At the
time of writing I had a strong belief in the power of music and my
greatest inspiration came from female lyricists like Lauryn Hill and
Ursula Rucker and also, Linton Kwesi Johnson. Music seemed to make words
come alive. The beats in the music carried mood and emotion like the
heart beats. I think it was in an interview with BBC World Service that I
first spoke about the album as a form of therapy and an outlet for
thoughts and ideas that I felt were greater than my capacity to process
at the time. When we started the album I was pregnant with my first son
and by the time we were finishing I gave birth to my 2nd son. Somewhere
in there I suffered from postnatal depression and went through a tough
time with it. Through this album I was able to find a high point on the
horizon. I used the words and the music to encourage myself and walk it
out. Walk It Out is the title track of the album. It takes the listener
step by step out of the valley on to higher ground.
What did you learn when writing the poetry on this album?
I learnt to be
brave. I had written so much before this but never anything so open. I
made myself vulnerable through this album and I didn't expect that so
many would relate to it. It taught me that as alone as one might feel in
their mental or emotional struggles, there is someone out there who has
been through it and has come out the other side. Culturally as women we
have been taught to not be open or express too much emotion. I regret
to say that many women suffer in situations because they would rather
suffer quietly than feel the scorn of society when admitting that life
isn't perfect. As women we can suffer from depression, as women we can
suffer from abuse and unfortunately many of us go through those dark
places believing that if we open our mouths and speak it out or walk it
out, then we are weak. With every poem I wrote for this album, I gained
strength. I learnt that I am courageous and I am strong.
How do your poems develop? Please guide us through the process.
Usually I have a
line or 2 that repeats itself to me, a thought that I keep thinking.
Sometimes that thought rhymes but always it has a rhythm of sorts. If I
take a pen and write it down then I find more lines. I get a sense of
the destination and I then try to reach that destination playing with
words.
Once I have the
poem down, once it has reached its destination, I either put it away so I
can let myself breath and come back to edit it later. Or I edit it and
rework it until I feel satisfied that it's finished. There are poems
I've left unfinished for months because I couldn't find the words to get
it to the right destination.
At times I have
thoughts or ideas in Swahili. I find these times the most exciting
because for as long as I can remember I have thought in English. When I
have a line of poetry in Swahili I always write it down. It always feels
like I have found hidden treasure or that the treasure has found me,
when a line comes to me in Swahili. To then develop a piece of poetry or
part of a poem in Swahili I go through the same process but then find
someone whose Swahili is better than mine to hear what I'm trying to say
and debate with me as to whether I've managed to say it.
Tell us about some of the books you've enjoyed in the past year.
I teach Literature
at an International school here in Dar. So each year in order to teach
my students I read at least 4 plays, 3 novels and 40 poems. This past
year I have enjoyed Wole Soyinka's play Death and the King's Horseman.
Getting into the Nigerian Playwright has made me consider exploring the
writing of drama.
I am also a member
of the Umoja Bookclub. We read a book a month and meet to discuss it. My
favourite Bookclub read of the past year has been Atomic Habits by
James Clear as it was such a practical book.
What advice would you give to an aspiring poet?
The advice I would
give anyone wanting to write, is firstly, to write. I remember in my
first semester of teaching Literature here I really wanted to know my
students more. I encouraged the budding writers to send me their work
and I was blown away. Some of them didn't even see their talent and
sometimes you don't. It might take someone else reading or hearing your
work to give you that boost of confidence to write more and then to
research and perfect your craft.
Secondly, don't
inhibit yourself by trying to fit into someone else's box. Find your own
voice even if it isn't conventional. Writing should be a journey to a
place you want to discover or understand, if you take that journey
wearing someone else's shoes you may get tired before you arrive at your
destination.
Thirdly I would say
research. Research by reading other poets and writers, discovering the
places you are writing about, talking to people, hearing stories,
looking at photos. It's important to immerse yourself in your subject
matter and give your writing the room to grow strong roots. The buds and
the flowers will come.
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