Frank Njugi (He /Him) is a writer from Naivasha, Kenya. His works appear in Olney Magazine, Kalahari Review, Roi Faineant Press,  AfroRep, FieryScribe review, Writers Space Africa (PoeticAfrica), Poemify publishers, and Mental Rhythm Magazine. He currently lives in Nairobi and you can find him @franknjugi on all social platforms.

Precious Okpechi: Hello Frank, it’s good to have you as our featured poet for the month. My first question for you is directed at your writing; what is at stake in your poems?

Frank Njugi: First of all, thank you for having me as your featured Poet. It truly is an honour.  Poetry to me is my vulnerability. The only time I feel wide-open with my emotions is when I am writing. That moment when I am transforming my thoughts and feelings into words is the only moment I become susceptible to the world. So, I would say, in my poems lie an emotional risk which I try much to guard correlatively with outpouring my feelings and thoughts on paper.

Precious Okpechi: My never ending search for a doting paramour is at / the point of obsession…/ They say there is danger in a loneliness buried deep in the confines of the heart…/ There’s peril in a lily that lacks an inamorata to make it bloom in purity.

This is from your poem “Can a flower truly sing…” on Olney Magazine. Tell me, about the idea that one can only find completeness when we are not alone but with a lover? Is the idea of internal fulfilment only possible when we are romantically involved? 

Frank Njugi: Maya Angelou once said “I am grateful to have been loved and to be loved now and to be able to love, because that liberates. Love liberates.” In her words, she proclaims that there is a certain freedom that comes from receiving love from another. Although in self-love we find satisfaction and gratification, in receiving and giving love to another we find a form of fulfilment that is unique and distinct. After all, I believe everyone wants a chance to reveal their demons and flaws to another without the fear of being judged or being taunted in any way.

Precious: In an interview with Lauren K. Alleyne, Yusef Komunyakaa talks about how art changes the creator. Can you tell me how writing and art-making have changed you?

Frank: It’s true art changes a creator. And also, the more you stay in art the more you are transformed. Before I began writing I can say I felt lost not having an outlet for some of the frustrations and sentiments I had. Poetry gave me a reprieve, a much-needed vent, and also helped me form a connection with my emotions. It transformed me into this person I am today who is more in touch with his thoughts and feelings.

Precious: You recently joined Salamander Ink Magazine as a poetry reader. What are those poems you gravitate towards and look forward to reading in the submission pile? 

Frank: Personally, I like poems that try to push the boundaries of style. Poems that wow you with their originality and are not restricted to those set standards that are considered norms in the writing of poetry.  To writers, this is our tool of expression and I believe finding that courage to transform your feelings into words in any way you feel is right, however unconventional, is the true definition of being a good poet.

Precious: What do you wish was done for and told to you when you started out writing?

Frank: I really wish I had more exposure to contemporary African poets and also, I wish someone told me African Poetry could also be fun. Growing up all I was exposed to were poems that told of a Continent of despair, political turbulence, grief and poverty. So when I started writing, while still very young, I had this preconceived notion of what kind of poetry Africans should write about. It was not until I was exposed to some of the contemporary African poets that I began to see that this was a tool that could be used to tell all kinds of tales about us and not just those of despair. For although those sad poems told the truth they never told the whole of it. We are more than what the world thinks of us and poetry can be one avenue to reveal that.

Take Into Consideration

Just before you say
you love me, 
how I’m like 
a standing relic of
Achilles’ spear aimed
at Hector’s throat; 
the aviaries of your love
first need to be a refit lab
as my fervour is severed
I’ll let you hold my hand,
let this residual cold 
into your fingers
But your touch will be received 
by this nothingness 
soothing like water down
a minty throat –  
this is all 
I can give back

Before you say you love me 
remember, I give examples to mangled souls
Take into consideration how my
insides are a trapped soul stuffed
in a plastic bag, screaming