Jesimiel Williams

What was your favorite book as a child?

There were a lot of books I enjoyed as a child, however, two of my early favorites included Enid Blyton’s Wishing Chair and Tim Lahaye’s Left Behind book series. Later on in my childhood, I began to delve into African Literature with Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God and Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus. I like to think much of my writing style was developed from their work as early inspiration.

Do you remember the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?

As a child, I would dream very vividly and often wanted to be able to tell stories of the things that had taken place while I slept. As I grew older and navigated through life, I faced many events that contributed to a complex persona and emotions, and writing eventually became a form of catharsis and introspection into my understanding of these feelings and emotions.

What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?

For a short period, I moved from my home city in Lagos to the city of Ibadan for a few months. That became the most adventurous period of my life as I found myself in new spaces, meeting new people, and tackling challenges I had never imagined before then, because now I was all on my own in a new city.

Do you listen to music while reading or writing?

While writing yes, I listen to a lot of music. Many times before I write, I identify an emotion I hope to evoke through my words, and sometimes listening to music that explores similar themes helps me get into the headspace of the planned emotion. Artists like Kendrick Lamar, Aurora, J Cole, Tame Impala, and SZA are often in rotation while I write. While reading? Not so much.