"Spotlight" Poet Interview:
Uchechukwu Onyedikam
Uchechukwu Onyedikam
Hello Uchechukwu. Thank you for kicking off this 2026 New Year by being the Creative Inspirations “Spotlight” Poet! It is a joy being able to interview you. Are you excited about the coming New Year?
Hello Maurice, and hello to all the Creative Inspirations readers! Yes, I am very excited about the coming New Year. 2026 feels like a true turning point for me.
Does the month January have any significant meaning for you?
January has huge significance: it is the month I will finally receive my UK Global Talent Visa endorsement (because I'm sending my application in December) and, by June, relocate permanently to Cardiff, Wales. A new year and a new chapter in every sense.
You are in Nigeria, correct? Tell us something good about your country.
Yes, I am currently in Lagos, Nigeria. One of the best things about my country is its unbreakable creative spirit. Even in the toughest circumstances, Nigerians make music, stories, and poetry — laughter and art are our daily oxygen.
Tell us a little bit about Uchechukwu.
I am a Nigerian poet who fell in love with haiku and tan-renga (and rengay) because they feel like the perfect vessel for African linguistic textures inside a Japanese form. I dislike silence when it is forced; I love the sound of dùndún drums, early-morning rain on rusted zinc roofs, and collaborative writing across continents. My hobbies are reading Bashō under dòngóyarò tree and dreaming in three languages at once.
What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day: wake at 6 a.m., write new haiku while Lagos is still quiet, answer emails from editors/publishers/collaborators around the world, then spend the afternoon writing, revising or preparing for Lime Square Poets open mic.
How long have you been writing poetry?
I have been writing seriously since 2008, but 2020–2025 felt like an explosion.
What is your favorite form of poetry?
My favourite form is haiku — weaving Igbó or Yorùbá phrases into English so the two languages surprise and complete each other. I also write tan-renga, free verse, and spoken-word pieces.
Are there other forms of writing you do?
Other writing: occasional short stories and, right now, a commissioned critical essay for Presence (UK) about writing Igbó and Yorùbá into the haiku form.
Any published materials? If so, please also share where those interested can find your published works.
Published materials (selected):
● Prairie Schooner (forthcoming 2026)
● Presence, Wales Haiku Journal, The Pan Haiku Review (all UK)
● Two Amazon #1 best-selling haiku anthologies (Petals of Haiku 2024, Tranquillity 2025)
● Two co-authored chapbooks with Christina Chin (Malaysia): Pouring Light on the Hills (archived in The Haiku Foundation Digital Library) and Clouds of Pink
● Permanent archival in Japan’s Museum of Haiku Literature
Are you on any social media platforms, websites, etc., that you would like to share with us?
● X: @MysticPoet_
● Facebook: Uchechukwu Onyedikam
What are a few things you are proud of, or happy that you accomplished in 2025?
Proudest 2025 moments:
● Acceptance by Prairie Schooner
● Commissioned essay and bilingual haiku in Presence (UK)
● Permanent archival in Tokyo’s Museum of Haiku Literature
● Becoming a regular voice at Lime Square Poets (Cork) and winning their unprecedented three-way tie
What is a minor and major goal you would like to accomplish this year?
Minor — publish my first solo haiku chapbook
Major — land in Cardiff in June, start African-inflected haiku workshops across Wales and the UK, and keep proving that haiku can sound like Lagos rain and Igbó/Yorùbá praise-poetry at the same time.
Can you share some advice for aspiring poets and writers?
Write in the language that first taught you wonder — even if the world tells you it “doesn’t belong” in certain forms. Protect your joy. Collaborate often. Read across oceans. And never wait for permission to take up space.
Thank you for taking time to do this interview, Uchechukwu. I appreciate your continued support of Creative Inspirations and its ministries! Please have closing remarks.
Maurice, thank you again for this beautiful platform and for seeing something worth spotlighting. To everyone reading — may 2026 bring you new languages, new homes, and new ways to say what only you can say. See you in the poems.
Hello Maurice, and hello to all the Creative Inspirations readers! Yes, I am very excited about the coming New Year. 2026 feels like a true turning point for me.
Does the month January have any significant meaning for you?
January has huge significance: it is the month I will finally receive my UK Global Talent Visa endorsement (because I'm sending my application in December) and, by June, relocate permanently to Cardiff, Wales. A new year and a new chapter in every sense.
You are in Nigeria, correct? Tell us something good about your country.
Yes, I am currently in Lagos, Nigeria. One of the best things about my country is its unbreakable creative spirit. Even in the toughest circumstances, Nigerians make music, stories, and poetry — laughter and art are our daily oxygen.
Tell us a little bit about Uchechukwu.
I am a Nigerian poet who fell in love with haiku and tan-renga (and rengay) because they feel like the perfect vessel for African linguistic textures inside a Japanese form. I dislike silence when it is forced; I love the sound of dùndún drums, early-morning rain on rusted zinc roofs, and collaborative writing across continents. My hobbies are reading Bashō under dòngóyarò tree and dreaming in three languages at once.
What does a typical day look like for you?
A typical day: wake at 6 a.m., write new haiku while Lagos is still quiet, answer emails from editors/publishers/collaborators around the world, then spend the afternoon writing, revising or preparing for Lime Square Poets open mic.
How long have you been writing poetry?
I have been writing seriously since 2008, but 2020–2025 felt like an explosion.
What is your favorite form of poetry?
My favourite form is haiku — weaving Igbó or Yorùbá phrases into English so the two languages surprise and complete each other. I also write tan-renga, free verse, and spoken-word pieces.
Are there other forms of writing you do?
Other writing: occasional short stories and, right now, a commissioned critical essay for Presence (UK) about writing Igbó and Yorùbá into the haiku form.
Any published materials? If so, please also share where those interested can find your published works.
Published materials (selected):
● Prairie Schooner (forthcoming 2026)
● Presence, Wales Haiku Journal, The Pan Haiku Review (all UK)
● Two Amazon #1 best-selling haiku anthologies (Petals of Haiku 2024, Tranquillity 2025)
● Two co-authored chapbooks with Christina Chin (Malaysia): Pouring Light on the Hills (archived in The Haiku Foundation Digital Library) and Clouds of Pink
● Permanent archival in Japan’s Museum of Haiku Literature
Are you on any social media platforms, websites, etc., that you would like to share with us?
● X: @MysticPoet_
● Facebook: Uchechukwu Onyedikam
What are a few things you are proud of, or happy that you accomplished in 2025?
Proudest 2025 moments:
● Acceptance by Prairie Schooner
● Commissioned essay and bilingual haiku in Presence (UK)
● Permanent archival in Tokyo’s Museum of Haiku Literature
● Becoming a regular voice at Lime Square Poets (Cork) and winning their unprecedented three-way tie
What is a minor and major goal you would like to accomplish this year?
Minor — publish my first solo haiku chapbook
Major — land in Cardiff in June, start African-inflected haiku workshops across Wales and the UK, and keep proving that haiku can sound like Lagos rain and Igbó/Yorùbá praise-poetry at the same time.
Can you share some advice for aspiring poets and writers?
Write in the language that first taught you wonder — even if the world tells you it “doesn’t belong” in certain forms. Protect your joy. Collaborate often. Read across oceans. And never wait for permission to take up space.
Thank you for taking time to do this interview, Uchechukwu. I appreciate your continued support of Creative Inspirations and its ministries! Please have closing remarks.
Maurice, thank you again for this beautiful platform and for seeing something worth spotlighting. To everyone reading — may 2026 bring you new languages, new homes, and new ways to say what only you can say. See you in the poems.
For past "Spotlight" interviews, please contact MJ at the email below.
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Creative Inspirations - P.O. Box 19051 Kalamazoo, MI 49019
[email protected] - www.cipoetrypublication.com
[email protected] - www.cipoetrypublication.com