Locomoting the Lɔgɔligi – Editing

Writing a book ain’t easy. I liken it to pressing out the last bits of creativity from a toothpaste container.

Writing Lɔgɔligi Locomotion, my first poetry book, presented numerous challenges. Though I am done with the writing process the publishing process is still something I am struggling with.

I want to use this platform as a way to talk about my experiences on the various issues I encountered to help others who are writing poetry books or thinking of getting into it.

Today I want to talk about the editing process and some of the things I used and did to help me during editing

Choose Your Weapon

As a poet I am always writing. In my early years my only option was a book but my creative process with a book is not the best as I am always changing things. A laptop or computer is not mobile to fish out my thoughts when they appear in the wild. My weapon of choice for writing poetry is a smartphone.

My first piece of arsenal for poetry was the Blackberry Curve. The qwerty keyboard device lended itself to my love relationship with words and I have all my notes till date. Though I now use an iPhone the process is pretty much the same and I prefer the iPhone because of the cloud features available for notes. Regardless of hardware loss my notes are always with me.

Choose Your Apps

Notes

Notes unfortunately is not the best place to edit ones words. As a spoken word artist the format of the words and your cadence lies within. The notes just provide the words but the pauses, punctuation and emphasis are layered in the performance and not on paper.

So while I had content, my content wasn’t formatted in a manner that read in the form it was intended.

Unfortunately poetry is not like writing fiction or non fiction. An editor may suggest a change in phrase or sentence with fiction or non fiction that works. With poetry that change may be well intended but will take away character, flow or emotion that the poet is trying to convey. The creativity is with the interior decor of the words in the room called the page. This was a process I had to be involved in. Despite the challenges it presented, it made me a better poet.

Microsoft Office 365 – Word

Microsoft Office 365 became a valuable tool on this journey. Me being able to edit on phone and computer was a blessing. (I however preferred editing on a larger screen)

Reading each poem using the Read Aloud feature helped in my re-education of punctuations. I however wish I had a Ghanaian voice.

You eventually realize that despite your best intentions as a human being, you will make errors. Reading a 100 poems back to back fishing for inconsistencies is no easy feat. I was continually amazed at the errors I had committed and worked for weeks on getting the pieces to a state that I was content with.

Dictionary.com & Rhymezone

Other apps or websites that helped with the editing process were the app Dictionary.com and the website Rhymezone.

I use Dictionary.com for spellings and synonyms. Rhymezone is for when I am looking for rhyming words. Though often I find that my knowledge on rhymes is at par with them. Rhymezone actually has an app but I have never bothered downloading it. It’s something you can however check out.

Sleep

Sleep should not be underestimated in the editing process. Sometimes you are just too tired to spew out any sense. Challenging nature at this point will only puke out gibberish. When tired just rest. Creativity is like the sea. At the right moment the wave will pour out the words and phrases you seek to complete your puzzle. Without sleep however you will be unable to catch it.

Read Your Poetry to Others

Feedback should never be estimated. Continually seek people and spaces where you can share your work and receive honest thoughts on your work. The keyword is honest. Friends help but make sure the friends you share your material with get the angle you are aiming for.

I often use my wife as a litmus test as she is not an artsy person. If I read out a poem and she likes it, I know I am onto something.

Virtual open mic sessions on Clubhouse, Zoom or Facebook are great outlets to share and get discovered. I used Clubhouse a lot during the pandemic to test out my edits to see if they worked.

Conclusion

So these are a few of the things that helped me in the process of editing. Honesty and humility are internal battles you need to settle during this time in your writing journey.

It’s a tiring process but a rewarding one. A process that humbles you and pushes you towards the truth about your process.

Locomoting through this process definitely took me on a lɔgɔligi path. I have shared some of my experience editing. Next time I will share my cover design journey.

Keep it One Hondred!

Lɔgɔligi is a Ga term used to describe a wriggly nature, behavior or attribute

Pimpinaa MiCheck Review

PimpinaaStories by the Fireside is a modern, pidgin, spoken-word, love story, wrapped in conversations between poets embodying different characters.

It is a poetry duet, sung by voices from Ghana and North America exploring the different stages in the love cycle to explore the unfamiliar and familiar, in a different light to reveal another side of the sentiment known as love.

Pimpinaa Album Cover

Ghana-based poet S.Losina and American born spoken word artist ShaiYaa, embark on a journey that ShaiYaa says would not have been possible, had she not gone abroad.

ShaiYaa studied in Ghana for four months in 2018 and underwent an experience that reshaped her creative trajectory.

Mutual love for Ghana and pidgin connected S.Losina and ShaiYaa. Their collaboration resulted in a documentary-style album of love showcasing its different sides.

The scenarios in each track of Pimpinaa, are familiar, and like parables, hold a moral. The artists use rhyme, pidgin, accent, and culture to strike a contrast, creating a unique viewpoint of the various issues discussed.

Aside from a unique viewpoint, the project explores relationships between western and African cultures.

The spoken word style by each artist, characterized by language and accent, reflects the cracks and beauty within the relationship of love and cultures.

Ignorance is one of these cracks explored in this river of words. The artists do well to showcase it and the different scenarios and cultures.

To some degree, the album mirrors the stereotypical nature of people to other cultures and reveals that often in love, assumption is at play.

The content is solid and well written; featuring themes ranging from puppy love, abuse, hope, family, and ignorance.

S.Losina’s emotion is felt in each character he plays. His rhyme scheme and humor are well placed; articulating the typical Ghanaian attitude to the scenarios cast in the project.

ShaiYaa’s voice is beautiful but lacks the emotion which we see in S.Losina. We, therefore, hear rather than feel the emotions of her characters. ShaiYaa must however be praised for embracing and falling in love with pidgin. Her pronunciation of certain pidgin words is honorable but sounds lackluster in my ears. It however doesn’t take away from the beauty in her work and the project as a whole.

The interludes in the project must also be recognized. They are brief but important transitions keeping the album together.

As the name of the album goes, Pimpinaa is a call declaring that a new voice of poetry is here. Not only for the west or the diaspora but for the Ghanaian as well.

From the cover art to the interesting conclusion in the final track, Pimpinaa is a different brew of the poetry I am used to.

I hope say this no be the last we go hear” from ShaiYaa and S. Losina.

Listen to Pimpinaa here

Written by Hondred Percent


About the poets

ShaiYaa

ShaiYaa is a 22-year-old Black creative who was born and raised in Connecticut, USA but relocated to North Carolina in 2013; she earned a BA in English and TESOL certificate from East Carolina University in 2019. While moving to the south played a major role in who she is today, four months spent studying abroad in Ghana in 2018 completely transformed the trajectory of her life as a fiction and nonfiction writer, poet, and spoken word artist. ShaiYaa uses her pen and voice to uplift, heal, and bring light to a world desperately in need of it.

Follow her work here

Follow Shaiyaa on Instagram @piercingsandpineapples

S.Losina

S.Losina is a Ghanaian born creative hailing from Nima.

His love for art from a young age forged his creativity and during a stage performance after high school, was discovered by one of Ghana’s renowned movie directors, Abu Idi.

The director helped him gain a scholarship at Ghallywood Academy of film acting where he studied acting, writing, and voice training, to master his craft.

As a poet, he draws inspiration from his surroundings and utilizes pidgin often in his works.

Not limiting his talent to only poetry, he has also starred in movies with well-known Ghanaian Actors such as Umar Krupp just to name a few.

Follow him on Instagram @s.losina

One Love

One of the reasons why poetry is so powerful is because it’s multi dimensional. People often limit it to books or performance but there is more to poetry than just words.

I have begun to explore the different dimensions of poetry with social media and art.

Yesterday being Ghana’s Independence Day, I decided to try sharing my poetry differently. So playing with graphic design applications I posted my poem “One Love” on my Instagram feed.

27 individual posts made up the poem. Majority of the posts have an individual message but play a role in the big picture which can only truly be embraced by viewing my profile page.

The poem though short touches on Ghana and her desire to unite its people under the banner of love. The piece touches on how the concept of love is interpreted to mean different things and asks questions as to whether we are truly seeking love as a nation and people.

Over the month of March and more, (depending on how long it will take) I plan on using my blog to break down the poem and discuss the elements within. I will touch on why I used certain images and why I used certain lines to further expand the details in the poem and show people how powerful poetry is.

A screenshot of one of the 27 posts of the poem “One Love” on Instagram

I urge you to search me up on Instagram @hondredpercent to view the poem and share your thoughts. This is quite the experiment I am embarking on so I am unsure as to what will result from this and what both audience and I will learn from this process. I however look forward to it.

Keep it ONE HONDRED!

Here is the poem:

One Love

Ghana raised Wanlov but we don’t have one love

Our independence made us free to allow one love

We fell in love with democracy and not one love

Corruption came along with that and that’s one love

to the one bud that got the power

To him that’s one love

Selfishness is his curse and that breeds love

But not the kind we need to make it as he does

In Ghana the real question is how do we love?

Cos we love to talk a lot and that breeds doves

of hope and conflict. The parties know it. Yes we love

a back and forth but that’s our fault cos we lack enough

as it is already to stay as we are

I am tired of this already but that’s not enough

Cos maybe its only me and that’s not one love

Maybe you are tired too and maybe that’s two love or true love but time will tell if we are really all for one love

Africa Sent Me A WhatsApp Message – Word N Sound Performance

I performed two poems at Word N Sound in Johannesburg on Saturday, September 1st 2018.
The first poem, “Bitch, Nigga, Shit”, I put out the week after I performed. The second one, “Africa Sent Me A WhatsApp Message” I released on Founders Day.
Remembering Kwame Nkrumah and this poem I believe go hand in hand. Here it is for you to watch and share

Bitch Nigga Shit Word N SOund Performance

What do you get when you toss a Ghanaian Poet Rapper with aladdin pants, black shirt and bow tie into a circle of books on a stage in Johannesburg, Market Theatre Labs with rows of itching ears, smoke or fog (I can’t tell the difference), lights and an amazing background?
Well you are about to find out.
I have to say this is to date my favourite performance caught on video due to the angle and effects caught on camera. The look is legendary and gives the respect that the art form of poetry deserves.
Big ups to the Word N Sound team for creating such an amazing ambience. Enjoy and share the video and remember to keep it One Hondred!

Hondred Percent at Word N Sound #PoetryLeague 2018

For those who do not know I spent five years in South Africa pursuing degrees. On that journey I acquired a love for spoken word poetry of which I was eager to pursue seriously once I got back to Ghana.
It’s been over five years since I left South Africa. Through work I was fortunate to return and extended my stay to explore performance opportunities in Johannesburg.
A friend blessed mewith the opportunity to perform on one of the biggest poetry platforms in the country, Word n Sound poetry league.

I have learnt a lot over the years regarding performance. From delivery, eye contact, improv etc every opportunity to be on stage is a lesson. The applause that comes with a good performance is humbling and interaction with members of the audience who were touched by my words always encourages me to do what I love doing.

I was happy to connect with the organizers and learn from them also. The more you perform the more you understand the statement “no man is an island”. I need all the help I can get to be successful as an artist. Networking is so important.

The poetry I experienced during the show was beautiful. We have some work to do in Ghana to get to the level of what is happening in South Africa and Kenya.

I performed two poems of my album WTF? “BNS” and “Africa Sent Me A WhatsApp Message” and it was magical. The crowd reaction was awesome and humbling. Even after the show I got compliments and love from both poets and members of the audience. It’s always inspiring to get such feedback. It serves as a testament to your work.
I have had a beautiful time in South Africa and will be heading to Kenya for another performance. I look forward to more blessings, experience and connections to aid in my success as an artist.
Keep it One Hondred!

My Thoughts on my Rehearsal 

Preparing for a show is a lot of work that sometimes I even take for granted. From logistics, sound, fashion, marketing and more it is safe to say that experience goes a long way in getting one accustomed to ensuring that an audience gets the best service.
Of all these elements involved in preparation, what catches me off my game is rehearsals. 
I do lot of these in my car as I drive. That however just ensures that I have my poetry or lyrics memorized. The other side of rehearsals involves interacting with the crowd and creating a sense of flow which I tend to forget to do due to my day job.
This time around I am doing rehearsals twice. 
I started yesterday and ended up turning the rehearsal into a deep conversation about Africa and our selfish attitudes that find us in our deprived state.
This was due to my “Africa Sent Me A Whatsapp Message” poetry performance. 
I sometimes forget how powerful words are. A friends brother heard the poem for the first time and was deeply moved by the it. 
I must admit the poem takes me by surprise sometimes due to the impact that the words have. Its surreal because I find myself in awe and asking how I got around to piecing the words together. 
The glory goes to none other than God!
Its inspiring when your art touches people and gets them thinking. It motivates you to keep pushing. I for one now seek to perform to touch people. Impacting one person is enough to making me feel fulfilled.
I hope however that today’s rehearsals goes as planned without interrupted intellectual debates.
Keep it One Hondred!

Life After High School Pt.1

I have been asked by my high school, SOS Hermann Gmeiner International College (HGIC) to be a guest on a panel speaking to the kids about life after high school. This time however, I will be speaking as Hondred Percent. 
As I think of what I will tell these teenagers I can’t help but look back at why I decided to walk down this challenging road as an artist. How I even came up with the name Hondred Percent is even interesting yet the more I reminisce the more I see how I have evolved.
I have a better sense of purpose as an artist. I want my success as an artist to pave the way for others to cause a positive shift on the art landscape in Ghana and beyond.
The motto of SOS HGIC is “knowledge in the service of Africa” and I am definitely doing this for more than selfish gain. I guess I have to thank SOS HGIC, for being a significant institution in instilling these values in me.
One thing I do know is that I could have been better prepared for what life threw at me. Relationships, love, passion, spirituality and all other important elements I may not have mentioned, are all areas that I could have been guided through better. 
Knowing what I know now however, I feel I am in a better position to mentor someone deciding to walk down this same path. I just don’t know how I will do that in 7 minutes.
I will keep you posted on how the talk went next week.
Keep it One Hondred!

Where Were You When Gas Exploded?

Last Saturday 7th October 2017 was a display of tragic fireworks that made Ghana wish Superman came to our aid. Alas, Superman is only fictional and even if he wasn’t, the chaos and crime in the world that day may have prevented him from being a hero to Ghanaians. (Black Panther who is near by may be a better option). 
As the explosion occurred I was at another explosion less disastrous occurring in the East Airport vicinity.
A baby shower was happening for my sister and two teams of family and friends were exploding with answers and at each others throats trying to win points for the coveted honor of wearing a baby shower medal.
It was during the shower that we heard news of the explosion. Thanks to our smart devices, social media and the internet, all were abreast with the current situation and quickly checked in on their loved ones to ensure all was well.
That however did not stop us from engaging in our baby shower games which by far was the best I have been to. I have to credit my little sister and friend for putting this together. They did a marvelous job.
Its however interesting that on a night set to celebrate the coming of a child, an explosion occurs that took away life and more. A debit and credit of life was occurring and I just happened to be on the life side of things at a baby shower designing a onesie and writing inspirational messages on diapers.

I designed one of these
Hondred Percent’s Onesie design
 
Here is a little poem I wrote about Saturdays event titled “When the gas exploded”


When the gas exploded 
When the gas exploded
A fire was born
She fed on fuel and shone soo bright 
She turned night to day
But caused dismay
Hurting whoever came her way


When the gas exploded 
Eyes grew wide
Some stayed still 
Some run for their lives
Some overreacted, others too slow
Some confused as to where the fire may go


When the gas exploded
Chaos was born 
A twin of the fire but filled with scorn 
She burped stampede and farted a confusion spree
This was a baby without manners indeed


When the gas exploded
Babies were born
Their light shone brighter than fire and chaos’s scorn
Their cry was gentle, their laugh was sweet
They provide hope as fire and chaos sleep


Where were you when the gas exploded?
Keep it One Hondred!