Today we talk about Reasoning and Rhyming, a book by Danny Opoku Manu published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing Danny Opoku Manu to get to know him better, what prompted him to the writing of his book Reasoning and Rhyming as well as if there are some books he is particularly attached to and that he would like recommend to readers.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- What prompted you to the writing of your book of poetry?
I always have the feeling of having something to share with the people; this has been with me. However, coming from the background of mysterious depression, I ended up having my self-confidence eroded leaving me diffident and excessively nervous, affecting my spontaneous reactions to issues. This made me extra careful regarding taking a stance in speech on issues in public; I always have to think long before I could say something short to avoid sounding ambiguous in public. Deeply reflecting on issues before taking a stance in speech made my words extra weighty. As I was always reading the bible for spiritual succor, my ideas became replete with biblical allusions. I wanted to be a motivational speaker but it fell through because I couldn’t overcome a stage fright bedeviling me. I decided to go into music and actually made a music album of ten tracks with the of help friends and named it ‘I wanna die a righteous man’ rebutting the wish of suicidal death haunting me at that time. It was a nice album though, yet my diffident life style made me not cut out for music so eventually the music also fell through. Still not satisfied with myself, I decided to convert my lyrics into poems and tried to recite them rhythmically. This also did not work because of the obvious reason. I finally decided to put what I have in a book in the form of poems as the only way to see my talent live on when I am no more.
- What would you like to hear from your readers?
Though I try to convince myself that I am doing something reasonable, other friends who know my past, judge my present from my past predicament and therefore are skeptical about things I do. Against this background, I simply want my readers to enjoy the read and to prove the skeptics wrong that at least this time around, I am doing something reasonable and that my ideas actually reason and rhyme.
- How would you define you writing style?
I believe my style is a blend of persuasive and narrative. I have a mental picture of my audience standing before me so I write with the feeling of addressing them and making them part of my conversation. This explains the rampant use of such words as ‘brethren’ and ‘behold’, showing how poised I am to persuade my readers to accept my convictions stemming from the belief that I have something sublime that I have to be charitable with. Some other times I use the second-person narrative to directly address my readers making them the protagonists of the stories I tell without forcing my stance on them. This also explains the reason why I use the imperative mood very often in my writing.
- Are there some books you are particularly attached to and that you would like recommend to readers?
In fact, forces beyond my control marred my reading habit so reading wide was an impossibility. That notwithstanding, I was inspired to read the bible and some bible commentaries. Among the many bible commentaries I read, I would like to recommend Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the whole bible. Again, as an ardent Francophile, I have published a French grammar Book entitled French Grammar for Anglophone Students to help me polish my French and to also help anglophone students learn French with ease. It is indeed a good book which I would like to recommend to French language lovers.
- Are you working on a new writing project you can tell us about?
I have a French composition and a French workbook in press but my preoccupation now is to see to the success of this book. I have some poems in my local Ashant dialect but that will be in my future scheme of things.
Europe Books thanks the author Danny Opoku Manu once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside him on the editorial path that led to the publication of his book Reasoning and Rhyming.
To you, my dear reader, may this book intrigue and captivate you and provide you with food for thought to apply in your everyday life.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your Editor!