The Writer's Column ft Mayowa Isiaq

Mayowa is a writer, poet, and storyteller. She goes by the pen name The grey clover.

Writing Journey

Her writing journey started in secondary school when they all had to take literature classes. There were assignments where she had to write speeches, essays, poetry, etc. Her first time writing a proper poem was the year before her final year in secondary school for an annual poetry contest where students are selected to read poems. That year, her literature teacher told everyone in the class to write an original poem. It took her days to come up with something, but she eventually did. Surprisingly, she was one of the students chosen to read their poems in front of the entire school.

Delusion

It's dark.

The starts are out.

 

It's perfect,

or so it seems.

Nothing can change it,

or so I thought.

Not long before I was wrong.

 

It's quiet,

like a graveyard,

pin-drop silence.

Everything is still, no leaves fluttering.

The winds wouldn't dare.

No sound.

The birds are mute.

 

It's deadly.

Like a plague on the loose,

and everyone seems to muse,

as it creeps up on us, predator and prey.

There is nothing to do.

We just wait,

till it's our turn

to face the primordial judgment.

Maybe then we'll realize,

it's just a delusion.

 

@thegreyclover

 

After that event, she found it easier to write because she loves reading. She enjoys reading novels, poems, etc. She began to write about the things happening around her, her feelings, her perception of things, etc. It started as a coping mechanism for being a teenager. When she was feeling a kind of way, she would write about it. She had a book where she wrote down everything she felt.

Motivation

Back in literature class, her teacher always said there is no wrong answer in literature. There is a deeper meaning to every writing, you have to read in between the lines and there is always something hidden underneath by the writer. This used to be very weird to her because she was like most of the poems they read was written centuries ago by writers older than her so how was she to get into the writer's mind and assume something that may or may not be true.

She was always told to see from the writer's perspective, try to figure out why the writer used a certain word to describe something. For example, why did the writer use a cube to describe the shape of the room, why did the writer choose the color blue to represent the color of the curtain. She would always say to herself, what if what is written is exactly what the writer means, what if the curtains are blue or the room is shaped like a cube, what if there is no deeper meaning.

Despite her complaint, this motivated her into writing because she could write about something else, making it seem like she is talking about an entirely different thing. She found this fascinating.

She loves poems by Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, Maya Angelou, etc.  

The grey clover

A couple of years later, and she was still writing in her book. However, she was not taking it seriously.

She downloaded an app where you could write quotes and poems on. She wrote something on it and shared it on her WhatsApp status, people commented saying she writes well, told her to post more, etc. She started posting more of her works. 

A couple of people began to ask her if she had a blog or something, basically a space where she can share her writing regularly. This made her start sharing her poems on Instagram. She posted a piece and then her brother told her that she had to start a blog, this isn't just a joke or a hobby, she had to take it seriously he said. This was how she came up with a name and started her poetry blog called the grey clover. She began to post her poems on the blog and then it got a little tiring. She always wanted to start a blog but not on poetry, she wanted to blog about fashion, lifestyle, health, etc. Poetry was the last thing she thought she would blog about. 

When she opened the blog, it took her about a year before she posted anything which was kind of weird but now it's not so bad, actually it's doing quite well. The comment, views, and likes have been encouraging.

www.thegreyclover.com

She also has a youtube channel where she reads poems.

https://youtube.com/channel/UCwDLX9bST3SHyNlvgT2BXsQ

Monetizing her writing

Monetizing her writing has not been a top priority for her. The first time she got paid for writing was when someone contacted her and asked her to write a poem. His mom had just died and he wanted a poem about her added to the eulogy. After that, she would occasionally get jobs. Monetizing her writing is something she is just getting into and trying to take seriously. 

Mayowa is currently working on her book. It is going to be an anthology comprising of different poems. 

You can follow her on Instagram @thegreyclover

Thank you for reading and see you in the next episode.