10 QUESTIONS FOR JUDE IDADA: AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Ten questions conducted by Kate Iffy in Q & A (2015) : Jude Idada

Q. If you could time travel, where would you be right now?

I would like to be in the beginning of human life in its most primitive form. I am intrigued with that time… who were they? How was life then? How did they survive? How did the various races come about?... there are so many hows.

Q. What inspires you?

The little things of life… I am inspired by questions… if I hear a certain kind of laughter, I want to know the whys… why did she laugh? How does she feel laughing?.... the questions are what inspires me to delve into the story… I am an observer… what I see and what I hear are the elixir to my imagination.

Q. If you were to start your own political party, what would the platform be?

The platform would be that of democratic universalism… one in which the constituents are made to aspire to values that are greater than material benefits… where they understand and agree that the society is better when they strive to create a social organism grounded in brotherhood and sisterhood… where your happiness is linked to the happiness of the other person… and your fulfillment to that of another… it would not be socialism or capitalism… but a mix of the two in such a way that it is not the bottom line that matters… but the attainment of the universal state of happiness… the rich would understand that their wealth has no meaning if it does not guarantee that those who have less are happy… because when they are happy, then the rich can sleep in peace… so he who has, would agree to willingly give to they who do not have… so we are referring to things as… a livable minimum wage, flexible work hours, full benefits, social accommodative child rearing and education systems, total divorce of state from religion, retirement benefits, motivational welfare that makes the state of need transient and not permanent, full universal health care, mandatory military service until 70 without any waivers so that when everyone is involved in the army then society would not always rush into war. A total acceptance of all rights of individuals irrespective of race, tribe, creed, religion, sex, sexual persuasion or disability.

Q. What do you consider your favorite achievement?

Against the wishes of my family, leaving the sciences and transferring to the arts to pursue my passion… and against societal expectations, leaving a well paid 9 to 5 employment to once again pursue my passion of a creating art whether written, directed or performed.

Q. What is your motto?

No one can limit me, but myself.

Q. When are you completely satisfied with your work?

I am really never satisfied, but I know when to let it go. It is a gut instinct. I read through it and once it resonates with me in a spiritual way. I know I have to let it go to serve out it’s purpose.

Q. Are there any writers ( home or abroad) whose work mystifies you?

I am mesmerized with the works of Marie Corelli, Ben Okri and Paulo Coelho… I think I am enraptured with work that espouses the spiritual without preaching… something that appeals to that part of man that wanders the corridors of the primordially mysterious.

Q. What is the idea behind your double book launch?

It is a desire to embrace the two ends of the spectrum… the young and the old… a book for each… to celebrate age through the written word… I want to create a forum for discussion of certain subjects that marry these age groups and launching two books that have common themes but approach those themes through the perspectives of age and culture is a sure way of achieving my goals.

Q. If you could re-write a classic novel, what novel would that be and why?

It would be Sorrows of Satan… it is a classic which is by chance forgotten… written by Marie Correli… so it is not the usual Dickensian, Bronte, Nabokov, Shakespearean works… it celebrates the junction between the sphere of man and that of God… it explores the true nature of man and the mysterious nature of God… I would want to rewrite it and take it out of the Victorian age into a contemporary age… where the challenges of living are different and the nature of evil is even more blurred… It is a unified world presently interwoven on various levels and bringing the novel into the world as we see it now… would even bring out the subtext even more vividly and more engaging… Satan in 2015 would be an interesting and engaging character.

Q. If you could turn back the hands of time, what would you change (about yourself)

I would change something intimate… lol… can’t say more.

Jude Idada's new books BY MY OWN HANDS and DIDI KANU AND THE SINGING DWARFS OF THE NORTH are available on Amazon.