Featured Interview With Teni Ayo-Ariyo
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a Nigerian-American writer, raised in Los Angeles and currently living in Seattle Washington. Since moving from Lagos to Los Angeles at the formative age of 9, I have developed a thirst for immersing myself in new environments. I’ve since lived in New Hampshire, Texas and North Carolina before landing in Seattle.
I love deep connections, hot water w/ lemon, and the quiet hum of every day life. I am always searching for music and words that shift her heart and feet. Some days, I practice yoga, some days I use my business school degree, most days- I’m just trying my best to be human.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
As most writers do, I started reading extensively before I started writing. During the harsh transition to U.S culture at the age of 9, books were my escape and comfort after leaving all that was familiar to me behind. In contrast to Nigeria , where my days were spent with cousins, family friends, aunts and uncles, I had no extended family in the U.S. so the characters in my books became my family and friends.
For as long as I can remember I have loved words. I love them big and bold. Small and dainty, and everything in between. Words strung together in a way that forces me to put the book down, catch my breath and ponder my entire existence. I am enthralled by strange, surprising ways to describe the everyday mysteries of our human experience. It is the same feeling I get when I eat warm bread or smell a fresh baby. Bliss.
I found my writing voice in college where for the first time, I was allowed and encouraged to have a voice that was different from the conservative religious norm I grew up in.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Lately I’ve been delving into African fiction by women writers. Their stories are where I feel most at home. I’ve enjoyed the works of Imbolo Mbue, Chimamanda Adichie, Buchi’s Emeta. These women empower me to show up exactly as I am into the page. To dig out the parts I think to hide and celebrate them loudly,
Tell us a little about your latest book?
wash between your toes is a book of poetry love letters I wrote as an ode to my college self. This tender poetry collection a celebration of the electric breathtaking power embedded in my nuanced experiences as a Black immigrant woman living in America.
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