Rongo Art Residency: A Conversation with Qudus Olowo
- How did you feel when you got accepted for the Rongo Art Residency?
I felt fulfilled. You know, as a creative or a writer, one of the best things that can happen in your career is being accepted into a residency because you’re aware of how competitive it is and only to make it among hundreds of applicants. The moment I saw the email, I updated my resume immediately. I was happy to finally participate in a residency.
- What’s your favorite moment at the residency?
I guess it’s the usual interactive session during our writing workshop. The facilitator, Mr. Eze Ifeanyichukwu, is an experienced creative who has practically improved our writing through the sessions we had every day.
- What is the most important thing you learned from your facilitator during the residency?
In one of his words, he said, ‘Your first line or sentence must come with a trigger.’ Since then, I’ve not only been conscious of the whole body of my writing but also the first or opening sentence.
- After this residency, what next?
A lot. The moment I left the residency, I made new edits on my works and continued working on my incomplete poetry manuscript and a few short stories I have been working on.
- How has the residency impacted you as a writer?
In a sentence, I will say the Rongo Art Residency had an impact on my writing structure. The theoretical and practical workshops facilitated were realistic.
BIO:
Qudus Olowo is a Nigerian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter, editor, and entrepreneur. He is the Founding Editor of Afrihill Press and currently an Editorial Intern at Another Chicago Magazine. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in Lolwe, Kalahari Review, Temz Review, Funicular Magazine, Sunlight Press, Brittle Paper, April Centaur, Consequence Forum, Poetry Column NND, and elsewhere. He is the author of the micro-chapbook ‘Making Love by the Waterside’ (Afrihill Press, 2023). He was longlisted for the Brigitte Poirson Literature Prize 2024. He served as a poetry mentor at the SprinNG Writing Fellowship from 2022 to 2024. He is a writing resident of the Rongo Art Residency, 2025. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Ilorin, Kwara. You can reach him via X @iamblacc_ and on Instagram @iamblacc_
