Rongo Art Residency: A Conversation with Gerald Ewa
- How did you feel when you got accepted for the Rongo Art Residency?
Honestly, I was stunned. At that moment, I didn’t know how to feel or what to feel as I stared at the acceptance email on my phone. I kept asking myself if it was real, if I wasn’t dreaming. But of course, I’m glad that it wasn’t a dream.
- What’s your favourite moment at the residency?
Aside from the lecture and mental drills we had with Mr. Peter, our facilitator, I enjoyed the way we (writers) bonded over meals, the late-night jokes and banters and of course, the one night we sat around the table to read and critique our works.
- What is the most important thing you learned from the facilitator during the residency?
Mr. Peter is such an interesting person. And I like the fact that he started the class by encouraging us to claim our identity as writers, regardless of what society thinks of us. Also, a first sentence is as important as the last sentence; it serves as the building block of a story or poem.
- After this residency, what next?
Sometimes, I try to avoid questions like this. Maybe because I’m don’t want to dwell so much on the future. I like to take life one step at a time and trust the journey, in the process of becoming the best versions of myself. So, I’ll keep writing and applying for opportunities when they come.
- How has the residency impacted you as a writer?
I’m beginning to catch a glimpse of all the things the facilitator said about polishing my story at the sentence level and ensuring my readers are rewarded for their time and resources.
BIO:
Ewa Gerald Onyebuchi is a writer from the Southeast of Nigeria. He’s interested in stories and poems that interrogate what it means to be human in a world that’s continuously evolving, continuously breaking up. A graduate of Microbiology from the University of Ibadan, he was longlisted for the Quramo Writers’ Prize in 2025.
