Poet Ayomide Bayowa opens up about Mississauga poet laureate honour

After moving from Nigeria just three years ago, Ayomide Bayowa went from cultivating poetry with a pen and paper, but without internet, to becoming the Poet Laureate of Mississauga.

November 11th was Bayowa’s first opportunity to showcase his talents to Mississauga, as he was asked to recite the iconic 1915 poem, In Flanders Fields.

This was an experience Bayowa won’t forget soon, as he mentions what a privilege it was to bring John McCrae’s art to life.

“I actually felt kind of fulfilled as a poet,” said Bayowa in an interview with CityNews on Friday. “I have always wanted to recite a poem that interpolates people who fight for freedom, people who actually help us pave ways for people that are disabled in this society, and yesterday was a huge achievement for me.”

In 2020, Bayowa was the runner-up of the On-Spot Poetry Writing Contest, and winner of the 2020 Open Drawer Poetry Contest. He has been nominated for many awards in the spaces of poetry and filmmaking.

“What the poet needs to do is read, write and listen to your soul.”

Growing up in Nigeria meant the young poet did not have access to computers and the internet connectivity that Canadians are used to, and had to fall back on his ability to create art with just a pen and paper.

“We never had access to data, and we didn’t have access to light,” said Bayowa. “We would charge our phones just to make a call once in a while, we never had the luxury of internet, and we poets don’t write with laptops in Nigeria.”

Seeing his peers win international awards by just writing with a notepad and pen gave him the motivation and belief in himself that he needed.

“I have seen friends of mine win international awards by just writing with paper and pen; that alone pushed me,” explained Bayowa with enthusiasm. “It got to a point where I was like ‘how do these guys do it?’ and they kept telling me, ‘You read, you write, you practice, and keep developing your craft.’” Reflecting further on that experience, the poet added, “That alone told me that if people without tools like the internet and laptops can do this, why can’t I do better.”

Bayoma, inspired by his father in Nigeria, who was also a creative and filmmaker, offered up advice to aspiring young poets who might need that extra push to get their words out into the world.

He says that people are searching for a voice but they already have it in them. He paused and added with ease, making it sound very simple, “What the poet needs to do is read, write and listen to your soul.”