Communa Interview: Chideraa Ike-Akaenyi.
Chideraa Ike-Akaenyi
Introducing Communa’s first-ever short-story prize winner for her story “Kaleidoscope” is Chideraa Ike-Akaenyi. Her short story explores the themes of motherhood and societal expectations, particularly how generational beliefs shape women’s roles. They hope the story sparks conversations on the impact of these traditions and encourages women to reclaim autonomy by critically evaluating harmful cultural practices.
In her conversation with Communa, Chideraa reveals her journey and inspirations when telling stories. Growing up with Igbo folktales and reading Civil War memoirs sparked her fascination with storytelling.
The writer's creative process involves writing in silence, usually first thing in the morning or after a nap, and often on an empty stomach. They draw influence from a variety of authors, including Adichie and Woolf, and aim to balance these influences in their work.
What inspired you to become a writer, and can you share a pivotal moment in your journey that solidified your passion for writing?
I was fascinated by how easy it was to learn and teach through stories or narratives. I grew up listening to Igbo folktales and reading ‘storybooks’ in Igbo and English. I realized that if you want to make stuff stick, put it in a story. An example for me was poring through my father's collection of civil war memoirs and accounts from Olusegun Obasanjo, Alexander Madiebo, and others in 2009. These books gave me a skeleton, a faint idea of war’s terrors. Five years later, I understood the full import of the war after reading Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun and seeing the movie Sometimes In April. While reading the book and seeing this movie, the war didn't feel like print on the dusty pages of a book anymore. It was alive, horrific, and stomach-churning; a reality check needed to understand its full import.
I cannot say one pivotal moment because I've had several, and every day feels like there's more to discover about myself. But the most recent was my story, Kaleidoscope, getting shortlisted for the 2021 Awele Creative Trust Award (under a different name). Someone I didn't know met me at a book club meeting and said, ‘I want to read your story. Tell me when it's published.’ First, the validation the nomination gave me and the honest enthusiasm this stranger expressed encouraged me to snap out of a fog and keep writing. If there are people out there who want read or listen to what I have to say, then sure! I'll write for them.
Can you describe your writing process? Do you have any specific rituals or routines that help you get into the creative zone?
Silence, first thing in the morning, with a plot scribbled the day before. No interruptions.
This doesn't mean I don't write later in the day. I do when my brain is most at rest, after a nap. On rare occasions, when inspiration hits, I scribble on whatever I can find and shelf it for the next day's morning ritual so I can develop it. Sometimes, my best stories are written in snippets I stitched together over months.
Simply put, I write best on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning, or after a siesta and a warm bath. If my mind's at rest and I have no distractions, I'm good.
Who are some of your biggest literary influences, and how have they shaped your writing style or themes in your work?
Influences are tricky. I glean something from every writer I encounter. Also, I am not yet at a place where I can say I have created an identifiable niche for myself. However, I have gone through phases where I went crazy for Hadley Chase, wanted to create sassy female characters like Jackie Collins, studied Adichie’s ability to give characters distinct voices and Woolf's blurring of reality and interiority. I like to challenge myself by studying Dostoevsky’s incorporation of philosophy into fiction. I want to think I'm doing a balancing act of these and more.
What themes or messages do you strive to convey through your work, and why are they important to you?
I write for and about women and young girls who wish to dare or be better. Growing up in a place where people were dismissive or assumed I wasn't my parents' child because I am female made me realise that something was fundamentally wrong with society's notions of gender norms and expectations. So, I like to show this in its starkness, as well as show women what is possible when they choose to play dishonest ball or rebel.
Can you share a significant challenge you faced in your writing career and how you overcame it?
An accessible support system. Growing up wanting to be a writer in Nigeria without privilege is the stuff delusions are made of, I was told. It was also assumed that it wasn't profitable and not worth it.
Until the 2010s, few resources or communities were dedicated to grooming young writers, i.e., providing the feedback, support, and structures needed to nurture young talent. I was 18 when I discovered the short story form and taught myself how to write it via trial and error. Most people I know are self-taught. I overcame this challenge by leveraging social media. I followed magazines, newsletters, and anything that would help me keep in touch with the industry. For the profitable bit, I did the sensible thing and got a day job.
I'm grateful that there are more of these structures today. From workshops to internships to mentorship programs such as the one at SprinNG, where I volunteer once a year, there are many of these on the scene now.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers who are just starting out? Are there any common pitfalls they should avoid?
Advice: Sit down and do the work. Read. Write. Put yourself out there. Be shameless in applying for opportunities to improve your craft—workshops, writing groups, fellowships. Let it be said that not getting what you desired was not for lack of trying. Most of the growth I am proud of now, and I hope to replicate in the coming years, is thanks to this.
Pitfall: Second-guessing yourself out of opportunities. Not reading widely and avoiding stuff you don't like.
What influenced your choice to explore the themes of motherhood and societal expectations in your short story?
Experience—the personal and the collective. It's a tale as old as time—young girls going through life getting ‘panel beat’ into shapes and images pleasing to society's conventions. I wanted to tell how this is sustained over generations.
Being born female means you live for others till your last breath. I wanted a play-by-play illustration of what it's like, and something I haven't seen discussed openly except as rants and trolling on X, which is how women play to the gallery and, in their way, game the system.
How does the story illustrate the impact of generational beliefs on women's roles?
I intended to center how oppression is kept alive in the interactions between mothers and daughters when there is little room for retrospection or evaluation of the motives behind traditions.
I hope that the women who read it feel seen and that it becomes one of many tinders or a spark for conversations on how this trend manifests in relationships. I want women and men alike to understand that harmful cultures, trends, and practices are sustained by repetitions not backed with sensible retrospection, and the only way to reclaim autonomy is to know how these manifest.
So, I hope the woman in my story will not visit the trauma of her childhood on her girls. Instead, she'll ensure they live fuller lives, much better than what she was coerced into desiring for herself.
