{"id":24669,"date":"2023-01-09T21:22:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T20:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/?p=24669"},"modified":"2023-01-09T21:22:06","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T20:22:06","slug":"ten-questions-with-elohor-egbordi-2-2-2-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton","title":{"rendered":"TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Where do you consider home and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Africa. It\u2019s where I lived all of my life, until this year. Feeling like you are part of the soil and watching that world evolve and shift over time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><strong>List three words or phrases that come to mind when you think of home.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Warm. Family. But then the gut-punch of July 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><strong>Have you ever been homesick? Tell us the circumstances and how it felt.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. A few times, but more so at the moment because this is an indefinite move to the UK to focus on writing. It means not being certain of when I will see my family again. Past trips have always had an end date to look forward to and reuniting. This is a big unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><strong>What is your opinion about brain-drain?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, more support needs to be in place for skilled people and investment in that knowledge, in order to retain them, but these things happen. They have always happened at certain moments in time. Migration. People come and go. I have left my home but there is no negative reason surrounding it, other than the opportunity pulling me to the UK. So, returning is always an option. That feels liberating as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In what way does your physical location impact your creative output?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unless it is distracting, it doesn\u2019t. Particularly with my writing, I am able to write anywhere. Restrictions in living arrangements and access to art supplies means my physical art has taken a backseat for the past while. It is an interesting situation to rely on my writing fully, while looking at digital (on a laptop) means of expression in design and illustration. And a drawing pad gives a small outlet. And on the other hand, my surroundings do filter into my work, the environment, the people and the cultures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><strong>What is your preferred mode of travel and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Car. If it\u2019s my own it means independence, free movement and spontaneity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><strong>In her debut collection of poems <i>Home Coming<\/i>, Sonia Sanchez\u2019s writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201ci have returned \\\\ leaving behind me \\\\ all those hide and \\\\ seek faces peeling\\\\ with freudian dreams.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What does the phrase \u201cfreudian dreams\u201d mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everything has a meaning and purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><strong>The mission to establish a colony of humans on Mars is becoming a realistic proposition. Would you agree to be one of the founding members?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nope. I\u2019m good with this blue planet. Starting over again in the UK is enough of an adventure\u2014for now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>This is the 10th anniversary of Ake Arts and Book Festival. If you have attended this festival before, please tell us what was special about your experience. If you have never attended, what are your expectations?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though I have never attended the festival, Ak\u00e9 Review was gracious enough to publish my second ever short story, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Veiled<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in the 2016 \u2018Beneath This Skin\u2019 edition. This had a huge impact on me as a writer, giving me support and acknowledgement just when I was finding my feet and my voice. It instilled in me a sense of support on the Continent, and drives me in doing my part to find new writers and support, in turn ,the writing community where I can.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What does Africa need right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More writers being published, across all genres\u2014the infrastructure to support and nurture the talent we <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">know<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> we have out there.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Where do you consider home and why? South Africa. It\u2019s where I lived all of my life, until this year. Feeling like you are part of the soil and watching <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-style\" href=\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24708,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ten-questions"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton - Ake Arts & Book Festival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton - Ake Arts & Book Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Where do you consider home and why? South Africa. It\u2019s where I lived all of my life, until this year. Feeling like you are part of the soil and watching Continue Reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ake Arts & Book Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-09T20:22:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ake-Festival-22-theme.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"463\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"webmaster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@akefestival\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@akefestival\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"webmaster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/\",\"name\":\"TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton - Ake Arts & Book Festival\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ake-Festival-22-theme.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-09T20:22:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-09T20:22:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ake-Festival-22-theme.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ake-Festival-22-theme.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":463},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/\",\"name\":\"Ake Arts & Book Festival\",\"description\":\"Ake Arts & Book Festival\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080\",\"name\":\"webmaster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/116046a317fa049f131711520acfafb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/116046a317fa049f131711520acfafb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"webmaster\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/author\/webmaster\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton - Ake Arts & Book Festival","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton - Ake Arts & Book Festival","og_description":"Where do you consider home and why? South Africa. It\u2019s where I lived all of my life, until this year. Feeling like you are part of the soil and watching Continue Reading","og_url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/","og_site_name":"Ake Arts & Book Festival","article_published_time":"2023-01-09T20:22:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":463,"url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ake-Festival-22-theme.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"webmaster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@akefestival","twitter_site":"@akefestival","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"webmaster","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/","url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/","name":"TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton - Ake Arts & Book Festival","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ake-Festival-22-theme.jpg","datePublished":"2023-01-09T20:22:06+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-09T20:22:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ake-Festival-22-theme.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Ake-Festival-22-theme.jpg","width":500,"height":463},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/ten-questions-with-stephen-embleton\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TEN QUESTIONS With Stephen Embleton"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#website","url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/","name":"Ake Arts & Book Festival","description":"Ake Arts & Book Festival","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/6f5dfbebbe1b6f20207b3ac1c4588080","name":"webmaster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/116046a317fa049f131711520acfafb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/116046a317fa049f131711520acfafb9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"webmaster"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive"],"url":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/author\/webmaster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24669"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24670,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24669\/revisions\/24670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akefestival.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}