Decade Blogs - Nkem Ivara - The Power Of Words

Decade Blogs

Nkem Ivara is a published writer, the author of Closer Than a Brother, publisher earlier this year, so it is no wonder that she has chosen words as the theme of the blog she has contributed to celebrate my decade of blogging.

Blog - To Celebrate My Decade of Blogging

Nkem Ivara who blogs at www.thewordsmythe.wordpress.com uses the Twitter handle @thewordsmythe

This is Nkem Ivara in - The power of words

Words. I have been thinking about poetry, about prose, about literature. I have been thinking about the way some people's writing makes me feel. I have been thinking about writing that is so sweet the explosion of flavours assaults my taste buds and all my senses. Descriptions so vivid, language so evocative, I find myself right in the centre of the action, soaking in all the lushness of beautiful words.

Words. In the hands of the right writer, words are like a tightly strung guitar. Strumming the taut strings, at times gently, at others wildly, they tease out a melody so sweet. And starting out soft and gentle, then building up till the tempo reaches a heady crescendo, they transport me to dizzying heights. My heart swells and drops along with the cadence. My pulse keeps time with the beat. The tune lingers in my head long after I have read the piece making me want to leap out of my chair and dance with pure joy to the symphony.

Words. Luscious, rich, unapologetic writing oozing sensuality and making no excuses. Words wound so tight they spring out like a jack in the box, hitting the reader right where it matters. Writing that bursts into vivid technicolour, bold splashes of colour lighting up the screen, riveting me to the screen as I watch the plot unfold, wringing out every ounce of emotion leaving me drained and spent when it's all over.

Like a roller coaster ride, deceptively slow at first, then exhilaratingly fast, it flings me this way, then that way. I hold on for dear life as my stomach drops when the ride suddenly falls from a height. And as it slows to a crawl at the end, I get out on wobbly legs, thankful to have made it out alive.

It matters little whether it is in a book, on a blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, when I read great writing, it feels like a homecoming. Like the smell of a cake baking in my kitchen. Like hot custard on apple pie. Like frothy hot chocolate. Like coming into a warm house after being out in the wintry cold.  

This is the kind of writing that births a kinship with the writer. An affinity that erroneously leads me to thinking I know the writer well. That makes me believe we would get along like melted cheese on toast if we met. I feel like the writer has captured something that I have felt within my grasp yet it eludes me when I try to express it. I feel like the writer has reached deep down in my heart and articulated what I am feeling, speaking for me when I cannot find my voice.

I have been thinking how back in the day, this feeling would remain just a thought, an unreciprocated virtual high five. But not anymore. These days, I can reach out to writers whose work I enjoy via social media. I can let them know how their work makes me feel.

Here is a quote I love; it perfectly articulates what I mean. “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.” J.D Salinger, Catcher in the Rye.

So, Akin, brave wielder of words, bold resident of this virtual space we call the Internet and to all the other brave souls who delight us with their words, thank you. Happy 10^th anniversary.