This interview features Nigerian poet, vocalist, and culture journalist Taiwo Hassan (TSoul), in conversation with The Iroko Circle, where he reflects on his journey into poetry, his craft, and his creative identity. He speaks about discovering poetry after finding prose “deeper than he expected”. He touches on the personal roots behind poems like “Of Broken Boys and Rocks” and the growing global recognition of African poetry. Ultimately, he affirms that creative expression is less about mastering a single form and more about committing to community, embracing rejection as part of growth, and staying true to the urge to be heard.
The Iroko Circle: Hello, can we get to know you better?
Taiwo Hassan: My name is Taiwo Hassan. I am a published poet, a vocalist, and a culture journalist.
The Iroko Circle: How did you find your voice as a poet, and when did you know poetry was what you were meant to do?
Taiwo Hassan: I have always been a reader since I was growing up. As a young reader, I remember always being so fascinated by books that I wanted to be the one writing those books. I remember reading everything from newspapers used to pack akara to past questions. I read a lot of novels throughout school. Then I remember that shortly after I finished secondary school, I had the intention of writing a book, and I had it all set out in my head. As I had said, I had been reading a novel, and I wanted to become the person behind those stories I was reading. There was this desire to tell a story of my own. So, I had it all planned out in my head to write a story about a group of friends who finished school. It was amazing, but I realised that the whole process of writing prose was a lot deeper than I thought it would be. I found it to be a bit challenging, and I thought poetry would be easier, so I decided to try it, thinking it would be a shortcut to get into storytelling. Getting into poetry, I realised that it was not as easy as I thought; however, I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the musicality of it, the rhymes, putting words together and coming up with something quickly. More than that, you know, I found out that poetry was more about emotions. I describe poetry as a bullet that carries so much; it just becomes something I find myself doing more. Something I enjoyed.
The Iroko Circle: That is very interesting. So you switched to poetry because you found writing prose difficult. It is interesting. What then would you say is the biggest challenge that poets face in Nigeria, especially at this time?
Taiwo Hassan: That’s a very hard question because I think it’s a lot. No, no, not hard, but I think it’s just a very tricky question. I think I would begin with the education aspect. A lot of poets I know are self-taught, something they stumbled upon on their own. They had to develop their skills in it, or, you know, it’s largely driven by passion for a lot of people I know. So it’s not exactly what they went to school to train for. The Nigerian education system doesn’t really prep people to be poets. I do not think people get into poetry as much as prose. When I was in school, I do not remember reading many poems by Nigerian writers, or even having poetry highlighted or spotlighted. That’s one challenge I could begin with.
Also, the access to opportunities. I would say it’s the system bleeding through into this particular part of our lives, too. There are a lot of workshops and submission opportunities that require fees to access or a physical presence, but because you are in Nigeria, you cannot take part in them. I had a case recently; it was a competition where you had to mail your piece to the editors in America. I had a poem that was a really good fit for it. I was like, ‘How do I do this?’ But you know, we have to be creative about how we get access to these opportunities and find ways around them.
These are the two major challenges. I feel like in recent times, people have become more invested in poetry, making it more accessible. Now, it is something you can get into if you are really interested, but as someone who grew up before all that, I never really had those people.
The Iroko Circle: There is often a divide between spoken word poetry and page poetry. Do you think one is more legitimate than the other?
Taiwo Hassan: Oh, well, typically, I’m actually not a spoken word artist, and I cannot even pretend to be one. I think it is a different art form in its own right. About the divide you speak of, I really do not think there is a divide, because they are two separate art forms. Page poetry and spoken word poetry, which some would call performative poetry, exist in different places. There is no doubt that one blends into the other. As someone who has judged spoken-word poetry contests, I can say that more work goes into it. There is more intention in audience engagement and musicality, as they inform how you perform, write, or engage with this poetry. Musicality with page poetry exists in a different way. With page poetry, you sometimes do not have to coach all those many thoughts, as different forms exist, like the ghazal, free verse, and others.
In my opinion, there’s no divide. I think they complement each other when needed.
The Iroko Circle: Which of your works do you think is your best work, and why do you think it is your best work?
Taiwo Hassan: That’s not a question to ask me. Hahaha! Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t think I have one. That’s hard because I feel like every poem I’ve written kind of represents different stages in my life, and they all hold their own significance, honestly. Best as an adjective is impossible.
The Iroko Circle: In ‘Of Broken Boys and Rocks’, or broken boys, you describe feeling like a stranger in a city you were named after. It’s a poem I enjoyed, but it left me with a question for you. How personal was that poem? And do you think home is a place that can be recovered after it is lost?
Taiwo Hassan: Thank you very much for reading that particular poem. With every poem I write, I tell people that I remember the premise. This one is ingrained in my memory. It was a poem I had deeply attached to a place, so I kind of had to map the routes in my head. I was born and raised in Abeokuta, so it informed that poem. When you leave home for a while and come back, it really isn’t how you left it because a lot has changed in your absence. So that poem was basically me interrogating how much I had changed and trying to merge the past I knew with the present that was there.
Of Broken Boys and Rocks was just a piece celebrating nostalgia, because being nostalgic can be therapeutic. It highlights where I was and where I am now. For the second question, home can be recovered, but I think it requires redefining what home means to you. So there is a poem I wrote, which is also about home; it was published in Madrigal Press, where there’s a line that says, ‘a home where my buttocks don’t flinch before wearing the skin of a toilet seat’, which basically means it’s where you kind of exist in a mess and still feel grounded there. For instance, Abeokuta is home to me, but what is the core essence of it? What defines it? That is what you need to ask yourself. Once you have those ingredients, you can always replicate the recipe, no matter the kitchen you find yourself in. That is how I would describe home. Home can be anywhere with just about the right ingredients.
The Iroko Circle: That’s a beautiful analysis. So Taiwo, why TSoul? Is it because you speak to the soul?
Taiwo Hassan: I remember just playing around and discovering the idea of a stage name. The T is for Taiwo, and I always try to find soul in everything I do, from the music to performances. So bringing those two together, TSoul. I found it catchy.
The Iroko Circle: What kind of music do you do? What kind of vocals do you do, and where do you think people could find them to listen to or to engage with?
Taiwo Hassan: I’m largely inspired by R&B music; I consider myself an R&B junkie. That’s like the large part of the music I consume. I’m inspired by a lot of music from around the world and different parts of it, but what I largely do and sing is R&B. Right now, I won’t consider myself a recording artist. I don’t have any songs or anything, but I do covers for a lot of songs. Every now and then, I have a TikTok, um, which is Tee_soul. We are working towards getting to a point where I would record something of my own. One day, hopefully.
The Iroko Circle: That is amazing; we look forward to having your songs played on major streaming platforms. It would be so nice. Back to poetry, because it excites us. Which of your poems do you feel has been most misunderstood, and what exactly do you actually mean to convey?
Taiwo Hassan: That’s a very good question too. I think a poem of mine has been largely misunderstood: it is the first poem in my chapbook, Birds Don’t Fly for Pleasure. In this poem, I basically make the assumption that my twin brother is dead. And every single time I’ve been in interviews, people feel like I’ve given them spoilers for a movie. People always have this assumption that I have a dead twin brother, but he is very much alive. Basically, my intention with that poem was to celebrate his life, because I think people do not do that enough. People wait for someone to die before they celebrate who they are or before they acknowledge their impact on their lives and stuff like that.
The Iroko Circle: Is African poetry truly respected globally? Especially poetry that interrogates descent and origins.
Taiwo Hassan: A large part of the works that come from Africa, especially with poetry, are deeply interrogative of our history in different ways. There has been this discourse on Twitter that Nigerian poets really like writing about grief. But honestly, that is the reality. They are surrounded by death, by suffering, by poverty. So, you cannot expect these people not to write about this particular reality compared to people outside. I read works by people like Mary Oliver, who talk about going out to feel the sun on your face and about flowers, but we do not get that a lot here.
Also, in the grand scheme of things, Africa, as a concept, is not appreciated or even accurately represented in a lot of art. I mean, people still refer to Africa as a country, not as a continent. Five years ago, I did not know any African or even Nigerian poet who was known worldwide. It is a good thing that that is changing. On the global stage, I feel a lot of work is being done. It is still a work in progress.
The Iroko Circle: I must say you do impressive work when it comes to titling your poems. How do you come up with these titles?
Taiwo Hassan: Oh, wow. Thank you very much for the compliments. First, I feel like titling anything creative is an art in itself. It is deep, deep work. But then there is also a dilemma for me. Sometimes I get the titles for my poems before the poems. For instance, the title of my chapbook came to me first before I started working on the whole project. But when the titles come first, there is an additional burden of finding or writing something that lives up to that title. Other times, some titles come just from the first lines of the poem. Then there are also times when the titles come after. In those cases, I have to look out for central themes; in most cases, it could just be the structure. I have a forthcoming poem, titled ‘A 21 Step Guide to Self-Love ’; there is also another one in my chapbook titled ‘13 Ways of Looking at My Mother’s Radio’; these poems are structured numerically. That kind of informs the title too. Titles get interesting too, because I remember that while writing ‘A 21 Step Guide to Self Love’, the poem did not start in that structure; it was in the quest for a title for it that I had to pay attention to the structure. I explored different forms before I arrived at that title, and I was satisfied with it.
I’m not going to yap, but most of the time, it is not easy. There are still poems in my draft that are still untitled because I have not found the right thing for them yet. It is important to say that titles really never change; you need to get the right title because that is the first thing editors and readers will see before they reach the poem. They get an impression of what your poem is about just from the title.
The Iroko Circle: I actually like how your brain works; it’s really quite impressive. Can you please tell us more about Some Boys Don’t Wear the Colours of the Wind?
Taiwo Hassan: Oh, interesting. I wrote that sometime in 2019. I remember it won a poetry contest by the Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI). The poem basically was talking about boyhood and toxic masculinity. The wind is something that people associate with ‘freedom’ and how some boys really are not free. Basically, you know, we live in a society where boys are conditioned to stomach a lot of things because of toxic masculinity. So, you know, these boys do not wear the colours of the wind; it means they do not know what it means to taste freedom. It’s never understood what it means to be themselves, to be who they truly are. They have only been raised not to be girls, not to be weak, or not to be vulnerable.
The Iroko Circle: That’s beautiful. Seeing that you explored other forms before you decided to settle on poetry, which obviously you came to love, what would you actually give as advice to people who are still trying to find their footing, people who identify as writers, but they really do not know which form works best for them?
Taiwo Hassan: I can think of a couple in my head, but the first one is ‘Do not limit yourself’. Try different things. Explore different forms. I believe finding yourself starts with exploring different forms and then expressing yourself. It is the core. What matters is that you’re expressing yourself. Even today, I still have ideas for stories; I am not limiting myself to poetry. I really want to write prose one day. I still have ideas. I’m not limiting myself only to, I still want to write prose one day. I still also want to diversify into creative non-fiction. I still have designs in my head for photography. What matters is that I want to express myself.
The root of creative expression starts from the fact that you just want to be heard, and there is something you want to express. That is what matters, no matter what form you want to do it in; what counts is the fact that you are expressing yourself. But while you are doing this, I think it’s important to commit to things. Do not just be everywhere at once and be nowhere. Keep the fire, so you do not become mediocre too.
Another piece of advice is to find a community. Honestly, like, I would always preach the gospel of community in anything we do. What your team does with the Iroko Circle, for instance, really goes a long way. For some people, it might be communities on Facebook, but for me, it was a WhatsApp group, SPIC Family. I could express myself there, and every week, they put up challenges. I found people who were just like me and doing the same thing I do. I made friends with a couple of them, and I am still friends with some of them today. I also remembered that the first literary masterclass I attended was organized by Adedayo Agarau, and I would never forget it because of how deeply it impacted me. I saw an array of writers doing so well, and I also saw what I could be. You know, I felt validated and seen, and that is what a community does to you. I would also advise creatives not to be scared of rejection. Rejection is not where your values lie, and it does not necessarily mean that your work was not good. It might mean that, at that time, the work did not fit into the magazine or did not meet the specifics they were looking for. Even if it was rejected for being poorly done, it is part of the learning curve.
What matters is that you are putting yourself out there. Remember why you are putting yourself out there. I think that also helps you develop your craft and express yourself better.
The Iroko Circle: Thank you so much, TSoul, for this handful of advice. I really do hope that people take them into account. Do you mind sharing what you are currently working on that you think is gonna be mind-blowing when it comes out? Also, could you point readers to where they could find some of your works?
Taiwo Hassan: I’m currently working on a bunch of poems. I have a couple of poems that are coming out. I am not at liberty to give details, but I must say that it is a very interesting one.
There is one of my poems that I am working on that is deeply personal to me. It’s about a time when I was in a very vulnerable place, and I cannot wait to share it with others because I believe it will resonate with people out there. For my Twitter (now X), it’s SymplyTaiwo; IG is @iamtsoul and tee_soul on TikTok.
The Iroko Circle: Thank you so much for joining us on this interview, Taiwo. We do hope that you do not stop chasing your dreams, and we wish you all the best.
Taiwo Hassan: Thank you. I really admire what The Iroko Circle is doing. Thank you once again.
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Taiwo Hassan, a poet, vocalist, and writer of Yorùbá heritage, has earned two Best Of The Net nominations. His poetry can be found in publications such as trampset, Kissing Dynamite, Lucent Dreaming, The Shore, Brittle Paper, Dust Poetry Magazine, Ice Floe Press, Wizards In Space, and numerous others. He is a graduate of Demography and Social Statistics at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ilé-Ifẹ̀, Osun State, Nigeria. River Glass Books published his debut chapbook, Birds Don’t Fly For Pleasure.