Client Highlights - The Poet Speaks Podcast: Amanda Eke

The Poet Speaks Podcast: Amanda Eke

Tsunoda Stylings is a Japan-based agency that strives to create successful, responsive websites that are fast, easy to use, and built with the best techniques. At Tsunoda Stylings, we search for new and experienced small business owners looking to promote their businesses without breaking the bank! Not too long after we opened our doors, we received a request from an outstanding spoken-word artist that wanted her website refreshed and redesigned. Please meet Amanda Eke. She is not only the host of The Poet Speaks Podcast, but she also holds workshops all over the globe as well as one-on-one mentorships for anyone wanting to perfect their writing skills. Read more below to learn more about her and what she plans to accomplish with her new site redesigned by Tsunoda Stylings.

Interview with Amanda Eke:

Jasmine: Tell me a little about your background. Have you always been into writing/poetry/spoken word?

Amanda: I am Nigerian American; I grew up in a city/small town called Elk Grove, California. From there, I went to college out in Davis, California, and after that, I moved all the way across the world to Europe for some time, then bounced back to New York for grad school and then some. Spoken Word, writing, and poetry have always been infused in every stage/ place I've been at. However, I finally found the courage to do it professionally and go full throttle with it after I left college.

Jasmine: Where did the Poet Speak Podcast idea/name come from?

Amanda: I didn't know how to read until I was 7 and did not speak until I was 4. The workshop was inspired by the strength of my early childhood difficulties. During my first years of life, the lack of literacy impacted me so much. I needed to find my own voice at an early stage because of those setbacks and wanted to create something that people could latch onto and learn to tell their own stories and narratives.

I created the workshop to create a space for people to really "SPEAK." In addition, my Nigerian heritage plays such a huge part of who I am and is a theme in the workshop. I want people to know and realize that indigenous African traditions (and indigenous traditions everywhere) are so present in everything and everywhere. The oral traditions of our past are so prevalent and important for our present and our futures.

Jasmine: Did you have a particular writer/person/life event that inspired you to take the path of a spoken word performer?

Amanda: My grandfather was a poet himself, and he even authored several books of poetry in Nigeria. What's crazy? I didn't even know this until I started my career in art. I never even had the chance to meet my grandpa, but the parallels are crazy. He passed right before my mother found out she was pregnant with me. I feel I have been directly influenced by him to be a Spoken Word poet in some spiritual, unexplainable way.

Jasmine: What writers/genres do you enjoy reading in your free time?

Amanda:: I love reading anything relating to psychology and healing in my free time. I have become a big fan of Dr. Ramani Durvursala's work. I also just love reading people's blog posts. Some would even call the thoughts of the everyday mind mundane, boring. In addition, I read novels from time to time; fantasy and crime fiction always get me excited.

Jasmine: Do you find writing easy? What is your process when coming up with interview questions for your guests?

Amanda: I find writing easy for the most part. If my mind takes me to write, I write, and I write with a hunger. When it does not fall upon me, I don't write. I don't call it writer's block. I just boil it down to, I need to go explore and feel some more before returning to my writing. As it pertains to my interview questions for my show, I come up with things that I find interesting about the person I am interviewing. I don't like to look at my podcast show as an "interview"; I like to look at it as a conversation. I like to talk to people I find interesting, inspiring, and sometimes just plain weird! (Weird is good!) To me, exploring those depths of the person helps me come up with questions for them.

Jasmine: What is your favorite and least favorite thing about being a writer/podcast host?

Amanda: My favorite part about being a podcast host is being able to write and create your own narrative for a show. It is a whole new level of creativity I get to unlock, being able to pick the brains of other writers and poets in my own way. My least favorite part is the business side. Making sure the t's are crossed, and the i's are dotted. It is tedious work being the boss and running everything yourself. Still, it most definitely is something that I make sure I am good at. It is necessary to check all your boxes to make sure people enjoy the show.

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