Hilary Richard Sam is a management consultant, a motivational speaker and a visionary. He has a passion that centres on personal and societal transformation and his writings reflect these. He writes a blog – http://kodwobrumpon.blogspot.com. He has a collection of poems.
He believes in people as assets, and that their good can be uncovered for the overall good of society. He draws many of his ideas from systems thinking and nature’s ability to organize in an organic and evolutionary mode.
Hilary earned his MBA (Financial Management) from the University of Hull, UK and his bachelors in Archaeology form the University of Ghana. He lives and works in Accra.
Five Questions with Hilary Richard Sam:
1. How long have you been writing poetry?
Not very long, it all started on the 1st of August 2008. I decided to do something new in my life and poetry sounded the most challenging, so I started.
2. Who are your favourite poets? Which poets have most informed and inspired your work?
I am not the favourite type, I guess that makes me a bit odd. And to be truthful, I did not read a lot of poems before I started writing. Thus, I cannot say with certainty whose work has informed or inspired my work.
My writings in general has been influenced by the strive of humanity, both great and small to make this world a better place. I am inspired by their thoughts, action, tears and their smiles.
3. What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?
I want to communicate with the world, to share what I have inside of me. I want to be understood by expressing my perceptions of events and issues. I visualise my poetry as the vehicular apparatus through which I can inform and/or persuade my fellow humans to share in my understanding.
In all I want to ignite the good in people, I want create a positive awareness of the self and how we can all contribute to creating the paradise we all daydream about.
4. From this poem it seems you think organized religion plays too important a role in Ghanaian society. Do you think organized religion has a place in modern Ghanaian society? If so, what role should it play and how important should it be?
The Ghanaian is very religious, his/her very existence is centred on a belief in Onyankopon. The influence of religion on the society cannot be equaled by any other. To say that it plays too important a role in the society is an understatement, I would argue that it is the very spine of our society. It is indistinguishably intertwined in all our words and deeds.
I think religion is still sacrosanct in modern Ghana. Its contribution to the development of Ghana is very significant – provision of schools, hospitals and homes among other things.
Unfortunately, religion has not been able to eradicate greed and selfishness, the seamless disease that has engulfed our society. I believe religion should endeavour to exterminate this virus; it should be their utmost priority.
5. How has undertaking schooling abroad influenced your writing? Your perception of Ghana?
Schooling abroad actually inspired me to start writing. I found the biggest difference between our societies was availability of data and information. In our part of the world we do not take the time to write down our thoughts, our dreams and aspirations, and as such most of it has been lost. We feel like a lost people and so act like a lost people.
I understood the essence of writing and the development of society. They go hand in hand. What is in the head and heart stays there unless it is written and passed on to the next generation. Passing it on orally distorts the message, plus there is the tendency on the part of individuals to be selfish with information that did not originate from them. They hold on to it. That I believe has been our biggest disadvantage in history. As a nation, we should encourage our people to write. Writing in any form is better than no writing at all.
I just love my country, the nation that reside at the centre of the earth – Ghana is the heart of the earth.
Contact Hilary:
kodwobrumpon(at)hotmail.com
2 comments:
profound thoughts indeed.taking religion to the cleaners.this is what all of us must do.there are many out there that have lined their pockets by exploiting the poor.may their souls rot in hell.jabulani mzinyathi
Lovely poem, exceptional writing. How do you rationalize a white man's religion, the influence of Christianity and Islam on the beautiful people of Ghana with your studies in archeology that show the Earth is much older than "sacred" texts say it is? I admire your faith, but am perplexed. Judy
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