Have you ever fallen in platonic love? It’s one of my favorite experiences, and aptly describes how I feel about my friend Ibrahim, a magnificent human being and writer. I’ve had the privilege of working with him on several projects: first, as Fiction Editor at the Cobalt Review, I published his story, Reparation, and second, he also served as an Associate Editor with Hotch Potch Literature and Art where I’m part of the editorial collective; along with gratefully receiving his editing services, we also published his stories Palliatives and Vex Money.
In this conversation, Ibrahim talks about his grandmother’s influence (he publishes children’s stories under her name!), shares stories about his relationship to setting (check out his essay about receiving TV licensing letters in the UK as a new immigrant from Nigeria), discusses his thoughts on the writer-editor relationship, and gives advice to new writers about offering to others what they are most needing. Check out his Linktree to access more of his stories. It’s my hope that you’ll fall in love with Ibrahim and his writing the way I did!
A Grandmother's Storytelling Blossoms