Rising writer and spoken word poet, Wuese-Ter Irene Eve (Wie) Dekera has launched her maiden publication titled ‘We Are Ugly, But We Are Here’ – a compilation of some of her most captivating poetry pieces, aimed at helping her audience triumph in their struggles, and rediscover themselves in moments of confusion.
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In her quest to utilise her creativity to make positive impact in society, and take readers on a journey of self-discovery and healing, the book contains 30 poems, to commemorate her 30-year milestone.

Founder of the Entwined Community, Wie Dekera, stated that poetry is a natural gifting, which she has never found difficulty trying to express. She noted that her poetry helped her to forge meaningful connections with her readers, by addressing some relatable issues.

“Poetry found me. I don’t think so deeply when I write poems, as it mostly flows naturally. I just write and put them out, and in many cases, a lot of my readers tend to resonate to the stories I tell with my poems.

Dekera revealed that she drew inspiration for the title of her book, from a phrase in Haitian literature that spoke about demonstrating full focus and determination, acknowledging imperfections, but never allowing them to define true worth.
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“The title of my book is derived from the meaning of my favourite quote, which is of Haitian origin – ‘Nou Lèd Nou La’; I came across it years ago, while I was reading an article. It is actually about the past sufferings of Asian women. When I read that article, and got to know about the meaning of the phrase; ‘We are Ugly, But We are Here’, it really struck me,” said Dekera.

She stated that a lot of the poems contained in her latest publication are centered around real-life experiences, inspired by her own journeys and the stories of others: “Most of the poems in my book, are actually years old. A piece which is so dear to me is ‘March 13’, which was written on the day my mother died in 2014. That was years ago. A couple of other poems have been inspired by other people’s experiences.”

Dekera disagrees with the notion that the reading culture is eroding in Nigeria. She however called for more Nigerians to cultivate the culture of reading, as it helps to aid consistent development, and improve long term goal setting.

“Some people would say the reading culture is dead in Nigeria, but I don’t think so. Because I try to surround myself as much as possible, with a massive circle of readers. We learn basically from reading. Reading really helps with diction, building memory, and key lessons for the future. It helps with how we plan and navigate through life, and I think we need to embrace it even more,” she added.
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