An exclusive interview with award winning writer and internationally recognised performance poet & spoken word recording artist, PHENZWAAN who is currently set to embark on a promotional tour for his latest project, FIRE & DIVINITY.

1. Fire & Divinity, your latest project, talk to us about that.

Fire & Divinity is an in depth collection of my new and selected poetry and writing which covers a very wide range of themes and subject matters. It's compiled into a 218 page digital manuscript. It's a combination of a wealth of material I have never ever released or performed before as well as all of what is regarded by others as my best work and a whole set of new writing all put together in one place. It's a collection of everything I've ever written thus far.

2. How long have you been writing and performing?

I began writing when I was 10 years old. I started singing, listening to melodies and playing around with songs, rhymes and story writing. I've been performing poetry on stage and to live audiences since 1998.

3. What inspired you to start writing?

I was mostly inspired to start writing from reading books & comics and listening to music on the radio when I was younger, singing a lot and listening to stories and hip-hop tapes.

4. Where do you draw your inspiration for writing from?

My inspiration generally is drawn from my experiences, things I've heard, things I've seen, things I've read and places I've been to. It comes from my love for art, language and literature, various books, magazines, theatre, music, radio, films and television and generally everything and everyone around me. Nature also heavily inspires me. Often too, I draw from the experiences of others.

5. It is often said that artists are like mad scientists when busy working away at their next creative masterpiece. Often locking them selves away and wishing to be undisturbed. Are you like that? How would you describe yourself?

Yes, I'd definitely fit comfortably into that category of artist...lol. I can at times be considerably anti-social when away working on a project or idea. I like the space to create freely when I need it. I believe inspiration has its own time that isn't necessarily directed or dictated by the artist themselves and the most in tune of artists will know they must be free to be open and on time to receive whatever that divine inspiration is for whatever he or she is doing or creating or inspired to create at that time.

6. What is it like performing the things you write?

I enjoy performing my writing as it gives the words life and energy beyond the page and can reach people in ways that the words on the page may not necessarily do at that time. A lot of people are more auditory and thus are stimulated more by the sound of words than by reading words on paper. Performing is a chance to see firsthand how your words affect people and also to relay them, to a degree, in the way that they were intended to be received or comprehended.

7. Your work has also been incorporated in schools, colleges & university projects as well as television, theatre, short film and music productions, what is it like seeing your writing performed by others?

I think it's a beautiful thing. For me as a writer it's a great compliment and somewhat gives my work further validation within the universe when someone else is inspired to repeat or relay the work beyond themselves. It means that your work will be further interpreted by others whom have heard or will hear it relayed from someone other than you who had their own personal interpretation of it. I think that's what all art should be about. Two people can look at the same painting and see completely different things.

8. Do you see Fire & Divinity being incorporated into the future projects of others like a lot of your past work has been?

Yes, definitely. At least I hope so. I think any artist appreciates when other people are so inspired by your work that they want to use it whether for a creative film or music project or to teach students or whatever. I think the possibilities are endless with this project in particular as there's so much to it. It's also the largest and most extensive body of work I have ever released at one time so we'll see. I like to think my writings and the numerous themes explored in this manuscript will still be drawn upon a hundred years from now.

9. Fire & Divinity is only available as a digital download from your website, why did you decide to release the manuscript in this way?

I wanted to experiment with a format that is fairly new to me and to try something different in terms of reaching people. As well as providing more options in regards to accessing my work, I wanted to go back to basics in the sense of reaching the audience directly with my product and bypass the common channels that would otherwise force me to compromise the work by seeking to place boundaries on what I can and can't put out there to the public etc but in a unique way that was still very much also moving with the times.

FIRE & DIVINITY by Phenzwaan is available by digital download at: http://www.phenzwaan.com  
e-Book special launch promotional price: £12.97. See website for details.