Steve Akinkuolie is a lifelong lover of classic literature. He blends folklore, humour, and social commentary in making intriguing narratives. His story ‘Because of Ram and Rice’ follows a pair of mischievous cousins devising divine loopholes to calm their bellies. It features in THE BARE BONES BOOK OF HUMOUR, and its editor, Ankit Raj Ojha, came up with these questions to learn more about the making of the piece.

Tell us about your perspective on humour and its place in writing and in life.

For me humour is grease. It keeps the stiff machinery of living from grinding to a halt. Without it, everything squeaks—memory, grief, and even love. 

In writing, it’s the element that lets readers see your character not as heroes or victims but as normal people—flawed, breathing, foolish, and divine. 

In life, humour is rebellion. It is how we refuse to be consumed by despair. When you find something to laugh about, it means you have survived life’s blow and still somehow retained your rhythm. 

What are the things, works, and authors that have influenced your writing? 

For me, influence has never been a straight line. It’s more like a network of small streams running into a river. I have borrowed from everyone. I grew up reading Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe and listening to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. But my greatest influence are usually “ordinary” people: the woman selling by the roadside, shouting insults in melodies; the public bus conductor who quotes scriptures and curses in the same breath; the child who calls rain “God’s spit”. These are my co-authors. Their metaphors live longer than literature. 

Is there any image, phrase, idea, place, person, or memory that became the seed for ‘Because of Ram and Rice’? 

The story was born out of a real afternoon—not dramatic, just ordinary. A group of my friends had gathered around discussing ridiculous things people do for food during religious festivals. And somewhere between the laughter and chewing, the idea was conceived. How lust for food can create chaos and still maintain peace—the duality—that was the seed.