On being a poet

Poet Usha Akella was the force behind Austin commemorating Jan 7 as Poetry Caravan Day. Author of seven books of poetry, three chapbooks, and two musical dramas, Usha gives us a peek into what is it like to be a poet

Is being apoet a practical profession?

No, if you mean commercial viability. The earnings from poetry books or paid speaking engagements are limited. Every poet has to have a supporting means of livelihood. Maybe teaching or something else.

All art forms exist to express what is within us. The life of body, soul, and mind is well satisfied with poetry. Poetry is a practice for the emotions and soul.

Austin, which is where you live, declared Jan 7^th as Poetry Caravan Day. I understand that you were the force behind it. Tell me about how that happened.

When I lived in NY, in suburban Greenburgh, I thought of taking poetry to less advantaged people in shelter homes, hospitals, senior homes, etc. I called the initiative ‘Poetry Caravan’. Several hundreds of readings went into the community via this medium. Then, I moved to Austin in 2006. There, I launched an Austin-based caravan with a young wing. It became dormant as my focus became another activist initiative-- matwaala, a platform dedicated to increase the visibility of south Asian poets.

I think I create communities is because I grew up in an India where living was a collective affair. Thinking in terms of community comes naturally to me.  

In the past you published ‘Ek, an English musical on the life of Shirdi Sai Baba’, then you published ‘I will not bear you sons’ and recently you edited an anthology ‘Hum Aiseich Bolte! This is just how we speak’. They all follow different genres. How do you select the theme of your poetry?

There’s no scientific explanation to a moment of inspiration. As a poet, there is a range of experiences that inspire me. Largely it is spirituality, feminism, and travel.

When your poetry book ‘I will not bear your sons’ was published, it met with controversy. Reports suggest that there were death threats sent to you. Does it not get scary to write such poetry with an uninhibited mind, especially when there is a family at home?

The whiplash was scary.

As a writer, it is not possible to be self-conscious of every single word that I write—though that careful attention is required—nor can a writer predict responses. Words and sentences get interpreted in the way the receiver wants to. The same happened with one five-page poem by the same title in the book. There was a line extracted and circulated – ‘I will abort every male fetus I bear’ - and overnight there was an online rampage. People took that one line out of context and created a hue and cry, without understanding that the language of poetry is figurative. The protagonist in the poem was being demanded for a son by her family. From her (the woman’s) point of view, if others can decide what her womb must bear, she had every right to decide what her womb would give birth to or not to.

My publisher defended the work on Twitter.

You have three masters in the subject of writing, the latest being MsT from Cambridge. Is it mandatory for one to study writing, given the fact that art forms can be learnt by the self? Say, for instance Vikram Seth studied economics, but he is a celebrated writer/poet. There are many like him…

Some sort of training is necessary whether formal or informal. Reading is essential which is the most necessary training. Very good writer tends to be a voracious reader—maybe Vikram Seth read a lot. When I studied literature at the University of Hyderabad in India, students read heavily during the entirety of the course. That was my first foundation as a writer. Reading teaches you a lot about genre and construction. So, reading is one way to learn how to write. There are other ways as well, like being part of the writer’s community or attending workshops or being in a formal classroom. Some reinforcement is essential. Finally, writing teaches you about writing. You have to do it for decades.

Lastly, what is good poetry?

It is a blend of the abstract and concrete, and how a poet does it. If a poet wants to express life is beautiful, the poet must find a way to say how. Good poetry is channelizing an individual’s universe through concrete language.