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Live poetry is thriving

Many in the city are writing poetry, contrary to the idea that it is a fading form. Metrolife takes you to some poetry venues.
Last Updated 21 March 2019, 14:13 IST

As an artform, poetry has undergone a radical change. The lilting lyrical verses have given way to angst-filled non-rhyming lines, with unconventional use of metaphors, experiments with language and concrete and realistic topics.

As we celebrate World Poetry Day today, Metrolife spoke to few Bengaluru-based poets and venue owners about the debate on classical vs modern poetry and more.

Monthly poetry event draws poets of all ages

Lakshmi Sankar, co-founder, Atta Galatta, says that poetry is no longer a restricted field.

“Modern poetry allows people to address current issues, political or social, in liberty. The rules of the fixed style of writing followed back then are also being broken now.”

“We have been running a monthly event, titled ‘Let Poetry Be’, since 2014. Nothing is curated; people come and express their opinions.”

While there have been critics of this form of performance poetry, supporters say it is getting more people involved in reading, writing and reciting poetry.

Modern poetry assumes reader knows a lot

Haider Jasdan, who writes in Urdu, says that writing in his mother tongue brings him pure joy. A need to preserve writings in Urdu and a feeling that writing in Urdu helps him express better, adds to this.

“Modern poetry is a lot more rushed when it comes to expressing your thoughts or emotions. There are a lot of classic poems where you say much without actually saying it. This is lacking in modern poetry.”

But contemporary poets assume the audience knows what they are talking about. “The poetry takes a lot of liberties but I also like how it tries to change the rules. And if it allows everyone to express themselves, then why not?” he adds.

He likes the works of young Urdu poets, especially Hussain Haidari. “He writes in the most conversational language in an effort to make his poetry reach every household,” says Haider.

Write a poem, revise it, read a lot, finalise poem

Samantak Bhadra, part of the poetry events organised at Atta Galatta, feels poetry has become more ‘democratic’.

“Contemporary poetry takes inspiration from classical poems, acknowledges tradition and experiments with it,” he says. A fan of Vikram Seth, CP Surendran, Imtiaz Dharker and Akhil Katyal (“the authentic tone in their books attracts me”), Samantak asks young poets to read a lot. His advice: “Put down your poem on a sheet, rewrite it a lot of times, read more books and then call it a poem.”

More new poetry in textbooks, please

Rochelle D’silva, a spoken word poet, feels classical poetry has come out of school textbooks, where one needed a teacher to break it down for them. She wants more contemporary poetry included in the textbooks.

Among her favourite poets are Arundathi Subramaniam (“her works are a balance between delicate and forceful”) and Vinita Agarwal (“She is a poet from Mumbai saying things I wish I could say”). Others she reads avidly are Tishani Doshi, Kevin Brophy, Andy Jackson, Melizarani T Selva, Omar Musa, Mike Rosen and more.

One does not know where to search for poetry on Internet

Lynessa Coutto, poet and organiser of ‘Poetry in the Park’, says that spoken poetry actually became popular in the 60s. “However, the style, language, rhythm and cultural and social context has changed.”

‘Poetry in the Park’, launched four years ago, is a forum for people to express themselves.

“There were not many such platforms back then. When we started, we mostly had people in their 30s, but over the years both younger and older people are joining us in good numbers,” she says.

‘Poetry in the Park’ takes place on a Saturday once a month. It is held between 3.30 and 6 pm. You can connect with the group on Facebook. Talk to them on 9880176926

There is no nostalgia among today’s kids

S G Siddaramaiah, senior Kannada poet, says the language of poetry has changed over time.

“There is no nostalgia in today’s kids but technology has given a new structure to Kannada poetry. Poets are influenced by many genres of poetry and music and are bringing them into Kannada poetry, he says.

“Performance poetry has always been around in Kannada in the form of Janapada. Poet Kambara still has it in his poems. Ramesh Aroli and TS Goravara use performance poetry to react to present situations,” he says.

His favourite contemporary poets are Lakshmi Narayan, Ramesh Aroli, P Bharathi Devi, P Chandrika, Hulikonte Murthy, T S Goravara, and Ranganath Kantankunt.

Events across 10 cities

Kommunity, a group of young writers, conducted an open mic event in 10 cities, including Bengaluru, ahead of World Poetry Day. Bengaluru has become a hub for open mic events, and artists like Angshuman (23) and Shubham (21) are a result of this culture. Angshuman has been writing poetry since he was 15, and recently gave a Ted talk. Shubham began with street plays and switched to slam poetry.

- Gargi Deshpande

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(Published 20 March 2019, 14:21 IST)

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