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Of Bucket Lists, Inner Journeys & Free Verse.. A Chat with Poet and Writer Shobhana Kumar
She joins me today as we talk about writing, art, poetry and things close to her heart. Welcome to Swell Shobana. I think it would be wonderful if you could read out a few verses from your latest book, A Sky Full of Bucket Lists. I'm sure all of us would love to listen to you residence one of your favorite poems from the book
shobhana kumar
@shobhana · 1:46
Fairy tale A forest trail appears from nowhere. He hasn't eaten, he says. Even though he lives with his son, he hasn't eaten, he repeats. He tells her that she is like a daughter. Hands her back her treasure China. After a few grateful gulps. Suddenly the cracks don't matter anymore. Stiletto sounds fading into the night Crickets Stiletto sounds fading into the night crickets the odor lingers long after the cleaning patches have settled on the muted gold wallpaper
shobhana kumar
@shobhana · 2:43
I mean, it did not start out as a collection of hybrid. I was writing it through a very particular period in my life, so I just started out putting documenting stuff that was happening during that. And then this has taken six years in the making. I started working on it in 2014. I sent it to the publisher Red River run by the Bjorki Sarma in March last year 2020 until December 2020
Thank you for sharing that with us. Shobhana. So my next question to you is Ryan, the primary tool by which p*** starts to develop. What have been your observations about your poetry when it comes to rhyme and structure? Are they generally the starting place of all your poems? I would love to know
shobhana kumar
@shobhana · 2:12
So I typically write the poem and not look at it for a period of time, which sometimes even there's a work in progress on my computer folder that just has sometimes p*** stars, and it's not done. So you just leave it that way because it's not yet ready to come. And then I go back to it. But sometimes when the poem comes fully, always go back to it, because then it gives you distance
So Shobhana, I've always been at a loss when it comes to critiquing or judging poetry. If I may say so, how does one even judge poetry or distinguish a good poem from a not so good great one with section. At least you have these parameters, the plot, the setting, the characterization, et cetera. That can serve as yardsticks. But are there any such parameters for knowing a good format mediocre one
shobhana kumar
@shobhana · 3:02
And it's helped all of us enormously in the journey as a poet because, see, a poem strength is about the oral quality where the line break is right. Where does the line break? Why has the poet chosen to break a line with one word rather than something else? Right. So line breaks. And why are the standards, especially with fevers, there's really no norm to how long each stanza should be. So why does it work in a manner it does
shobhana kumar
@shobhana · 1:35
Just married. Okay. The truth about the story Ramya, is I really did not have a clue about the poem appearing in the book until fellow poet Dr. Sheilata teaches at IIT Humanities called me one afternoon and said, hey, you're also there in Gulzad book. And I said, what? What? Gulzar books, 365 books, phones a day. Your work is there. I said, no, I never submitted. So she said, no, it's there. We have just married
Thanks Shobhana. I just can't wait to get my hands on Guzzareza's book and I'm hoping to get to read your poem and share a review perhaps on the so moving on. I wanted to bring bring up small Differences just for a bit here for those of you who aren't aware, small Differences is an NGO run by Shobhana that closely works with the elderly, abandoned and the transgender community. Shovel. Now could you share a little bit here with us about this commendable initiative of yours
shobhana kumar
@shobhana · 1:46
Thank you for bringing up small differences. I think it's very important component of stifling of Bucket list because we started small differences in 2012 with a bunch of friends. A small business is not just me. We are a bunch of many volunteers working with these vulnerable, marginalized communities. And when I started working with them, writing was a way. It was a cathartic exercise for me