The power of words can be witnessed in its truest form with the help of poems. Poems can paint a picture of things we witness, things we feel and things we all know about but are seldom described. And what better day to celebrate the power of this art form than World Poetry Day itself?
Recently, we were in conversation with Rohini Kejriwal, poet and founder of Alipore Post, a newsletter on poetry, life and creativity, who was in the city for a poetry workshop at Third Wave Coffee on Lavelle Road.
We are living in a world where attention spans are going down day by day which is bringing down the interest that people have for reading or writing. How can people ignite that passion for writing again?
I think for me also it came, my love for poetry started with poetry books and being taught poems in school. However, I think the digital world has made poetry so accessible now. There are so many poetry journals out there now. There are lots of newsletters, there are Instagram pages which are all celebrating poems. While our attention span may be going down at the same time I think there are different ways of bringing it to life. And I think if people stay curious and go explore journals, I'm sure there'll be enough poems for them to fall in love with.
What advice would you give the people who love to write but can’t find the time to? How do they keep the spark alive?
I believe it is about creating a ritual for yourself. Wanting to write, firstly, if you have that fire in you that wants to document even the most mundane day, then you can take aside 5 minutes to do it or there are enough poetry challenges that will help you write more. Personally speaking, I don't end up writing all year round. In April I do this Alipore Post poetry month, there are 30 prompts and 30 poems and it's not about me reading what other people are writing but just 30 days of writing myself, and then the rest of the year I'm forgiven if I don't show up. I think that for me has helped build a practice because again you're just getting inspired through the year, through the day, through the week. But if you just take some time to express yourself, I think yeah, that's when the poetry will emerge.
How did the idea begin for Alipore Post?
It started in 2015 and I was living in Alipore which is in Kolkata and that was home and it was a slightly dark place in my life personally and I had just started finding the modern poets and these online journals that existed through another newsletter for poetry. Just this idea of people being okay with me, emailing them a poem that I have found, like an artist I've discovered, or a song I've listened to. It slowly started showing me that there are people who either resonate or want to read more poems, and slowly and steadily, it's been nine years of doing this, running a journal, a community on Instagram, a newsletter, and doing workshops like this.
Can we expect a physical space for Alipore Post?
I don't believe in that. I feel like there are lovely cafes, collaborators, and existing spaces where I find some alignment and do beautiful things together because it is about creating that kind of community and nurturing a space that is safe to play on expressions. I don't think I want a physical space, I want a lot more offline events and experiences.
What is your message to budding poets?
Keep writing more leave out that sense of judgment and be real. The act of finding your voice and expressing yourself in a certain way is unique to you.
(Written by: Shambhavi Ranjan)
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