Talking Books

NS: What inspired you to write a book titled ‘I am a Woman’ as a ‘man’ poet?

PKP: Thank you, Neena, for offering me an opportunity to speak about my forthcoming collection of verses, ‘I am a Woman.’ I record my sincere gratitude to Dr. Rachna Singh, the Principal Editor, The Wise Owl, for featuring my interview in the special column of ‘Talking Books.’  

I chose writing poetry as it symbolizes the power of feminism in its tenderness and musicality. In the column ‘Letter to Editor, Indian Express’, December 5th 1984, I voiced my support for education to girl children to bestow confidence on them and redress social balance. I underline gender equality and respect for womanhood in many poems written during the eighties and the nineties. I once emphatically put forth: ‘…Why crazy/ Snatching her surname/ The born identity/ Her parental tie.’ (Poem: Married Woman).

Women symbolize creation, beauty, love, kindness, compassion, and harmony. In our culture and tradition, the woman is revered as shakti or power (Durga), knowledge and wisdom (Saraswati), fortune and prosperity (Lakshmi).

Despite progress in gender equality, we have socio-cultural issues related to women and this needs to be addressed keeping in view of the progressive phase of mankind at large. Rightly, Dalai Lama says, “I call myself a feminist. Isn’t that what you call people who fight for women’s rights?”

I feel if male equally realizes the problem and comes forward with a comprehensive solution, it would look pragmatic and progressive. This led me to write the present collection, ‘I am a woman.’

NS: How did you choose this format of tanka verses as a long-connected poem to tell the story of a woman?

PKP: I like to compose micro poetry or shorter verses along with longer verses. Tanka, the Japanese form of the 5-line short poem, has a profound scope to embody human feelings with poetic essence and lyrical exposition. Hence, I chose to write the long poem in this format. We may recall that all the classic works of Japanese diary literature about love, passion, and lamentation have been written with prose along with waka (tanka) poetry.

NS: How did you approach the subject of womanhood in your 5 lined tanka poetry?

PKP: No doubt being a male writer, apparently it looks difficult to delve into the theme and imageries from the perspective of feminist poetry. I have read many poems by female poets namely Eunice de Sauza, Amrita Pritam, Gouri Deshpande, Meena Alexander, Mani Rao, Sunita Jain, Kamala Das, Sarita Jenamani, Rupi Kaur and others. I have seen social imbalance, and the sufferings of women. I feel moved by the grieving situation and the psychological torments a woman has to face because of gender bias. I could see the love and affection her parents bestowed on her and the apparent contrast the moment she enters into the phase of her married life. In the present collection, I have tried to sketch the phases of memorable ecstasy with her parents, sufferings and trauma at a later stage and her courage to fight back with feminine modesty and integrity. 

NS: Can you share some of the themes or motifs that are explored in your latest book?

PKP: The collection, ‘I am a Woman’ is a sort of long poem written in the form of fictional verse with candour poetic styles and imageries. It portrays the life sketch of a woman named Chandni. She demonstrates her resilience to face socio-psychological challenges. Chandni belongs to a modest family with limited financial support. She recalls the early life of joy ‘…mummy holds her/ fondly closing the eyes/ and feels beats of rhythm together.’ But the happiness lasts for a brief period and after her marriage, she wonders: ‘she offers /aroma to all/ how strange/ the thorns that protect/ at last, pierce her to bleed.’ The agony she faces as ‘he scratches her skin/ like wiping over the doormat / as if a mopping cloth/ he cleanses his dust/ ungracefully pouring the foam of his sin.’ She runs from pillar to post for justice, but to no avail. In spite of the hurdles, she is optimistic: ‘like an adrift tree/ she is hurt and drained / trusts the woman of justice / holding the beam balance /on the cover page of the Social science.’

NS: What challenges did you face in capturing the essence of a woman through your poems?

PKP: It has been a constant striking point to keep the critical balance of expression from the point of view of a grief-stridden woman. The structural fabric of language, rhythm and poetic landscape have been dealt with sensibility and succinctness. As the collection is a sensitive issue immersed in agony and seclusion on the part of the woman, I have to tread carefully with poetic idioms, text, and texture without being didactic or rhetorical. Moreover, I tried my best to portray feminist poetry in its true spirit and translate it with veracity and sincerity.

Diana Webb pens in her blurb: “…With elements of the elegiac, lyrical and cathartic, it is a paean to the feminine principle, as embodied in the tale of one member of womankind and promises rich rewards for anyone with a poetic soul.”

NS: Did you rely on personal experiences or research to understand the female perspective in your poetry or any particular woman, real or fictional, who served as a muse or influence for your poetry?

PKP: I have been keenly observing the plight of some families and the emotional stories of women. That is what stirred me to show the prevalent domestic violence and patriarchal culture through poetry. Chandni is a fictional character.

NS: How do you think your perspective as a man influenced the way you portrayed women in your book?

PKP: Well, I am conscious of my ‘male’ self. At the same time, I try and journey into the female psyche so that I am able to articulate a woman’s perspective with conviction. I perceive female psychology and immerse myself in the character, in order to highlight them through words and portray reality. Honestly, many such stories remain untold and buried. My poetry is a eulogy to womanhood.

NS: What themes or issues related to womanhood did you explore in your book?

PKP: The attitude of a male-dominated society towards women is one of the striking aspects enumerated in my book. The unbearable pain, anguish, social prejudices and tension that a woman undergoes have been reflected. Post-marriage issues and related family problems are placed before the readers.

Jenny Ward Angyal comments, “and this book traces the life of one representative woman from childhood, when she learns ‘the alphabet of body,’ through harsh and despairing adulthood, when ‘waves wash away / her lengthy inner script,’ to the resurgence of hope as she seeks to ‘revise the pristine manuscript for her daughter.’ That manuscript is a celebration of woman and a poetic hymn to the feminine principle.”

NS:  What message or emotion do you hope readers will take away from ‘I am a Woman’?

PKP: I hope the readers will realize the journey of life of a woman is different from man, her counterpart, and the dignity of a woman needs to be respected. I stretched and metaphorically intensified the loneliness Chandni had undergone.

NS:  How do you see your role as a male poet in contributing to the ongoing conversation about gender and identity?

PKP: The present time desires an equal space for men and women. Men should not shy away from raising concerns about women. Mutual involvement and mutual respect are essential to build a comprehensive family life. Irrespective of caste, creed and gender, if we feel it is ‘our’ problem and to be solved by ‘ourselves’ jointly, then there won’t be any dichotomy or bewilderment in family life. As ‘Male Ally’, jointly we can make a happy and cohesive family life.

NS: What do you believe is the importance of men exploring and expressing the female experience through art?

PKP: Man and woman are two sides of the same coin with distinct symbols on both sides. But the aesthetic value of the coin is unique and the same. Art is a mirror. It is the way one sees, thus reflecting the contours of his thoughts. I recall one of my poems written in the eighties:

‘Unveil the art/It is/Alive/It lives/Not in itself/But in your/Angle of/Mind and eyes.’

It is like we have two garden paths. But the breeze carries the aroma in all possible directions. Man needs to inhale to realize this philosophical aspect of life.

NS: Can you share any memorable moments or experiences that occurred during the creation of ‘I am a Woman’?

PKP: In fact, while writing the collection over a long time, I experienced the feeling of being an actress absorbed in the cinematic scope of the script. That is an interesting experience. I wish her a happy life when she gives birth to a baby girl. Being elated, I encourage her to cherish: ‘life is a poem and music its journey.’

I became very conscious while writing the concluding stanza of the collection. The last line ‘I am a Woman’ to prove again’ of the final stanza engulfed me in the pain and agony of my protagonist.

Suparna Ghosh, a prolific writer and visual artist from Canada pens in her Foreword, “Perhaps, I thought, by intertwining the layers of Devi, the Goddess of my vision, with his view of Chandni, the moonbeam, I would be according a befitting offering to I am a Woman.”

NS: How do you balance the line between personal expression and respectful representation when writing about gender or identity that differs from your own?

PKP: One’s perceptions and way of interpretation emanate from the cognitive sphere. I try to remain unbiased and optimistic in my approach to exploring the path leading to the destination. No doubt, as a male author, a critical balance and congenial space are essential. I am particular about the usage of words and try to imbibe as Robert Frost said, “Poetry is when our emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”

I think in art and literature, a sense of integrity and honesty is essential.

NS:  In what ways do you believe poetry can contribute to discussions around gender and identity?

PKP: I feel art has immense depth to fathom the aspirations of mankind.  Poetry can create a flagship of mutual respect and brotherhood through its rhythm and resonance.

As an allusive to Wordsworth’s phrase: “the child is father of the man”, I coined the line “the child is mother of the woman” in my haibun titled ‘Leading the Way’.  Rebecca Drouilhet, the haiku moderator on Inkstone Poetry Forum, commented: “Beautifully and sensitively penned. The charm of the place and the relationship grounded me in the wholeness of the feminine.”

NS:  Can you share any particular poem from your book that you feel encapsulate the overall message or essence of ‘I am a Woman’?
 

PKP: I feel Chandni has to march ahead with the flow of time with a sense of optimism. She aspires to see her daughter enjoy the dawn of a new life. But we have the social responsibility to erase her apprehension of ‘I am a Woman’ to prove again.’ The following stanzas perhaps encapsulate the theme of the book.

wiping tears

gently from her face

with a needle of hope

she threads the pain in between

reading the life, like an anthology of poem

***

she desires to revise

the pristine manuscript

for her daughter

as she reckons with a crescent smile

‘I am a Woman’ to prove again

NS: Has writing ‘I am a Woman’ influenced your own understanding or perception of femininity and women's experiences in any way?

PKP: I have read feminist poetry written by Emily Dickinson, Maya Angelou, Sylvia Plath and Audre Lorde including poets from India, especially Kamal Das. I chose the title of the book using the first-person pronoun ‘I’ to emphasize integrity and conviction. During writing, I felt the anxieties and sufferings of a woman and her psychological condition.

This reinforces the responsibility of the male counterparts for fostering a happy family and prosperous society at large. In life, if we embrace “Odd is the beginning of even/Imperfection is the part of perfection / And vacuum is the venue of accumulation” (excerpt from my earlier poem ‘If I were an Ugly Girl’) then our world would be a land of the joy of living.

NS:  Would you like to share with our readers the writing, editing & publishing process?

PKP: I started writing this collection in mid-2019. I continuously revised the manuscript and focused on the woman-centric emotional cadence. Some of the stanzas have been published in leading journals namely Borderless International, Lyrical Passion Poetry, MoonInk Tanka Poetry Anthology, Presence, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, In Sun, Snow & Rain Tanka Anthology (British Haiku Society) and others.

I added the beginning part of the collection later to highlight the love and affection a girl child receives from her parents. This enhanced the contrast images. I record with great indebtedness to my poet friend Diana Webb who introduced me to John Gonzalez, the poet and publisher of The Magic Pen Press, London. I am grateful to John, Frank Williams and Tony Marcoff for their immense interest and inspiration in publishing the book. Shloka’s elegant cover page art made an aesthetic assimilation to the content of the collection.

NS:  What advice would you give to aspiring poets who aim to explore and express gender-related themes in their own writing?

PKP: Gender is just a word. “...wisely nature/ never coins in evolution/ defining a tree: male or female.” Poetry can be an effective vehicle for social change. It becomes poetically critical to translate the ‘voice behind silence’ of the emotionally distraught women. Aspiring poets can usher in a beautiful society if we are optimistic and embrace the sense of oneness and spirit of love.