1.
'Arun M. Sivakrishna -The Poet' How does this sound?
It indeed sounds nice and though I am nowhere near to be
called one now, the ultimate aim is to reach there.J
2. For how long have you been writing poems?
Writing has been a favorite hobby for a pretty long time.
Used to contribute to the school magazines and other journals. But when the not
so small matter of getting food on the table came, poetry took a back seat for
sometime.Now, been penning for about 10 years, with some gaps in between as I
am a very lazy one.
3. What
does 'Poetry' mean to you?
To me, it is the ultimate form of self-expression.
4. Do
you remember the first poem that you wrote? Share your favorite lines from it
with us.
J The
first one must be some innocuous stuff about some class mate or so. That’s
pretty long back and I don’t remember any of it. But there is one about a boy I
met in a train journeyand I am so sorry that I don’t exactly remember the lines
completely now. Guess, it goes something like this
“I am a prince
but don’t really know who my king is “ and ends with
“countless genocides and regicides and
One more, my dear sir, wouldnt make any difference”
5. Your
poetry collection is titled 'Songs of a Solitary Tree'. How did you come up
with this title?
Most of the works in that series are more or less about
random thoughts of a loner, someone who finds himself lonely either by choice or
chance. Hence that title. Solitude doesn’t really mean that you are down in the
dumps or in the deep pits of despair though it could drag you in the quick
sands of peril, unless you know to deal with it. Often you hum, sing, dance or
draw your way out of it. So lets say that the tree sings its way out of its
blues..J
6. How
long does it take for you to write a poem?
I am a very lazy and reluctant writer. I write on impulse
and have to wrap up quite fast lest will end up not writing at all. But it has
its own pitfalls. Many a times, on hindsight, felt
this could have been different and could have had another version or angle had I waited on and so on. I
am working on that habit now by revisiting and ironing out the edges, quite
deliberately.
7. Can
I sum up your work to be an amalgamation of poems written over different phases
of your life?
Yes. You may. But looking for the writer in all that he or
she writes may not always be the right way too. All of us write about events we
experience or acquired over or something which we identify ourselves with.
8. If I
give you three words- love, jealousy/jealous and trust; would you write a poem
for me?
“And
when it comes to that
trust
me, jealousy is the
other
name of love.”
9.
Which is your favorite poem from your collection? And why?
Though I don’t have
any particular favorites, “Wholesome Holes” and “Insects on the windscreen”
come closer because of the emotions involved about some particular phase of my
life.
10.
Let's take up a short rapid fire session. I give you a word, you describe it
with the first adjective that comes to your mind.
a. poem : Sublime
b. life : Beautiful
c. friendship : Lovely
d. love : Intense
e. mountains : Serene
g. roots : Grounded
h. god : Divine
i. rebirth: Interesting
j. revenge : worthless
11.
Your readers and me, of course, would like to hear a piece of advice from you.
Whatever you do, express freely. Never be a stickler for
rules and genres.
