What led you to submit to RED SKIES?
Honestly, the title of the anthology. The moment I saw the submission call, I knew that I had to send over my visual poem to the Splintered Disorder Press. I took a massive leap of faith, withdrew the poem immediately from consideration elsewhere and submitted it right away. Soon enough to realize that my little creation had soared high in the RED SKIES!!!
After reading the responses of the Editorial team I had nothing more to ask for.
Are you engaged in any projects currently?
There are a couple of poems coming out in early 2021, and I’m looking forward to each one of them. Lately, I have been working on a poem very dear to me. It is about ‘home’, which is a very personal subject to me as an individual and a poet. I initially had some serious struggle while putting it to words but thankfully, the muse turned around and I must say, the words had their way.
How have you spent the year 2020?
I was in my final semester of Masters in English Literature attending classes, seminars and conferences at my University, Jamia Millia Islamia, when the pandemic surfaced. So, the initial months were preoccupied with academic pursuits. Soon after, the semester came to an unforeseen end and I had a lot of time at hand.
Now that I reflect on the months that have passed, life seems to have followed a pattern. While adjusting to the new normal, like everyone else, I was mostly writing/editing/reading if not thinking about doing so!
I wrote a couple of research papers and presented them at Online Conferences on National and International gatherings. I was also extremely elated to read all that was ever waiting for me on my bookshelves.
With like minded friends, I formulated a close-knit circle wherein we shared essential questions about existence, the purpose of being and much more.
Finally, came the poetry writing phase which kept me on my toes for the rest of the year. All these factors along with my ever so supportive family have immensely helped me to keep myself intact and brace the changes maturely.
How did you begin crafting visual poetry? Have you been influenced by any other visual poets?
The first one was out of curiosity, written sometime around August. It happened to be a poem on leaves/ Nature in the form of a leaf. As I absolutely enjoyed this little attempt of mine, it dawned on me to try some more of it. In no time all I wanted to write was visual poetry and “Revisiting a Site of Loss” is so for my personal best.
I still am very new to this genre of poetry writing, but I certainly am going to look into works of other visual poets and artists. It is always so refreshing to explore these realms.
If you could only have one book in quarantine, what would it be?
This is such a difficult question and I must confess, a bit frightening too!
If one has to decide then I suppose, James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake (written over a period of 16 years) can make an admirable quarantine companion. At least, then I might just read it from cover to cover, and even comprehend some of it.
Is community important to your writing? Are there any magazines or small presses that you feel a strong attachment to?
It certainly is very important to my writing and journey alike. This being my first year writing and sending submissions actively, I received immense support and encouragement from fellow poets and writers. I’m grateful to have bonded with such talented people over my Twitter account, it is always so inspiring to read their work. I’m also grateful to various publications who appreciated my words and provided them with beautiful homes. Some magazines and small presses that I’m particularly fond of, include Analogies and Allegories Literary Magazine, Beir Bua Journal, Briefly Zine, Dwelling Literary, Fahmidan Journal, Fevers of the Mind, From the Farther Trees, Glitchwords, The Indian Feminist Review, The Ink Drinkers, Kingz Daily, The Minison Project, Small Leaf Press, Southchild Lit, Splintered Disorder Press, and Visual Verse, among others.
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