Voices, No Boundaries- Nahal guest columnist- aaduna in exile spring 2021 issue, Vol. 10 No. 1
Voices, No Boundaries
(This category is a new feature for aaduna)
Guest Columnist
 |
| Anita Nahal, Ph.D., CDP (photo provided) |
Poetry Imagined and Reimagined
By Anita Nahal
This is my maiden column with aaduna,
about which I am thrilled as aaduna is one of my favorite creative
publications. I begin, Poetry Imagined & Reimagined with a
discussion with artist and writer, Michael D. Harris. This first column centers
on the styles in which poets write in, and the
reasons that impact their selection. What draws poets towards writing in a
particular style/s? And how do their chosen approaches assist in expressing the
depth of their words, emotions?
“Words mean more
than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with
deeper meaning.”
~ Maya Angelou ~
A deeper meaning, a deeper questioning,
a deeper response is what poets seek from the pathos of their heart, mind, and
soul in telling their stories. In the process they express themselves in a
plethora of ways and forms; free verse, haiku, rhyme, prose poetry, soliloquy,
ekphrasis, epics, ballads, sonnets, onegin, limerick, spoken word,
expressionist, surrealist, and so forth. There is no one kind of poetry, nor
one way to have it written. Creativity is subjective, therefore, there is no
right or wrong. Critics who reject poetry (or any writing) are not searching
for a great poem in my opinion, they are searching instead for a poem that fits
their thinking. Poets put themselves through an immersive journey and the heart
of a poet, or any creative person, can be like a walking bruise, never fully
healed…never fully understood...but still it keeps going on a quest, a mission,
always open to love, passion, and hurt, always seeking answers, new ways,
always trying to improve, hoping, dreaming, thanking, praying, loving, caring,
crying, forgiving, screaming, silent, digging, flying, shinning and calming. A
poet can change the world and it all begins with an idea, or a word, or as
Robert Frost said, with “… a lump in the throat…”
Painter,
poet and associate professor emeritus, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, Michael
D Harris, when talking about his writing style says, “For some reason I
have always been attracted to free-verse with occasional rhymes and emotional
associations. I like imagery and emotional metaphors and similes. I write about
emotional issues that I cannot express in my painting and photography. I tend toward an economy rather than prose in
the work. My main inspirations early were, This is My Beloved by Walter Benton
and Cane by Jean Toomer.”
Michael
is a remarkable artist and poet who is powerful and direct in speaking to the
immense issues of our times, on history and roots. His insightfulness in
comprehending the layers of life are portrayed with incredible creativity. And
he seeks out the depth of those elements both in his paintings and poems, which
sometimes are very sensual as well. Here are two examples of his free verse
poems on two very different themes:
Lips on a Butterfly
A
mouth full of promises
fruit
and fire
the
eyes of a siren,
she
stands lean, tall
like
a cinnamon tree
sliced
mangoes for lips
dripping
juicy and fresh
tastes
from the tropics,
hot
humid coastal nights full of salt air
sounds of the dark Atlantic,
and the faint scent of its mysteries and
misery,
her tongue is a tide
a
force sweeping men out to sea
She
is the whims of Yemanja
the
sweet breath of Oxum
a
wet kiss imagined from boyhood
come
true.
She
walks a Samba
laughs
as only beauty can
flit
away,
a butterfly with lips
oh,
those lips!
full
of promises
fruit
and fire
and
I wait and pray
for her honeyed tongue
to
wash me out to sea
Borboleta
beije-me mortos
beije-me à vida!
* * *
Covid Diary: No Place for Old Men
(For David, Pellom, Maurice, and Louis)
That butcher is cutting heads
again
with fury and cleavage.
Sorrow
like tear gas
burns our air,
better days from
then
decay
depopulated
week after week
leaving only memories and old photos
and we burn and bury
our young lives
alongside old friends.
This butcher
quickly
is cutting lives up
into smaller pieces and
minced hope.
Hearts crack like bones
and each phone call threatens
more mayhem.
Also sharing here, a couple of
Michael’s poignant and striking artwork that are poetry in themselves. Michael
reimagines art in very injenious formats and the result is dynamic. Michael
Harris’s work has impressed me for many years and the fascination continues.
 |
M. D. Harris, East Ponce, 2018 |
 |
M. D. Harris, Face to Face, 2005, mixed on
paper This is a reinterpretation of an ad in Parade
Magazine from 2004 |
Stylization is very personal and oft can also be very political given the issues of the eras in which poets live. Who can forget the lyrical, haunting voice of Phyllis Wheatley, or the imagism of Ezra Pound, the confessional poetry of Sylvia Plath, or Langston Hughes for his melodious jazz like rhythms in his poetry, or Walt Whitman for his free verse, and Robert Frost’s profound comprehension of human nature? And then, Maya Angelou, a people’s poet with her dramatic, inspired evocation of the human spirit, or Emily Dickinson, the poet who said it in a few words, many times in paradox, and Alfred Lord Tennyson’s descriptive style and of course Shakespeare’s rhetorical, elaborate metaphors. I would be amiss not to mention Rabindranath Tagore’s great commentary on life and social justice or Pushkin for the use of the ongein stanza, emulated later by Vikram Seth in his novel, The Golden Seth. And my father, Chaman Nahal for his highly rooted imagery of the Indian landscapes in the few poems found in his novels.
In my own
writings, I have experimented over the years with a multitude of styles and
themes. Increasingly, I find myself leaning towards the spoken word, prose
poetry, ekphrastic and surrealist to articulate my emotions and thoughts. For
example, here is one prose poem of mine which is appearing in my forthcoming
third poetry collection (Kelsay Books, August 2021). The book is titled on the
name of this poem. This poem has also been published in FemAsia, April 2021.
I would write every day, all day, all night, if I didn’t have to sleep! Besides my son’s love, poetry is what I thrive on each day. If I don’t write, I feel restless.
Poets are analogous, I believe. Our similarities are more than our differences. Writing styles and words can be varied, diverse and myriad, yet the idea/thought/word inclinations of poets seem quite comparable.
Please feel free to write to me
at, anpriya87@gmail.com with comments,
suggestions and if you would like to be showcased in my thrice yearly column
that coincides with aaduna’s publication schedule.
aaduna - an online adventure with words and images - a globally read, multi-cultural, and diverse online literary and visual arts journal established in 2010.
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