Beyond the Verse: Understanding the Art of Poetry
On 8th January, Expressions: The Creative Writing Society of LSR, in collaboration with the English Literary Association and Jabberwhock, LSR conducted a poetry workshop. Beyond the Verse: Understanding of the Art of Poetry was headed by alumni of LSR and recipient of QMUL Wasafiri New Writing Prize for Poetry, Dipanjali Pal.
The session began with an ice-breaker round, where Pal recollected her college days, followed by a formal introduction to the fundamentals of poetry, including the voice, structure and flow. She opted for more of a personal approach to what it means to write poetry for yourself versus poetry that is meant to be marketable.
The workshop was mainly centered on the do and don'ts of writing poetry. Pal explained the need to write about disjunctive things in one's life, anachronism in poetry, and poetry that makes one step out of their comfort zone. She instructed her audience to extensively read their own poetry, and why it was important to make sure to not mirror the writing style of one's idol. Poetry comes from within; and imitation defeats the purpose. Poetry is also about chaos, and chaos is not bound by the need to make the words rhyme.
Pal read out her own poems The Eighteenth Brumaire and Safarnama and elaborated on the need to read extensively to find inspiration. She spoke of how poetry is about a journey with the poet inside the poem, and how important it is for poetry to be cathartic but also something more.
The speaker also touched upon poetry as a profession, and the financial insecurity that comes with it. Something that resonates with the poet may not align with the views and ethics of journals that publish poems. Thus, it is necessary to spend time with your work, and treat poetry not just as an experience, but also as a discipline.
Hereafter, Pal opened the floor to the audience and a brief interactive session was arranged where enthusiastic viewers shared their own poetry before the workshop drew to a close.
The session began with an ice-breaker round, where Pal recollected her college days, followed by a formal introduction to the fundamentals of poetry, including the voice, structure and flow. She opted for more of a personal approach to what it means to write poetry for yourself versus poetry that is meant to be marketable.
The workshop was mainly centered on the do and don'ts of writing poetry. Pal explained the need to write about disjunctive things in one's life, anachronism in poetry, and poetry that makes one step out of their comfort zone. She instructed her audience to extensively read their own poetry, and why it was important to make sure to not mirror the writing style of one's idol. Poetry comes from within; and imitation defeats the purpose. Poetry is also about chaos, and chaos is not bound by the need to make the words rhyme.
Pal read out her own poems The Eighteenth Brumaire and Safarnama and elaborated on the need to read extensively to find inspiration. She spoke of how poetry is about a journey with the poet inside the poem, and how important it is for poetry to be cathartic but also something more.
The speaker also touched upon poetry as a profession, and the financial insecurity that comes with it. Something that resonates with the poet may not align with the views and ethics of journals that publish poems. Thus, it is necessary to spend time with your work, and treat poetry not just as an experience, but also as a discipline.
Hereafter, Pal opened the floor to the audience and a brief interactive session was arranged where enthusiastic viewers shared their own poetry before the workshop drew to a close.
Written by Shreya Das