Limited poetry readership a big issue, believes English poet Mohineet Kaur Boparai

A research scholar at Punjabi University, Patiala, Mohineet Kaur Boparai, who teaches English literature at DAV University, Jalandhar, has authored four poetry books. Starting her career in professional poetry writing in 2007, her work has been nominated for Pushcart Prize – a very important award for English literature in the USA – twice in 2014 and 2015. She considers herself one of those privileged people who got immense support from her family to pursue her hobby and then profession as a poetry writer. In an interaction with The Tribune correspondent Gagandeep Singh, Mohineet Kaur Boparai unravels the myriad aspects of her journey as a poetry writer.

When did you start feeling that you should start writing poetry professionally?

My husband has a very key role to play in making me a poet. I started writing poetry largely at the same time when I met him for the first time in 2007. That was when I took up writing poetry more professionally. Sometimes, he gives me certain ideas about what to write. Though he is not a poet, his sense of observing life has also helped me in evolving as a poet. I got married to him in 2012.

When did you get your firstbook published?

It was published in 2007 with the title “Poems That Never Were”. That was largely an experimental work. I wrote that poetry when I was pursuing my last year in BA. I wasn’t really mature as a person and a mature poet at that time. Every poetry has different forms of voice. Very unstable voices are found in my first book. However, I found my individual voice when I wrote my second and third books. To find your individual voice, you have to first read a lot. In the beginning, you copy other authors’ voice. Gradually, you find your way of writing, way to see things and your way of putting them into expression.

Which sphere of life does your poetry express the most?

My best poems are love poems. That is what I feel and that is what my readers feel. Even my love poems are philosophical. I always try to make some meaning of what life is all about. When you make meaning of life, you obviously try to philosophise about it. There aren’t really rebellious poems I have written.

What inspired you to express your innermost feelings through poetry only instead of other mediums of storytelling?

I think there are different ways of observing the world and every writing basically comes from some sort of the need to understand. How it operates? What are the processes that go onto make life? So to understand these processes, there are so many different kinds of mediums and subjects. I am basically a student of literature. I have some idea about which is the best way to express which kind of knowledge. In prose, you have to go by a plot and you reach that knowledge through that plot and narration. But I am basically an observer. When I write, I first observe something and if there is something amiss in my observation, something incomplete, I embark on writing a poem. For me, it becomes complete through poetry and not through prose.

Did you face any kind of hurdles initially to pursue your hobby and then profession as a poet?

Everyone was just after me to opt for medical field when I was in class 10. I got very good marks in 10th, yet I opted for arts. I felt this is what I like doing. People need to understand that whatever you are best at, you should do that. Basically that was first difficulty that I found. Then other difficulty is very few people read poetry. There are people who read prose and novels. But very few people read poetry. The poetry most of the people like is simple poetry, whereas my poetry, you’ll find, is a little complex. Limited readership has always been a big issue.

Have your parents been supportive?

They introduced me to a lot of books in my early life like fairy tales, Arabian Nights and bed-time stories of different genre. They bombarded me with a variety of books. During my summer vacation, I would have a pile of books that actually helped me a lot in becoming what I am today. They have been a very great inspiration in my life. Both my parents are geography professors in Patiala which basically helped me as a poet as I was exposed to the subject at a very early age and there are so many geographical images you will find in my poetry. My poetry is full of geography and biology. I started liking that subject. You might find images of pinnacle or eroded mountains.

Is there any new poetry project in the pipeline?

I am writing another poetry book that has multi-coloured observations. I am trying to find what a tree means actually. When I see a tree standing there, what does it mean to me and to world? When you observe the cycle of life growing from a baby to teenager to adult to old persons, how does that process go on? These sorts of observations will be taken in the next book as I am basically a poet of perception.

Is there any particular poet you followed in your life?

I have got influenced by many poets. The very first poet to impress me was Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska, then Austrian poet George Trakl, Pablo Neruda, John Donne and Keats.