Need to rise collectively from catastrophes: Sudeep Sen

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 4

Sudeep Sen, one of the most critically acclaimed English poets, spoke about finding inspiration for his latest book, “Anthropocene : Climate change, Contagion, Consolation”, amid the pandemic.

In a conversation with renowned and multiple-award winning poet Ravi Shankar during an online session organised by the Majha House, Sen said solitude he found during the pandemic resulted in penning “Anthropocene”.

“The pandemic had us all living in seclusion. People get depressed because of this forced isolation. We must make the most of it. I relish my solitude. Some days, I just don’t want to step out of my room and stay locked with my thoughts to organise and create poems out of them,” he said.

The pandemic had us all living in seclusion. People get depressed because of this forced isolation. We must make the most of it. I relish my solitude. Some days, I just don’t want to step out of my room and stay locked with my thoughts to organise and create poems out of them. —Sudeep Sen, One of the most critically acclaimed English poet

Sen has given a commentary on sky in a section of his book titled “Skyscapes”, that gives readers a hint of how the pandemic inspired the poet in him. “There was nothing to do during the lockdown except write, read or take photographs. So, I wrote and took photographs. Thankfully, we had access to terrace. I tried to capture different moods and colours of the day in my photographs like Claude Monet,” he said.

His book talks about climate change. “Promoters are the biggest culprits. They have the largest carbon footprints. Countries like America have a separate set of rules for all the other countries, but a completely different for themselves. Capitalist societies promote pollution and all the undesirable things. Because of this idea of global citizenship, my poems deal with the world, and not just India. What happens in one country affects all of us globally. Our problems are common and we have to work towards common solutions. That is why I am talking about climate change and the pandemic. There’s even a haiku about Donald Trump,” he said.

Sen stressed that even though the book is about troubled times, it ends on a note of hope. “For me Sun is a symbol of hope. No matter what happens, no matter how long and dark the night, it always rises. We all must draw inspiration from it. We must rise collectively from catastrophes,” he said.