T.S.Chandra Mouli:  Thanks  for giving this opportunity to converse with you ma’am. How and when did you start writing poetry?

Annie George: I wrote my first poem at twelve, about the Convent I went to in Durgapur, West Bengal, where my love for literature also first grew. In 1985, the International Year of the Youth, I was asked to contest a poetry competition and my poem about ‘Carmel School, My School’ fetched me a certificate to be cherished lifelong. Later on, pieces of poetry would be scribbled on pages of diaries and would be the stuff of greeting cards for friends and relatives. In 2006, my maiden collection, GLADIOLI AND OTHER POEMS, was brought out by Kairali Books, Kannur. In 2009, we brought out an anthology of poems, NEW VOICES, by poets from Kerala. In 2011, I co-edited an anthology, ROOTS AND WINGS, chronicling the poems and profiles of 42 Indian women poets. At the moment, I’m awaiting the publication of 40 short stories of P Surendran, accepted by H&C Books, translated from Malayalam to English by me.

TSCM: Please tell us something about your childhood and studies.

AG: I grew up in an eclectic environment listening to Tagore and Bengali in my neighbourhood, dialogues with my friends in Hindi, Malayalam at home, and of course English at school. I lived in a colony among friends and neighbours from almost all the states of the country. Even as a student in the 8th std, I fell in love with literature. Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Graham Greene and all the writers whom I learnt in school inspired me to take up literature and language studies in future. 

Later on, my father retired from service and we left the North for South India, to my ancestral place in Kerala. I took to post graduate studies in Literature at St.Berchmans’ College and took part in as many literary events as possible, I loved participating in Youth Festivals, especially poetry, short story and essay writing competitions apart from quiz, painting and dance items, where above winning was a thirst for keeping my creative clock ticking. Probably, that was also one reason for being awarded the KALATHILAKAM title given to artists who bag the highest number of points in various events, while I did my Bachelor in Education at Titus II Teacher’s College. It was history of sorts, as it was probably a rare first for a winner being given the title for literary events. 

TSCM: What are your concerns as a poet, ma’am?

AG: Quite often, poetry is related to pain. A pain felt deep in the heart and mind. I have turned to poetry as a therapeutic release of hurt feelings, especially those which cannot be conveyed/expressed to a close friend/relative. At times, it maybe related to the death, departure, distance of a dear one as in ‘Gladioli’, or a friend as in ‘For Aparna’, or a brother as in ’Fraternal  Aches’. At other times, it is the need to express one’s anxieties about a social evil as child labour in ‘The Little Chain Seller’, or the inability to express it as in, ‘The Solace of Silence’.

Nostalgia and nature find their place in between, but primarily it is my concern for the human being that surfaces most of the time. 

TSCM: What perceptible influences are there on your poetry?

AG: Broadly speaking, there are two sides to this question that comes to mind. First is the external surrounding in which I grew up and continue to do so now. The varied cultural/social milieu provided me with the life blood I needed to express, and in a language that had the power to unite all the tongues (poetry, I believe has this power). My thoughts are Indian, but my expression of them, English. Second, my family members were all lovers of literature, art and music. The love for rhythm runs in our blood. I learnt the classical form, Bharatanatyam ( I put my experience to use while translating Dr. Ayyappa Paniker’s poem, Bhagavathy Kunjamma’s Bharatanatyam  too) before I realized this connectivity between all major forms of art. I have mentioned all these in the poetics, ‘My Silent Art’ in NEW VOICES, 2009. This love for rhythm, colour and diversity of culture can be seen in my poems ( ‘Durga and Kathakali’, ’Jatra’, ’Gladioli’, ‘Cosmopolitan Classroom’). The reader also gets to see frames of the Indian countryside in many of the poems.

TSCM: Do you feel social consciousness or ideological approach are necessary for a poet? Could you elaborate?

AG: No, I do not believe that these factors are essential for being a poet, but am of the opinion that a successful poet will have conveyed his philosophy through his art of expression. It is the tools he employs to narrate his thought process/lines like rhythm, rhyme, imagery, symbols, satire, etc. that make his poetry attractive.

TSCM: How do you employ images and symbols in your poetry?

AG: Most of the times, images and symbols are used subconsciously. They merge with the theme and emotion of a particular poem. Sometimes, they come spur-of-the-moment (as in ‘Lightning’). Nearing thirty years of writing poetry, we may be able to distinguish three major phases in all. In the first decade, as a student, I have been able to use many forms of poetic technique as quatrain, sonnet, free verse, haiku and even limerick as in ‘Mud-slinging.’ Experiments were more with the form rather than the theme. Then, in the next phase, poetry became subjective. Marriage, love, nostalgia, nature, death, fear, pain have all become subjects for serious compositions. Elegies and odes find their place in my heart. Poetry became an intrinsic need. Later on, poetry has become subtle, satire has been a comfortable mode where correction of a social evil becomes difficult. Has philosophy set in?...Poetry has become a regular phenomenon as the calendar days.

TSCM: What are the recurring themes and images , Sir? Could you give a few examples, please?

AG: Interestingly, and honestly, I do not think there are recurring images.  You can find the myriad human nature to be a recurring theme in my collections. 

“…You are never lonely if you have a sister.”
- Between Sisters

“Together, they analyse, the anatomy of the infant.”
- All in the Family

“One signal…
- The Man at the Unmanned Level Cross

“Truth brings you a thousand friends
Lies leave you lonely.”
- The Truth about Lies

“Boiling milk is a day’s planner…”
- Boiling Milk

“My sweetest smiles are those that tell of my saddest thoughts.”
- Smile Please

“Breaking a coconut is a fine way to de-stress.”
- DE-Stressing

“When thoughts gnaw at finding fault with the other…”
- Mirror

TSCM: Do you feel poetry festivals or meets promote poetic creativity? Are they relevant at all?

AG: Poetry Meets, Mushairas and festivals have been in vogue for quite a long period and they are integral in promoting peace and harmony apart from poetic creativity. They are relevant and lend meaning to nations torn apart by war and civilian strife. Many of the themes we have written upon are of universal relevance. Poetry festivals are of special meaning to students/lovers of literature, especially where they get to hear poets in person. Personally, I find them more interesting and lively than seminars/literary meetings, where  writers are more talked about. 

TSCM: As a poet what is your view of the prevailing scenario?

AG: Poetry, with its affinity to truth, has been falsely believed to have fewer fans compared to fiction. Critics no more glorify it the way it was once. But that has not deterred us from reading/writing, has it?. In fact, I know so many young IT professionals who turn to writing serious poetry. With the advent of the web, countless e-journals and e-zines have served the purpose. Poetry that is born of a sincere heart and mind will always withstand the test of time.

TSCM: What are the trends you could notice in post-independence Indian English poetry? Which trends have gained ground now? What is conspicuous now?

AG: Gone are the days one could see poems in the form of well measured rows/lines of rhyming verses. Free verse seems to be a favoured choice among poets. Haiku is popular too.

TSCM: What is you prognosis about Indian English poetry?

AG: It is quite encouraging and many voices from all corners of our country are heard. Print and online magazines are offering good space and motivating the talented as always. A large number of books are flooding the market. Who will last and what trends continue time alone will decide.

TSCM: Thank you ma’am for sparing your precious time and sharing your views.

AG: My pleasure, sir.