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Poet Spotlight on: Sakshi Narula

Sakshi Narula is a poet, author and an artist from India who lives in Muscat, Oman. She is the author of four poetry collections and also a spoken word artist. Her words center around love, loss, healing, grief and femininity. Some of her poems have been featured in the Survival Anthology by Magesoul Publishing, From One Line Anthology, Book One by Kobayaashi Studios and in Yellow by Yellow Penguin NYC.

I have been reading Sakshi’s poetry for a couple of years now, and she is incredibly gifted. Her poetry is the kind you can find yourself immersed in for hours and not even notice the passing of time. It surpasses the standard of contemporary poetry and should be recognized for its unique and profound style.

Sakshi, your poetry book is unlike any I’ve seen before, and your poems are so refreshingly different from a lot of what we see on social media. Where do you get your inspiration? Have you ever been compared to any other poets? If so, who? If not, who are some of your favorite poets and why?

I have been through a lot of ups and downs like any other person. My writing is a reflection of the things that happened in my life in some form or another. Music and books have always been my steady companions and have inspired a lot of my work too. Yes, I have been compared to a lot of poets in certain reviews purely because I write love poetry and poetry that centers around loss and heartbreak. It would be really boastful of me to state their names so I am going to refrain from doing that, but it has been rather overwhelming and flattering. To answer your last question, my favorite poets are Ada Limon, Andrea Gibson, Sharon Olds, Pablo Neruda, Wendy Cope, Leonard Cohen, to name a few.

When did you begin writing poetry and what was the process like?

I started writing poetry seriously around five years ago. I used to be a blogger and used to ghost write articles before that. It was really surprising to me how organic the process of poetry writing was for me. It was like being in a second skin, like I was meant to do this. I always say poetry found me and helped me heal when I needed it the most. It almost always would start with a line and I would spend hours building and rebuilding a poem obsessively. There are days I would be surprised at how I even ended up writing something that I actually liked reading. In that sense, it has helped me realise that this is a gift, that it has the power to comfort another and I need to use that gift in the best possible way.

How important is revising to you and your writing? Which pieces end up needing the most revisions? Why?

It is extremely important. I think to add layers to your poems, you need to be meticulous with editing and revising. That is what separates a good poet from a great poet. For me, it is going through every line and every word to make sure it is essential to the poem as a whole. Most pieces that are long form and usually poems that I use for spoken word require the most revisions. There needs to be a flow, a rhythm, the ebbs and the flows, the crescendo in the end, a punch in the gut, a feeling that remains with the reader, that takes the most effort.

What subjects are absolutely off-limits to write about?

I don’t write about mental health. I did try, but it takes a lot out of me to write about my struggle with depression and anxiety. I don’t write about certain aspects of my life because it brings a lot of things to surface.

What is your favorite poem? (Of another poet’s? Of your own?)

My favorite poem by me is 41 , A Love Poem To Me. Of another poet… True Love by Sharon Olds, Maybe I Need You by Andrea Gibson

You ask fascinating questions on social media – ones that challenge your readers and fellow authors/poets to think outside of the box. How important do you think it is to think outside of the box as a poet? Do you ever use your fans’ answers as a jumping off point for a poem? If so, what question was it that inspired the poem?

Never really used any answers from Twitter for a poem, but they definitely make for great conversations. It has been fun interacting with writers and readers from all walks of life and countries. It’s beautiful how art and writing connects us all on a very basic human level. More than thinking outside the box, I feel a poet needs to own their voice. Writing to fit a mould on social media or to be able to sell more books can rob one of their authenticity.

Do you have any writing rituals? What are they?

Not really. I haven’t been writing much after I wrote House Of Stars And Flowers On Mars. Maybe it is just a phase. I write when the words find me. I do keep making notes during day if a beautiful line or idea for a poem comes up in my head. When I am writing I do keep going through those ideas.

I know some poets require complete silence when they write, others want ambient noise, and there are some who write to music. What kinds of sounds do you find it easiest to write to? Or none at all?

I enjoy writing with music in the background. I just can’t write with people talking continuously around me. I have my own writing playlists and I play them and write.

What is something you’re afraid of?

I am afraid of losing the people I love and I think that is pretty universal. As a writer I am afraid of not ever having one shining moment with my poetry. But that is what keeps me working on my craft. I just think the only way I won’t accomplish anything is by giving up and I am pretty strong-willed not to give poetry or my ambitions up.

Why do you write poetry?

I started writing because I was in pain and poetry was my safe place, a way to turn that pain into art, a creative release. Now I write because I want to be understood, to be heard and I want to make sense of this world we live in. I always believe there is a poet for everyone, there is a poem in the world that can understand and comfort you, no matter what you may be going through. Poetry is for everyone. So I write because someone may find their comfort in my words and feel seen and not feel stupid for feeling something. Even if there is one person who doesn’t feel alone after reading a poem of mine or my book, then I think it’s important for me to continue writing.

Where can readers find you?

http://twitter.com/mssakshinarula

https://www.instagram.com/mssakshinarula/

https://sakshinarula.com/

41: A LOVE POEM TO ME…

41, I tear open a song like it’s a gift,
a birthday present from Lana, Morrison or Lennon
I dig their hearts out
from the graves in their words,
soothe the scars, 41 scars on mine
and sing it out loud, with a mouthful of wine
Blink once and I was 10 and blink twice and I’m 41
41, I think, maybe ten years or 14 more to go,
I bought a boxful of watercolors
and I haven’t learned how to make
watercolor paintings yet.
I have a book about kitchen gardening
and don’t know what needs to be planted yet.
Blessed kitchen garden.
Blessed kitchen, blessed garden, blessed home.
Yes, I have been blessed with love,
knock the wind out of me love,
my body hurts, soaked to the bone love.
Blessed with a lover,
the man of my dreams and angel baby souls,
2 playing in the backyard
and 2 in heaven at the end of the rainbow.
They grow, they smile, they laugh, they glow
and they keep me alive,
away from the darkness and never let me go.
But my nightmares are made of the mountain of dishes
in the kitchen’s unholy sink,
no friends to cherish, no friends to ring.
I turn a blind eye like they don’t exist
and think about strawberries and tomatillos,
and rosemary and habaneros,
the bath salts and the collagen I need,
about the dark chocolate cake,
the beautiful shoulder of lamb in the fridge,
and the crimson sunset today at 41 at my feet.
Yes, I have nowhere to go, nowhere to be
I mute everything, the phone, the world, the
unkempt hair and organic white sheets.
For I will not be as young as I am today,
as pretty as I am today,
as unashamed and unapologetic than I have ever been.
I built a home of poems and a kiln of all the stars in
my heart,
a home in the middle of wheat fields
41 bricks on the fireplace for 41 poets
who kept me warm on the nights I weeped.
What would Bukowski say about my poems I wonder?
Am I a comfortable poet or someone from the street?
I write my story like it’s everyone’s story,
and everyone’s in it, sonder!
41, Sonder is my favorite word from The Dictionary of
Obscure Sorrows, from any dictionary ever.
41, I reflect on the triumphs of all my yesterdays and
the ones to happen tomorrow.
Let me be your woman on love’s landscape,
the slow burn of a song on a cold night,
the blurring bokeh of city lights.
Let me fix your ribs like I fixed mine,
life broke us all differently but broke it did
And so, I poet at 41,
I send you a verse dipped in the smell of rain on a hot
summer day,
dipped in love from my brave undying heart,
and light from a thousand burning dreams in my eyes.
41, smug, the coffee and I are so hot I laugh
I resist, I fight,
I switch on the table lamp and write.

-Sakshi Narula

Isabelle Palerma

Poet Spotlight on: Jimmy Broccoli

Jimmy Broccoli is a Library Branch Manager by day and a published poet by night with a mission to inspire his readers through imaginative poetic storytelling. His work has been featured in several publications and he released his first full-length book, “Damaged”, on Christmas Day 2021 and compiled the poetry anthology, “Spotlight”, released in March 2022. He enjoys walks on the beach and playing with puppies.

His poetry is raw and tells a story. When you read Broccoli’s poetry, you can feel the emotion of each poem as though you had written it yourself. His poems cut through you like the serrated edge of a knife and don’t hold anything back.

What does poetry mean to you?

I’m a narrative poet, so poetry – for me – is a way to tell stories. Sometimes I write autobiographical poems, sometimes I write fictional accounts – and, often, I write pieces that dwell somewhere in the middle of the two. Much of my writing deals with grief, raw emotions, loss, and death – so poetry, for me, is often a car crash – stories bleeding onto paper or across a computer screen, staining the carpet below. Poetry allows me to express what I would normally keep quiet or secret – it allows me to breathe life into the otherwise unanimated.

When did you begin writing poetry and what has your writing journey been like?

I began writing poetry at age 12 – but didn’t find my “poetic voice” until my early 20s. As an English major at University, I took an upper-level Modern Poetry class and fell in love with confessional poetry – Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Stevie Smith, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and others. My poetic style continues to be heavily influenced by the confessional poets of the mid-1900s.

Whose poetry would you say influences you most? In what ways has it influenced you?

In addition to the modern confessional poets, my poetry is heavily influenced by music – mostly alternative. The lyrics of Nine Inch Nails, Keaton Henson, Morrissey, and Sigur Ros have been more influential upon my writing than the work of other poets. All of these musical artists write highly emotional, powerful, and raw lyrics – exposing the often strange, dangerous, rebellious, extreme, and dark sides of life. It is within this world I usually write. I keep a flashlight handy.

What is your favorite thing about writing poetry?

Poetry, for me, is the escape hatch behind the bedroom closet that opens into a world similar to ours – but more magical and poetic. Writing as Jimmy, I get the opportunity to be someone else for short periods, while still clinging on to my regular identity and life. It’s often thrilling – and a lot of fun.

What is your least favorite thing about writing poetry?

As a side effect of writing raw, emotional verse, the process of writing a poem can take me out of living for several hours or an entire day. When I write very personal poems, usually filled with painful emotions, I become mentally crippled – it’s much like having a temporary mental meltdown – but knowing it will soon be okay. I go through this until my mind tells me, “Hey, it’s time to function again”. Then, I get up and continue with my day.

Tell me about it. It’s an exhausting process writing an emotionally charged poem. What’s your process like?

I never block off or schedule time to write – ideas come to me and – if I like the ideas – I find the nearest pen and paper or computer and begin writing. For me, editing is a constant phase of the writing process – I edit while writing the initial draft and will revisit the piece to edit for the next day or two. I read every line dozens of times – and every time I make a change, I begin reading the poem from the beginning. On average, the initial draft of a poem takes me 2 – 4 hours to write – while the extra editing time can be fairly short (30 minutes) or take a few hours to complete.

As mentioned above, the writing process – for me – can be a painful one – but it is also therapeutic. Writing is a way for me to shed my demons and get out the emotions that have built up over the years. Writing is a release for me.

Who would you have over for lunch of your literary heroes/heroines and what would you serve? What food and which drinks? Why? What would you talk about over the meal?

Well – if musicians who write beautiful lyrics can be considered, I’d invite singer Jón Þór Birgisson (Jonsi), from Sigur Ros, over for lunch. No other writer, from my experience, reaches the epic emotional states Jonsi brings to music and verse.

Both Jonsi and I are vegan – Jonsi is a raw food vegan – so I’d prepare a large vegan platter that included fruits, vegetables, and nuts or bring a Raw Food Pistachio Zucchini Lasagna. A picnic in the park would be nice. I’d bring a sauvignon blanc (white wine) for me and bring whatever he prefers for him. I’m certain we’d talk about him throughout the meal. He’s a fascinating guy and I know I’d learn volumes from him. He is a hero of mine and spending any time with him would be a high honor.

How has poetry changed you?

Poetry has made me more community-minded. I love being a part of the worldwide poetry community and am a member of a good number of poetry groups online. These relationships – often leading to friendships – inspire my writing and are very enjoyable.

Where can readers find you?

https://amzn.to/3x6o0IP

http://www.jimmybroccoli.com

Broken God

His unshaven posture weakens
He wilts into my arms as if we’re dancing
A delicate dandelion stem exposed to hurricanes
A falling toaster into bathwater
With bubbles

He is crumpled paper and smeared ink
Downturned blue eyes
With confidence hung from rope
Swinging from unstable rafters
Looking down upon a chair with faded and expired paint

I build a fort

Marmalade bed sheets surround his symphony
In stillness, I pronounce him king
Fluffy life rafts in pillowcases
Mix-matched blankets and couch cushions
He sits in silence, thinking only in whispers

With evaporated tears, he falls asleep, handsome
I hold my breath, then exhale diamonds
My emotions spill upon the floor
As I listen to him breathing
-Jimmy Broccoli

Isabelle Palerma

A Shattered Autobiography: a Poem

Like collaging layers of parchment paper
on top of one another,
I have buried myself underneath a rubble
of trauma.

Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon
or a phoenix rising from the ashes,
I am discovering my autobiography
stencilled between lines of poetry

and fiction

and fire.

Every word I scribble down in a mad haste
is a frantic attempt to name a feeling
that is beyond words.
(My way of sketching the rocket ship
that will guide me back to my galaxy.)

The sanitized version of reality
goes down as smoothly as cyanide – a bitter pill,
but somehow, something I’m forced to swallow,
nonetheless.
I see myself in the paint splatters &
the little messes she was so eager to take
a damp rag to.

(This is an imperfect work of art –
lines crooked and acrylics splashed
out of bounds.
This is not something that will catch the eye
of an art dealer.

This is my little mistake on canvas,
but you see,
that inked-in star is home for me.)

I have spent lifetimes, hiding underneath
piles of paper, dodging who I could have been,
avoiding who I could be,
but the truth is

I could be amazing
if you bend the bars of this iron cage.
I could be unstoppable
if you listen to these memoirs,
read these poems,
study these paintings.

When you finally ask who I am,
I’ll tell you.
I’m in media res,
still in the progress of self-discovery,
but I swear, even in the shattered mosaic bits,
I can shimmer.

I, too, can shine.

& perhaps that’s because of your belief in mirrors
that I can see the vestiges of beauty
glittering through the shards others neglected
and left behind.

Isabelle Palerma

An Illness: a Poem

A poem written by me, inspired to share by the poet and author, Nicole Lee (@nicoleleepoetry|Scorpio Skin).

This monster reigns as king,
as heavy as an anvil
(as visible as air).

It begs a fight,
fists clenched,
battle-scarred and ready,
when all I’ve wanted is
tranquility.
The bruises it leaves
rot
from the inside out.

The pain sears,
yet the beast hides
(cloaked in shadows).

It might lie dormant
for centuries.
Undisturbed,
it slumbers.
But when it wakes,
blood trickles from its fangs
as it snarls & seethes.
(Searching for a captive.)

It takes & holds me hostage.
It is as toxic as fumes and as haunting as nightmares.

Isabelle Palerma

Global Poetry Writing Month

April is Global Poetry Writing Month, and as a poet, I thought it’d be fun to start my blog by interviewing some of the interesting poets I have met over the years.

There are so many great word artists out there who haven’t been discovered yet, and I’m hoping to use this space to share their thoughts, ideas, and poems with you.

This month, I will be featuring:

FH Denny
Dlvan Zirak
Brandan T.C. McCarty
LowKey
Carlene Gist

I hope you enjoy these poets as much as I do!