Duke Today just posted an article discussing the BorderWork(s) Humanities Labs and interviewing Robin Kirk, my advisor. The article includes a couple of audio clips of me reading two of my poems “Durham” and “After Abeyei” to the right of the text.
Here’s the article in Duke Today:
At the beginning of A New Geography of Poets is a quote that I find quite meaningful in light of my year of writing. The quote is as follows:
“There always was a relationship between poet and place. Placeless poetry, existing in the non-geography of ideas, is a modern invention and not a very fortunate one.” -Archibald MacLeish
This collection of poetry is organized thoughtfully and unconventionally; the compilers and editors, Charles Stetler, Edward Field, and Gerald Locklin organize the poetry in accordance with where the poets live. In the introduction, the editors explain their motivations for compiling the collection, writing, “It is not our interest to settle for mere landscape poetry but to choose poems that reveal the spirit of the place and of the poet, aiming for a balance between inner and outer geography” (xvii). This intention behind the collection aligns almost exactly with the direction of my exploration of the relationship between poetry and poet this semester. Last semester, I began to think about how to write on the topic of walls and borders, mainly in the context of social divisions. What followed was a period of more serious contemplation about the significance of place in poetry, whether real or imaginary, foreign or familiar to the poet. In particular, the idea of internal landscapes began to fascinate me as I considered how to write about the human experience. While not many of the poets openly draw a connection between inner and outer landscapes, this collection admirably highlights the connection between poet and the places about which they write, allowing unspoken parallels between human being and landscape to come into focus.
Best of Faiz Ahmed Faiz (2011) by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz’s work, translated from its original Urdu into English brings with it a sense of honesty and richly visceral language. While I often hesitate to read translations of a poet’s work simply because some of the rhythm and sounds are inevitably lost in translations, Faiz’s work often seems to transcend the boundaries of language. As I look to shape my own writing style and poetic voice, I find myself particularly drawn to the manner in which Faiz’s personal life mingles with his philosophical and existential musings in his poetry. Faiz’s poem “The Subject of Poetry” perhaps demonstrates this coexistence of themes most aptly. He writes:
“On every side stand high walls on constant guard
Behind which is buried the youth of countless men and women,
On every side are seen the burial ground of dreams
That illumin the minds of millions till today…
These are, and there must be many such subjects more…
But her softly opening lips
And her body’s bewitching curves
Work a magic unbelievable….
These are the subject of my verse,
The haunts of a poet’s mind,
And nothing else.”
Not only is this poem fascinating in the way that it shifts theme so quickly and unapologetically, but I also find it quite encouraging as a writer. So often, I find myself intending to write about a particular topic and then writing about something else altogether. This shift in subject matter can even prove a bit embarrassing; I find myself moving toward a notion of poetry as the vehicle for solemn and well-formulated musings on the human experience and the richness of life and I suddenly discover in the midst of writing that I am putting down on paper an experience that most readers would find far from serious or even eloquent. Faiz reminds me that there is a place for poetry that speaks of simple thoughts and the distractions, joys, and occurrences of the personal life. In fact, he reminds me that these “less profound” moments are often the most relatable and perhaps even the most personally relevant for many readers.