poetry — Conversational Portraits

Yeah it has, because for instance I signed up for my writing nature module, and so I had to do nature writing, and I am not a person who is very close to nature, I would say. So, it was like walking around noting things down- it has helped a lot and also helped my mental wellbeing as such. And this piece I wrote near Christmas when the Christmas lights were coming on. So, it’s like, back in India we have a festival of lights, Diwali, where the lights go on most houses and buildings. I was seeing all these photos from my friends and relatives, and here I saw the Christmas lights- I was kind of drawing parallels.

Swarnim AgrawalGuest UserMay 19, 2023conversational portraits, poetry, nonfiction, interview

In Conversation with Molly Arabella Kirk

MAK: One big influence is Sylvia Plath. […] I love how she can make the mundane into something haunting and beautiful, and that’s what I really try to do with my own work. Sometimes I’ll talk about something that you’d do in everyday life — I literally wrote a poem about biting my nails — and I thought, this is kind of Plath-esque, because she can just take something you do everyday, something overlooked, and turn it into something darker and more thought-provoking. From there, it can become a metaphor for something else.

Guest UserJune 10, 2022conversational portraits, creative process, poetry, interview