NEW DELHI, January 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
At a seminar on new writing in New Delhi on 22 January, Delhi based activist-poet Shaleen Rakesh spoke about the growing genre of queer literature in India. Speaking at the India Habitat Center, Shaleen emphasised why it's important to recognise the value of marginal voices from communities. He said, "Queer literature is a language used to reflect queer sensibilities which is an experience that covers all aspects of modern living." Shaleen recently published his first volume of queer poetry titled 'The Lion and the Antler'.
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The book publisher, Rajat Vashisht from World View Publications said at the event, "The accessibility of Shaleen's queer poetry is a sign of respect for the reader. The poems do not turn in and round upon themselves, in glorification of their own form, but make a fraternal gesture toward the reader. The purpose of his love poems is to communicate, to share feelings and the joys of perception through music. Shaleen frequently uses the word 'naked' while describing his poetry, like the lover's body the poet's language 'simplifies itself' in its bareness. The banishment of excesses and eccentricities of style helps the poet to reach a wide audience."
Shaleen usually relies on a basic vocabulary, one in common usage. We are not distracted by the words of Shaleen's poetry and therefore through their combinations words are free to deliver up the poems' incantatory power. Incantation in Shaleen's poems is achieved exclusive of and inspite of the meaning of the words. Shaleen retains only their incantatory power. Thus he forms around the words a sort of diffuse halo, their contours are rainbowed.
"Even in their incantations, the poet's statements are direct, written with the rhythm of speech or song, conveyed in the syntax of the ordinary sentence. The transparent clarity of Shaleen's poetry and the apparent ease of his style are linked to his attitude towards poetry and society. Shaleen believes in the dictum that 'poetry must be made by all, not by one'. The revolutionary power of poetry is that it enables us to share the world in language. The solitude and alienation of the poet are a thing of the past," Vashisht added.
Poetry has no actuality, flesh and blood for Shaleen, until the moment when there is reciprocity, when the reader and the poet are equally content with their lives. Shaleen's seeking to make his poetry clearer to the reader through a common form corresponds to his strengthened political commitment as a human rights activist.
The book is an important milestone for the evolution of queer literature in the country.
About the Publisher:
Worldview Publications is an imprint of the Worldview Collective, an independent and progressive media collective which provides space for artists and writers who challenge the status quo.
Primary Media Contact: Rajat Mehra, [email protected], 91-9801856058
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