Poet Interview: Sindhu Rajasekaran
Sindhu Rajasekaran is a literary nomad and transgressor of genres. She has published a novel titled Kaleidoscopic Reflections, which was nominated for the Crossword Book Award in India. Her collection of short stories, titled So I Let It Be, was published by Pegasus Publishers, UK. Her latest book of non-fiction, Smashing the Patriarchy – A Guide for the 21st Century Indian Woman, is to be published by the reputed Aleph Book Company. In her work, both fiction and non-fiction, Sindhu explores gender and sexuality, language and landscape, contemporary politics, and existential dilemmas. Sindhu’s poetry has appeared in the Canadian anthologies Very Much Alive and Dance of the Peacock. Her work has also been published in the Room Magazine, Asia Literary Review, The Selkie, Kitaab, Muse India, Bella Caledonia, The Lipstick Politico, The Swaddle, and Condé Nast, among others. Trained as an engineer, Sindhu has a master’s in creative writing from The University of Edinburgh.
When did you become a poet? How did you know it was the right medium for your stories?
I started off writing longer fiction. Poetry crept up on me. Honestly, even now, I’m not entirely sure if what I write is prose or poetry. I convince myself that what I sometimes write on a whimsy is poetry and publish it as such, but it could have passed for prose!
What inspires you to write, and why?
A constant yearning to know. To imagine. To understand why the world is, who I am, and what the people around me feel/want. Mostly I write metafiction. That’s sort of been my focus in my twenties. In my thirties, however, I find that I am writing a lot about sexuality and gender - outside my own personal experience. Women’s stories inspire me. To write fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
What are you working on next/what was your last project, and can you tell us a little about it?
I am currently writing a meta-narrative that melds memoir with fiction. It looks at the ambiguities of motherhood, cultural hybridity, queer love, being and nothingness. There are these various tangents of thought that have been lingering in my mind for many years now. Finally, I feel like the strands all are coming together in this narrative. I can’t tell you more, because I don’t know the story myself. Like a basket, my work comes alive weave by weave.
What are some common themes you see in your own work, and can you tell us why these themes keep reappearing?
In my work, both fiction and non-fiction, I explore gender and sexuality, language and landscape, contemporary politics, and existential dilemmas. I suppose it is because these themes are personal. And the personal is political. Recently, as I said, I have been looking at these ideas in relation to myself and outside myself. True to post-structuralism, I don’t think the “I” can be removed from anything I write. It will always be my point of view, but I’m trying very hard to see outside myself, through other eyes. Much more consciously now than I did in the past.
Do you believe in writer’s block, and how would you deal with it?
Yes, I have gone whole years without writing anything substantial. Over time, I’ve learned to let myself be and not push myself too hard. The words will come when they come. Till then, I wait, religiously noting down every little word or thought that comes to mind, as though it were a prophecy. I collect bits and pieces of prose and poetry that appeal to me. In time, they will come together.
What/who influenced you to become a poet, and how did they inspire you?
Some poets I love are Tishani Doshi, Kamala Dad and Meena Alexander. Their poetry is sharp, deep and porous, all at once.
How many finished books do you have, can you give us some details about them?
I have published three books so far. The first was a novel “Kaleidoscopic Reflections” that told the stories of five generations of a Tamil family. My second book was a collection of edgy short stories titled “So I Let It Be” - that looked into female sexuality, love and loss. My third book “Smashing the Patriarchy” - recently published - is a book of non-fiction that explores the multiple feminisms of India.
What does "good poetry" mean to you, and why?
Good poetry to me is unpretentious. If language is for communication, good poetry is meant to be understood. I like poetry that speaks, not muddles.
What is your revision process like?
I rewrite, edit and re-edit many times. It’s an obsession. I am merciless when I edit. I scrap whole chapters, delete characters, rewrite them till I can think nothing more about it.
What is your writing process like?
Once the words start coming to me, I work like a machine till all the words are typed out. Then I can’t look at what I’ve written for a while. After some distance, I pick up where I left off. I do not come to the table with a set plan or anything, I let my intuitions guide me. When I do write with preconceived plans, I feel like the writing is too “made-up” or deliberate. I don’t like to look deliberate. So then I re-edit!