1. Yours seems to be a poetry which has to do much with spirituality, life and nature. Why, and how do you react to such a statement?
Being a poet, I feel that poetry encompasses with subjects around it. To be precise, poetry can never ever be detached from the pragmatic world, no matter how imaginary it may be. India as we know is well embellished with all these facets i.e. spirituality, life, as well as nature. How can I not praise these features??
2. You choose to express yourself in simple English, yet a language which goes directly to the heart and soul. What does Saptarshi Dutt say about this?
To me, “poetry is a spontaneous outflow of your feelings”. It should be written in a clear, precise, and lucid manner, which will find the place of commoners even in their unconscious mind. A good poem is like writing a good letter. If one cannot communicate its feelings in a simple manner, then others will not realize the thrust area / intention of his writing. Likewise, a master poet never intends to write his / her thoughts in a convoluted manner, which will go above the heads of common persons. As a fact, a poet will always try to explicit his feelings in a simple manner so that it captures the heart of persons….so that they can realize “his” thoughts, passion, opinion, belief, pains, dreams, visualization and so on.
3. What do you think about poetry which uses a complex language and imagery? Do you think poetry should be written for art's sake, or does it also have to have a positive message?
Good question…Poetry is basically a personal thing. You can never have a uniform or universal rule to it. That’s why poetry is probably the toughest segment to sell in the commercial market.
As far your question, I think there is nothing wrong if one uses a complex language so long as it conveys a meaningful / definite message within it. Even poets and legendary figures like Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Edison at times, used intricate vocabulary to express their thoughts. But it conveyed a message, which even now occupies the heart of us.
4. Who is Saptarshi Dutt and how does he spend a normal day?
Mr. Saptarshi Dutt is a poet, essayist, and a writer… Besides he is pursuing Law [5th year] after completing his graduate course from Calcutta University --- one of the University in India. He has had a bright academic career all along. Also, he has a deep passion for literature and he loves contributing to various journals, magazines, national newspapers etc. Mr. Dutt is lucky to get appreciation from many eminent personalities in India like Shri Jayanta Mahaprabha, Mr. Pronob K. Majumdar, Smt. Nabaneeta Dev Sen and others. He has been cordially invited many times to recite poems in various seminars and poetry forums. To add a feather, he has started editing a Magazine “Mirror of Times” comprising writings of many renowned figures.
For more information on Mr. Saptarshi Dutt, please visit
www.saptarshidutt.blogspot.com 5. Some say that every human being has the poet inside him. Others believe that one is born a poet. What do you think about this, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of being a poet?I feel everyone has his/her own dreams, aspirations, passions, warmth, thoughts, and expressions, pains, sufferings deep inside their heart. The greatest part of a poet is to pen down his thoughts on a blank slate which will convey its meaning to others. Whether every human being has a poet inside him, or one is born as a poet is indeed a matter of debacle. It is believed that brain of genious like Rabindranath Tagore who won the first Nobel from India was a poet from his very childhood when he first wrote a poem at the age of 6years. There lay others like Prantik Kanjilal, Satyajit Ray, who began writing comparatively at the later years, yet they have secured a permanent bench in writing.
To the next part of your question, I feel that the disadvantages of being a poet are heavier than its advantages. It is mostly because poetry in itself is the toughest segment to be sold at market. It requires plenty of resources, market planning, and initiativeness from publishers, contractors, readers, book sellers guild, and requires a systematic planning to have a consistent “selling”. It is mostly because of this that even the great writers of modern time like Shri Sunil Gangopadhya, Smt. Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Mr. Jayanta Mahaprabha, Shri Joygoswami, Mr. Ananda Hazra and so on had to fancy their chances and have a go at fiction, short stories, novels etc. which is more marketable at modern market.
6. According to Saptarshi Dutt what are the elements which make a true poet?
I understand that the good poem happens when it expresses beauty, inspiration, emotion and noble feelings in the reader, mainly when not only expressed a language of content lyrical or emotional, but written in verse or in prose, as well as sense of educational or pedagogic thought.
7. What are the themes you write about in your poetry? How important is the social aspect in your verse?
Being a poet, you cannot keep aside major thrust segments like terrorism, peace, humanity, social evils, poverty etc. So I try to cover all these areas besides covering few of my poems on romanticism, beauty, and nature. The spirituality, especially of the oriental religions, is also one of my constant objects of my verses.
8. You do not write only poetry, but also essays and what you call "volatile articles". What do you say about this?
Poetry is more of a personal passion to me. I write mostly when my instincts urge me to compose one. In addition to it, I also write essays, which I contribute to various national newspapers, little magazines, research journals, reputed anthologies and e-sites too more often than not. These writings can be featured at sites like boloji.com, poetry.com, saptarshidutt.blogspot.com, literaryruminitions.com, WPS etc. I brand few of my writings as volatile as the components of these writings [essays] chose to negate various social norms and bring out the “evils” of silly politics, mayhem, jealousy, unfair competition that exist in large numbers not only in India but also globally to the notice of readers.
9. What do you thing about internet in relation to literature and relationships with other writers overseas? What is the place in society of the poetry book today?
Internet and literature are two important wings of modern literature. Today’s researchers and writers take the assistance of internet in almost every project they venture into. To add a feather, internet has both positive and negative impact on literature. Due to the tremendous upsurge of internet world, the modern generation is becoming computer savvy. Instead of reading poetry, short stories, fables from their grandparents, they are more inclined to the television world, which includes television, net, chatting etc. On the other hand, it has a positive impact too. Children of the 21st century are more advanced and matured than the previous generations. They are better equipped in their technical know-how and educational qualifications too.
Poetry too has a driving role to play in modern society. Poems of Tagore, Kalam, Yeats are everlasting and seem to accompany us in our daily lives. Poetry is probably the only art which teaches one to dream and fantasize even in this jet-technology.
10. Tell us something about your new international journal "Mirror of Times"?
"Mirror of Times" is an international journal published from the heart of Kolkata. We have our own team of Editors who go through each and every writing of a particular writer. At times, we also invite reputed writers to submit their writings to us. The journal is proud to give space to writings of various noted writers from all over the world whose names are enlisted in “genius book of record”, “limca book” etc. We solicit writings from all over the world like USA, New Zealand, Austria, Malta, Nepal, UK, Japan, Arab so on and so forth. Writers who have won several accolades all over world including “Sahitya Academy Award”, “Padma Bhusan Award”, “Padma Bibhusan Award”, “Poet Laurate Award [USA}, “Booker Prize” so on are also engaged with us in this noble journey. We also encourage students and budding writers to submit their writings and we ensure that they find the proper platform to display their literary skills.
11. Describe the good and bad aspects of the place where you come from.
There are many good and bad aspects of my place.
Good ones: Kolkata is one of the most cultured places in India. It has a long history behind, which if narrated, will occupy pages after pages. Kolkata has many celebrities like Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gangopadhya, Joy Goswami, etc.This city is also experienced with humanity, affection, love, bindings, etc.
Bad ones: Unfair competitiveness, enormous population, dirt every now and then…..
On the whole; it is a lovely place to reside.
A BIG THANKS TO SAPTARSHI DUTT :-)
A SOLITARY CARNIVAL
