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How two Mumbai-based poets strive for climate advocacy with their latest work
Updated On: 27 May, 2023 08:37 AM IST | Mumbai | Sammohinee Ghosh
A new anthology of poems responds to the environmental damage prompted by human greed. We speak with two Mumbai-based poets who have contributed to the collection
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The river Cauvery. Pic Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
This writer reads Greening the Earth (Penguin Random House India) fitfully. Sometimes, in between deadlines; often, in the early hours of the day; and on occasion, before going to sleep. Every passage stirs our consciousness. They require us to review histories of ecological damage, leaving us questioning — “Where does greed end?” And in times when religious and racial divides can dictate common interests, it’s heartening to find poets across continents assembling for the need of the hour.
But can poetry effect climate advocacy? Poet and author Rochelle Potkar believes in the telegraphic power of poems. “Imagine how in the earlier days, a telegram — only two lines long — could impactfully communicate good and bad news. Poems, from haiku to 40-line free verse, have similar power. In their short expanse, they can put together a galaxy of thoughts. In an age of attention deficit disorders, poems act as synopsised nuggets of wisdom that help seep through what has to,” she notes, adding, “I wish for readers to read a page patiently and connect the abstractions involved in poetry.”
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