John Samuel
Poetry does not have to be written; neither 'published'. Poetry is about the fleeting sense of beauty in the art of living- expression of the aesthetics of life itself.
Poets do need any license from 'cultural' 'leaders - who derive their sense of power from 'arbitration' or socio-cultural 'legitimation''. Poetry does not necessarily need another 'acknowledged' 'critic' or 'writer' to say: "hi- this is 'good' poetry: and the 'other' is a 'bad one". Poetry does not need a paper or a pen or a lap-top.
Poetry ,to me, is the ripples and waves of senses, sensibility and feelings deep within each human being- and an ability to share - the intimacy within one's own world- with another human being and with in a community. When poetry becomes an ability to go beyond the self- to touch, feel and sense the other- it becomes beautiful: and even spiritual- a fleeting sense of immortality: something that elevates human beings from the boredom of 'being'- or mundane routines of living itself.
The expressions of poetry requires a sense of communion. Communion can only happen within an organic community. And a sense of communion with other human beings makes creativity, communication and community as expressions of life and a living world. Such expression of 'life' with a creative sense of' Being' can be felt in everyday living: in the art of cooking and eating, in the art of falling 'in' love and 'making' love, in the art of 'touching' smelling' and feeling'- the pains and pleasures of life; the eclectic and ecstasies of life and living; in the anxieties and agonies; in the hope and hopelessness of life; in the rhythms of a dance; or the lines or tune of a song'; in the shades of a colour or in the world of a word.
Poetry finds its own modes of expressions- in a million ways- when we begin to live 'intimately'-feeling the life deep within each of us- every moment we 'live' our life. Poetry is both about 'being' and 'nothing'. It is about 'being'- as a mode of living and expression -as a sign of life. And it is about 'nothing' - as it simply vanishes beyond the moment of space and time - in the realms of fleeting feelings.
What is often discussed as ‘poetry’ is not the sensibility of the self - but the institutionalized and legitimized 'output' of a communicative exercise. Such institutionalization of the world of literature'- as communicative outputs- has been a function of power-relations within a society. And 'critics' and 'writers' are in the business of arbitrating and assessing the quality of a 'product' - ready to be 'legitimized' through publishing - to 'entertain' a 'public' , established in a 're-public'.
Such 'power' has something to do with 'ordering'. The construction of grammar is an 'ordering' of 'power'. The printed word- and the 'published' word - need a 'public'. The’re-public' is a 'construct' of an order; construction of sovereign power. And such expressions of sovereign power got its theological, political and cultural' manifestations.
In fact, 'language'' 'literature' and 'culture' often grew as the corollary to the macro-institutionalization of 'Power': in the shadows of prince, priest and merchant; with the blessings of Kingdoms, states and empires. Religion- as an institution of power- often 'managed' and 'arbitrated' language; expressions of institutionalized creativity and what is termed as established culture. Hence, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic or Latin began to acquire the divinity - through a process of legitimation. And the most established forms of power of the missionaries was not the distribution of 'faith' or ‘converting’ in to a new religion - but the 'establishment' of grammar and that of the printed word- as a mode of ruling our worlds- within and beyond.
Who makes poetry or a poet? Who is a poet without a publisher? What is the significance of a publisher?
Here there are few issues. a) The issue of Legitimation b) The issue of institutionalisation c) The issue of cultural and social construct of a 'poet', 'writer' or 'professional' d) The political economy of communication and knowledge process.
II
I have lived in remote villages of India and elsewhere, particularly with people who are not supposed to be 'literate'. What is ‘literature’ for the non-literate? They don't have 'poets' or 'writers' or 'literary critics' or for that matter 'intellectuals'. They don't write poetry. They do not have anything to 'publish' or 'read'. But they do sense and feel poetry – and poetry finds its own expression and voices in non-literate world too.
During one of the days in the Ramadan period, I lived in a remote village in the northern part of Sierra Leon. People in the village were mostly of Muslim faith. It was a full moon day. And I got up early morning, listening to a string of soft prayers- voices 'azan'/'namz' flowing from one house to another house. I could feel people in each home in the neighborhood waking up one by one to say the morning prayers- in soft and intimate voices.
Prayer flowed from the heart and revealed itself in voices of people. Prayer was poetry. Poetry was an intimate prayer: sensing and feeling the unseen and the unheard. When prayer becomes poetry flowing from the depth of the self, priests become redundant. There was hardly any mosque or mullah there. And for the first time, I felt the poetry of prayer-- and for the first time I could feel deep within the beauty of the expression of an intimate faith: sharing an intimate feeling within with a community- bridging a world within to a world beyond: in the physical and spiritual sense. Here 'faith' was not merely about the expression of a religious identity or following a 'ritual'- it was the expression of a shared cultural and social sensibility- though felt by each individual. And for the first time I heard the 'voices' of women- saying 'Azan'. And a prayerful-morning of Ramadan in a remote village in Sierra Leon made me feel and sense the aesthetics of life.
I used to be very irritated- when the loud-speakers in the neighborhood compete with each other to 'blast' off a prayer early in the morning- from mosques. Churches and temples- prayers those are broad-casted or published for the public. Here 'prayer' ceases to be an intimate sense of 'faith' or poetry. It is a 'declaration' and announcement of faith as an establishment of power- as politics: an act of asserting the power - using technology and ability to impose.
In the days, when prayers are televised or in the days of tale-evangelists, faith itself is an 'item' in the market sold in retail or whole-sale to be consumed - for instant gratification; with a price-tag attached to it. In such cases, poetry simply vanishes.
What kills the poetry? Poetry involves a cultural and political sensibility - beyond the use of formal language. Poetry may not be merely the ordering of words- but also ordering of the worlds, within and beyond. Poetry is hardly felt or seen in many parts of the 'developed' world. When 'development' can kill ‘poetry’, it dehumanizes society. A world devoid of poetry is a love-less world; feeling, love, care and beauty would be commodities sold or brought at the market place on the margins. Ethics end up becoming cosmetics in the fast highways of hyper-economies. When poetry does not have politics and politics ceases to have poetry, a tragedy unfolds deep within us and the society.
In the age of hyper-consumerism and monitorisation of heart and soul, people tend to be more productive and less creative. When money is honey, the poetic sensibility will be eternally exiled. That is the tragedy of our times! Productivity too can kill the poetry within each of us. Poetry does not have to be written always! But when poetry within is replaced by plastic, the credit-line is simply a card that can be cashed. And machines can’t create poems.
These days the value of a painter is determined by the 'market value' of the painting. Painting is a commodity to be flaunted in the vanity of a constructed'living. There are aspiring poets- and poets need 'spelling' and 'grammar'! And Poets need cock-tail parties to be felt'- to be appreciated- and to be 'sold'. Poets are in perennial search for a publisher and a public in a market. And Poetry is eternally postponed or exiled?
Isn't it a tragedy of the lack of art of Living?
When 'poetry' is dead deep within each of us - what we do? How do we live? Whenever our intimacy is invaded by the Internet- how do we feel? When 'reality' becomes a 'show', what is poetry- and who is a poet?
Poetry does not have to be written; neither 'published'. Poetry is about the fleeting sense of beauty in the art of living- expression of the aesthetics of life itself.
Poets do need any license from 'cultural' 'leaders - who derive their sense of power from 'arbitration' or socio-cultural 'legitimation''. Poetry does not necessarily need another 'acknowledged' 'critic' or 'writer' to say: "hi- this is 'good' poetry: and the 'other' is a 'bad one". Poetry does not need a paper or a pen or a lap-top.
Poetry ,to me, is the ripples and waves of senses, sensibility and feelings deep within each human being- and an ability to share - the intimacy within one's own world- with another human being and with in a community. When poetry becomes an ability to go beyond the self- to touch, feel and sense the other- it becomes beautiful: and even spiritual- a fleeting sense of immortality: something that elevates human beings from the boredom of 'being'- or mundane routines of living itself.
The expressions of poetry requires a sense of communion. Communion can only happen within an organic community. And a sense of communion with other human beings makes creativity, communication and community as expressions of life and a living world. Such expression of 'life' with a creative sense of' Being' can be felt in everyday living: in the art of cooking and eating, in the art of falling 'in' love and 'making' love, in the art of 'touching' smelling' and feeling'- the pains and pleasures of life; the eclectic and ecstasies of life and living; in the anxieties and agonies; in the hope and hopelessness of life; in the rhythms of a dance; or the lines or tune of a song'; in the shades of a colour or in the world of a word.
Poetry finds its own modes of expressions- in a million ways- when we begin to live 'intimately'-feeling the life deep within each of us- every moment we 'live' our life. Poetry is both about 'being' and 'nothing'. It is about 'being'- as a mode of living and expression -as a sign of life. And it is about 'nothing' - as it simply vanishes beyond the moment of space and time - in the realms of fleeting feelings.
What is often discussed as ‘poetry’ is not the sensibility of the self - but the institutionalized and legitimized 'output' of a communicative exercise. Such institutionalization of the world of literature'- as communicative outputs- has been a function of power-relations within a society. And 'critics' and 'writers' are in the business of arbitrating and assessing the quality of a 'product' - ready to be 'legitimized' through publishing - to 'entertain' a 'public' , established in a 're-public'.
Such 'power' has something to do with 'ordering'. The construction of grammar is an 'ordering' of 'power'. The printed word- and the 'published' word - need a 'public'. The’re-public' is a 'construct' of an order; construction of sovereign power. And such expressions of sovereign power got its theological, political and cultural' manifestations.
In fact, 'language'' 'literature' and 'culture' often grew as the corollary to the macro-institutionalization of 'Power': in the shadows of prince, priest and merchant; with the blessings of Kingdoms, states and empires. Religion- as an institution of power- often 'managed' and 'arbitrated' language; expressions of institutionalized creativity and what is termed as established culture. Hence, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic or Latin began to acquire the divinity - through a process of legitimation. And the most established forms of power of the missionaries was not the distribution of 'faith' or ‘converting’ in to a new religion - but the 'establishment' of grammar and that of the printed word- as a mode of ruling our worlds- within and beyond.
Who makes poetry or a poet? Who is a poet without a publisher? What is the significance of a publisher?
Here there are few issues. a) The issue of Legitimation b) The issue of institutionalisation c) The issue of cultural and social construct of a 'poet', 'writer' or 'professional' d) The political economy of communication and knowledge process.
II
I have lived in remote villages of India and elsewhere, particularly with people who are not supposed to be 'literate'. What is ‘literature’ for the non-literate? They don't have 'poets' or 'writers' or 'literary critics' or for that matter 'intellectuals'. They don't write poetry. They do not have anything to 'publish' or 'read'. But they do sense and feel poetry – and poetry finds its own expression and voices in non-literate world too.
During one of the days in the Ramadan period, I lived in a remote village in the northern part of Sierra Leon. People in the village were mostly of Muslim faith. It was a full moon day. And I got up early morning, listening to a string of soft prayers- voices 'azan'/'namz' flowing from one house to another house. I could feel people in each home in the neighborhood waking up one by one to say the morning prayers- in soft and intimate voices.
Prayer flowed from the heart and revealed itself in voices of people. Prayer was poetry. Poetry was an intimate prayer: sensing and feeling the unseen and the unheard. When prayer becomes poetry flowing from the depth of the self, priests become redundant. There was hardly any mosque or mullah there. And for the first time, I felt the poetry of prayer-- and for the first time I could feel deep within the beauty of the expression of an intimate faith: sharing an intimate feeling within with a community- bridging a world within to a world beyond: in the physical and spiritual sense. Here 'faith' was not merely about the expression of a religious identity or following a 'ritual'- it was the expression of a shared cultural and social sensibility- though felt by each individual. And for the first time I heard the 'voices' of women- saying 'Azan'. And a prayerful-morning of Ramadan in a remote village in Sierra Leon made me feel and sense the aesthetics of life.
I used to be very irritated- when the loud-speakers in the neighborhood compete with each other to 'blast' off a prayer early in the morning- from mosques. Churches and temples- prayers those are broad-casted or published for the public. Here 'prayer' ceases to be an intimate sense of 'faith' or poetry. It is a 'declaration' and announcement of faith as an establishment of power- as politics: an act of asserting the power - using technology and ability to impose.
In the days, when prayers are televised or in the days of tale-evangelists, faith itself is an 'item' in the market sold in retail or whole-sale to be consumed - for instant gratification; with a price-tag attached to it. In such cases, poetry simply vanishes.
What kills the poetry? Poetry involves a cultural and political sensibility - beyond the use of formal language. Poetry may not be merely the ordering of words- but also ordering of the worlds, within and beyond. Poetry is hardly felt or seen in many parts of the 'developed' world. When 'development' can kill ‘poetry’, it dehumanizes society. A world devoid of poetry is a love-less world; feeling, love, care and beauty would be commodities sold or brought at the market place on the margins. Ethics end up becoming cosmetics in the fast highways of hyper-economies. When poetry does not have politics and politics ceases to have poetry, a tragedy unfolds deep within us and the society.
In the age of hyper-consumerism and monitorisation of heart and soul, people tend to be more productive and less creative. When money is honey, the poetic sensibility will be eternally exiled. That is the tragedy of our times! Productivity too can kill the poetry within each of us. Poetry does not have to be written always! But when poetry within is replaced by plastic, the credit-line is simply a card that can be cashed. And machines can’t create poems.
These days the value of a painter is determined by the 'market value' of the painting. Painting is a commodity to be flaunted in the vanity of a constructed'living. There are aspiring poets- and poets need 'spelling' and 'grammar'! And Poets need cock-tail parties to be felt'- to be appreciated- and to be 'sold'. Poets are in perennial search for a publisher and a public in a market. And Poetry is eternally postponed or exiled?
Isn't it a tragedy of the lack of art of Living?
When 'poetry' is dead deep within each of us - what we do? How do we live? Whenever our intimacy is invaded by the Internet- how do we feel? When 'reality' becomes a 'show', what is poetry- and who is a poet?
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