LIFE OF A POET ~ VINAY LEO R.

My friends, this week we are once again visiting Bangalore, home of several of our poet members, to visit with Vinay Leo R., who writes at I Rhyme Without Reason. I think there could be a Poets United Writers Group in Bangalore, wouldn't that be great? Leo kindly agreed to give us a little peek at the poet at home, so we can get to know him better. Chai tea is hot and spicy and steaming, and sitar music is playing softly in the background as we arrive. Come sit by me, and listen in, while we chat with one of our more recent members.

Sherry: It is wonderful to be meeting with you, Leo! Would you tell us a bit about yourself? What are the special joys of where you live?

Leo: Metaphorically speaking, I live in words. That’s been my blog’s tagline since I remember, almost since the time I took Leo as my nom-de-plume many years ago. It has stuck on, even when I added Vinay to it. So, city and family aside, that’s been where and why I have lived. It’s a wonderful thing, to let words be your abode. Out of them, it’s not as happy a world to live in. 

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But I stay in Bangalore with my parents. I’ve only really lived here, the city of gardens holding my muse since the last quarter of a century and more. It’s here I’ve grown up, fallen in love, fallen out of love, all that. Nature is usually appealing to a poet. I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by that in this city. It calms my muse, I guess. Special joys: for me it’s the little things that matter, so family, friends, the weather (esp. the rain) and the surrounding greenery makes me happy to call it my home.

Arekere Reserve Forest

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Sherry: It sounds lovely, kiddo. Let’s go all the way back, to your childhood.  Looking back, is there one person you feel had a significant impact on your becoming a writer? 

Leo: Not many love poetry, I think. Not as kids at least. Most just read it as it is, or memorize it to say for declamations or oral examinations. But the rhyme appealed to me as a kid. The English teachers I’d had from grade one to grade five kind of honed my skill in that language, and I embraced it sooner than others. 

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A butterfly flitting into the classroom during a free period brought out my first poem. And the co-ordinator there, she saw me write it, and without asking me, enrolled me in the next inter-school poetry meet. Till I left the school after tenth grade, she kept encouraging me as well. I guess, if any one person had impacted my love for poetry and literature, it would be her.

Sherry: Teachers are quick to spot the talented kids. What do you love about poetry? What makes it sing for you?

Leo: I Rhyme Without Reason. My love for poetry, and writing in general, is unconditional, you know. It’s not, “I’ll write if I’m in a bad mood, or I’ll write because there is a prompt, or I’ll write because no one will read me if I don’t write every day”. I love poetry because it’s where I’m the most free. There aren’t any restrictions. 

I can write it the way I want. Even if it is in response to a prompt, the poem has a lot of ME in it. Perhaps, looking at it with a magnifying glass, I could say pain or sadness brings out the best in the poetry, though not always. 

Sherry: I love "poetry is where I'm the most free."

Leo: One of my favourite pieces, “Footnote” was born out of a mixture of prompt words and a gloomy state of mind. One of my friends loved it enough to ask me for the piece to put in her journal, Sonic Boom. I was happy to let it be published there last year.

Footnote – ©Vinay Leo R.

juggling my life…

so many aspects,

so many facets;

I have to embrace

my many quirks –

each like a strand

of a large quilt

knit out of time.

all the plans I made

that never sustained,

leaving my slate

in a blank state that’s

run out of rhyme.

I write my story,

ink what I want;

but do I become

with every word

that I lose here,

just a footnote?

Sherry: Oh, that hits home....wondering if we are writing the footnotes of our lives. At least we will leave our words behind!  Do you follow a writing routine?  Do you try to write regularly, or do you write only when inspiration strikes?

Leo: I find it easier writing with a mix of routine and randomness actually, Sherry. For most of the nine years that I’ve been blogging, I’ve written as and when I’ve been inspired. Of late, however, I’ve taken to writing poetry on the weekends, and flash fiction midweek. I try to write regularly, but with the 2 posts or 3 posts a week routine, I’m also trying to read regularly. It’s nice, reading, and it’s nice to be read by others as well. The routine also helps inspiration, I think. The muse is well rested, and fed with other beautiful posts I’ve read over the week. So it’s happy to write as well.

Sherry: That is certainly true for me. The exchange of poetry online keeps me writing much more than I ever would without it. Which do you prefer, form or free verse?

Leo: Over the years, I’ve attempted both form and free verse. It’s difficult to stick to the rules of a form and do the thought behind the poem justice, and I’m an admirer of those who do. I like both equally, but I attempt free verse more. As it says, it’s “free”. Nothing to chain it, it can flow as it wishes to. When it comes to forms, I like haiku the most. Nothing is as challenging as expressing a lot in little. I hope to excel in that form one day. Another form that I’ve quite taken to is the nonet, and in particular the mirrored nonet, or what I call  an hourglass poem. One of my favourite poems I’ve written in this form is titled Sweet and Sour.

Sweet and Sour – ©Vinay Leo R.

inspiration once lost has been found

that struggle for words once silent

now feels concluded at last

a poem I wished is born

still I do not cheer

for my life runs

little sweet

then turns

sour

like

old milk

much bitter

but why not wine

better with the time

perhaps I should have fun

turn the hourglass, start over

forget what is gone or turned sour

begin, searching for sweet once again

Sherry: I love it! Yes, do search for the sweet once again! It's out there!

Leo: A form that’s very similar to the haiku is the Korean form called Sijo. Here too, we are limited by syllables, but Sijo, while having more syllables to work with, also challenges in a different way. I’ve only attempted it a few times, but I’ve been happy with what has materialized when I have.

Fairy Meadows at Night, by Zeeo Zia (via Wikimedia Commons)

Insomniac’s Meadow – ©Vinay Leo R.

how beautiful is this meadow, asleep in the arms of a breeze,

the moonlight singing a berceuse only my ears strain to hear;

ah, this insomniac wonders — could I sleep and miss these joys?

The first line sets the theme, the second develops the setting, the first half of the third line brings about a twist, and the second half completes it in contemplation. I personally find it tricky to bring that out properly. But it’s quite fun to try it out.

Sherry: You executed it very well in this example. It is lovely. Which poems come most easily – those written to prompt, or those written from inspiration, dictated by the Muse?

Leo: The way I see it, it is always inspiration first. The poetry is always dictated by inspiration. Yes, there is a word or few words that are from prompts, but it’s the prompt which goes into the poem, not the poem into the prompt. That way, it is more of my inspiration, more of me in the poem than the prompt. And that makes it therapeutic. The poetry shines more.

Bangalore as Tech Hub

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Sherry: Well said. What caused you to choose poetry as your means of creative expression?

Leo: I haven’t really thought about why I chose to write poetry that day, when the butterfly flitted into the classroom. It just came like that. I suppose, at that age, one doesn’t think about what expression of art you need to choose. After that, I went with the flow. After I graduated, there was a lean phase, when I avoided writing altogether. But when I needed an outlet for some thoughts years later, it was poetry that came to the rescue. I’d say it has been poetry that chose me, rather than me choosing poetry.

Sherry: That seems to be the case with many of us. You write fiction as well. Tell us a bit about that. Which came first, poetry or prose?

Leo: In life, it was perhaps fiction first. No one taught poetry writing in school, but story writing based on outlines was always part of the curriculum, at least till fifth grade. But on my blog, it was poetry first. The passion for fiction grew only after being watered by the enthusiasm of a few friends, and my writing has become more rounded as the years have passed.

Mysore Palace

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Sherry: When did you come to the world of blogging and how has it impacted your writing?  On your About page, you say blogging wasn’t your first choice. What was?

Leo: Life has its ups and downs. One such down phase almost made me contemplate ending it all. The Chinese philosopher Mencius once said, “Friends are the siblings God never gave us.” One such sibling decided enough was enough, and it was time I wrote my way out of that phase. I hadn’t written a poem for three years before that day. He created the blog for me, one on Blogger titled The Other Side of Me. From that day, my blog has grown, changing platforms but never meanings. I say blogging wasn’t my first choice, because I’d never have chosen to do anything had it not been for my friend. Honestly, I might not have been around.

Sherry: Oh this touches my heart, Leo.  Thank heavens for your caring friend. We poets are fortunate that our means of expressing our inner selves is as near as our hands and the pen or keyboard.

Leo: Poetry blogging, I didn’t know it was a thing actually. Poets who write on a blog are still poets first; the blogging doesn’t take priority, I feel. But it’s nice to be read, I know that. Poetry blogging, like Claire said during an earlier interview, helps the poet to write without worrying about deadlines and rejections and such. It becomes an outlet for the muse, for the emotions that lie beneath every poem.

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Sherry: I think poems on our blogs get read much more often than they would be were they in books on a bookstore shelf. We poets find each other. You have written a novella, A Walk Through Memories. Do you have plans for other books? Perhaps a poetry book?

Leo: The novella came about as a seven part series on my blog. Friends insisted that I make a PDF out of it, and I did. One of my best friends designed the cover page. Another best friend helped during the series when I needed some information to progress further. “A Walk Through Memories” is mostly fiction, but it has a little bit of memories in it as well.

I’ve been working on a poetry manuscript, so yes, I hope to one day see it in print. It’ll be mostly freestyle poetry, no forms involved. I’m hoping I have the patience to write a novel too. I started one once, but I couldn’t take it forward as I wanted to.

Sherry: I am happy to hear you have a poetry book in the works. Are you happy with where your writing journey has taken you?

Leo: No complaints. It’s my writing journey that has got me to this day. I’m quite delighted to be interviewed here at Poets United, or reaching nearly two thousand posts on my blog. It’s the journey that has built the passion and built a dream of getting published. So far, so good!

Sherry: Yay! Keep traveling! You recently wrote a poem that sums the writing journey up very well, and I would love to include it here.

With Every Thought...

With every thought

Be it sour or sweet...

Eagerly born, a poem;

It breaks the quiet

Of my grave nights,

Slips out onto paper,

Shining in starlight;

Insomnia surrenders,

And I sleep in peace.

After all, in this life,

I was born to write.

You have said it all, with this poem, kiddo. What other activities do you enjoy when you aren’t writing?

Leo: My English teacher had a good influence on my writing. But I remember her telling me, “Vinay, to be a good writer, we must also be good readers.” She inculcated a habit of reading in me. When I’m not writing, I’m usually reading novels. I love getting lost in the world that a novel opens up in my imagination. I’ve walked the halls of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series, heard Hassan say, “For you, a thousand times over” in The Kite Runner… you get my drift! Other than reading, I’m quite fond of playing Sudoku, watching soccer on television, playing carom and badminton etc.

I also like to help bloggers to write. I previously hosted a haiku meme, which has since then stopped. I thought I’d try something on similar lines this year, so I started a daily prompts meme called A Prompt Each Day , so if you need inspiration to break the writer’s block anytime, you can check if the prompt there interests your muse. 

Sherry: That's wonderful, Leo. Thanks for letting us know. Do you have a Bucket List of places you would love to visit? What place is number one?

Leo: I’m not much of a traveler, Sherry. Not every place suits me, health-wise. But yes, I do have a bucket list of places I’d love to visit, and the city holding the top spot is Manchester, England. I’ve been a fan of Manchester United almost as long as I’ve been a poet. It is one of my dreams to go to Old Trafford, at least once.

Sherry: I do hope you make it there, Leo! Is there anything you would like to say to Poets United?

It is, I feel, a bliss to write

Showcase the pen’s might

To inspire words is tough

Breaking blocks is rough

Bringing together to share

Few who read and care

Thanks for all that to you

For the effort that is true

I’ve been sharing my poems with the Poetry Pantry mostly, so whenever it comes to mind, I somehow always think of Poets United as The Poetry Pantry. I just have to say it’s a pleasure to read the poets who are a part of Poets United. The effort that goes into the site, to keep it going week in week out is amazing. Wishing you reach much greater heights. Thank you for featuring me in Life of a Poet. It has been a delight talking with you, Sherry!

PS: No one has called me kiddo in ages. So thanks. :D 

Sherry: Thank you, my friend; the pleasure was all mine. We are so happy you found Poets United, and look forward to reading much more of your work in the months ahead. 

Wasn't this a lovely visit, kids? Another interesting poet on his poetry pilgrimage. Do come back to see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!