002 | Fire keeps poetry alive

and keeps us artists alive too

Poetry and I have had a complicated relationship

I used to think all poetry needs to rhyme.

Until I read a Haiku.

I used to think that poetry was short.

Until I learnt that the Mahabharata and the Odyssey were actually poems.

I used to think that poetry was cryptic.

There is nothing cryptic about poems like “Perhaps we are all immigrants” by Rupi Kaur.

perhaps we are all immigrants
trading one home for another
first we leave the womb for air
then the suburbs for the filthy city
in search of a better life
some of us just happen to leave entire countries

I moved from India to Ireland in early 2018. New city, new country, new continent. Reading that poem made me nod my head and go, “Hard same, Rupi, hard same.”

Learning poetry in school wasn’t fun for me.

On the one hand, I loved the way words flowed on their pages. I sensed a certain musicality to them, in the way lines were ordered and in the way each word was chosen to fit perfectly.

On the other hand, that delight turned into drudgery when I had to answer many questions about those poems for grades.

Questions, all of which could be summed up into - “Let’s obfuscate the obvious, and prepare you for what real life has in store, shall we? What convoluted, inaccurate non-intuitive thoughts did this poet express through their simple language?”

I wish we studied Kanye’s poetry in school.

My godsister getting married by the lake
But I couldn't figure out who I wanna take
Bad enough that I showed up late
I had to leave before they even cut the cake
Welcome to heartbreak

“Deconstruct the extended metaphor that Kanye brings to light when he speaks of having to leave before they even cut the cake.”

Poetry should be studied and admired. Sometimes adored, perhaps revered. Never boxed in or deconstructed into something that makes it unsavoury.

This got me thinking of where it all began.

Where it all began

Historians agree that the first recorded instance of poetry is the Epic of Gilgamesh.

The city of Mosul in Iraq has been through a lot in the time we’ve been alive. It used to be a pretty gangsta place thousands of years ago, and was called Nineveh. Nineveh was destroyed around 600 BCE by the Babylonians and their allies.

When the city was sacked, the allied forces set the place on fire. The library of Ashurbanipal, named for the last Assyrian king, was among the buildings that was destroyed. It contained the Epic of Gilgamesh.

I learnt about this on a fascinating podcast episode named “Ancient DMs” on 99 percent invisible.

The contents of a modern library set on fire will perish. Books ignite and burn at Fahrenheit 451.

Paper wasn’t in vogue in ancient libraries. Humans wrote everything on clay tablets. Receipts. Laws. Royal correspondence. Even the Epic of Gilgamesh.

And you probably know what happens when clay is burnt.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, along with other written material in the library of Ashurbanipal was preserved by the fire, and discovered by the British in the 1850s.

If there was no fire, who knows what might’ve happened to this epic poem.

Every poem is epic

I believe that every poem is epic, at least in the minds of those responsible for birthing them.

At open mics hosted by Smithfield Creatives where I’ve performed my hip-hop tracks, I’ve met people that live and breathe poetry.

Seeing my fellow artists perform with their heart and soul is the antidote to a poison fed from childhood, the one that goes “Let me suppress that thought. What would other people think / say?”

There is something raw and real about their art that continues to give the rest of us permission. Permission to explore and express what we might have been afraid to express.

Note to self - Keep making art. Keep appreciating art.

Artists and Gigs:

This section might be more suited for those in Dublin, though the links work all over the planet. Just saying, in case you are curious about artists in our neck of the woods.

A few poets I know and admire:

• Eva Kelly (eva_kelly01 on Instagram)
  Her work is descriptive, emotional, personal and deeply moving.

• Philip Kenny (philsophkenny on Instagram)
  A man who brings Big Phil Energy to each of his performances.

• [Bonus] Prerna Tiku (prerna_tiku on Twitter)
  She’s a friend from India who released a new book of poems that I loved.

You’ll never be bored if you show up at Board Dublin every Thursday for the Smithfield Creatives open mic (sign up for FREE by DMing on Instagram)

If you don’t have Friday night plans in March, new talent at the First Friday Music Night got your back. Tickets available here. Check out the performers before you get tickets, they are pretty awesome! Shy | Artsipolo | Nathan Mac

Next week

Would you tear up a million dollar check?

And now for something completely different