'A poemlet may find a unique identity for itself'

Poetry is at its best when it is precise. The poems that are small in size are poemlets.

- SUTANUKA GHOSH ROY

In Bengali, it is known as Anu kabita. Silences in a poemlet are dominant due to the minimal use of words. There is no noise. The poemlets come as waves and immerse the emotions of the readers, creating a hypnotic effect.

To keep this conversation between words and silences Sukrita Paul Kumar, a literary activist and academic, currently the guest editor of Indian Literature, Sahitya Akademi, has come up with a collection of poetry, Yellow: Poemlets New and Earlier, that was recently launched at the Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library (IPPL) ICCR Kolkata.

"Why the nomenclature 'poemlets'? That the poems are small in size is indeed one reason. But does that mean they are somewhat incomplete? Certainly yes, at least till such time as they locate a home in the reader's mind and get a sense of wholeness. In each reader, I believe a poemlet may find a distinctly unique identity for itself. This is how the fledgling poem comes into its own. While it needs to be complete enough to be able to transmigrate into the reader's mind, it also needs to respect the reader's participation in its reception and perhaps even reconstruction," said Sukrita at the launch of her book at the Intercultural Poetry and Performance Library (IPPL) at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations on 29 November.