This week we caught up with Niharika Shah, an Emory student and talented poet to learn about her craft, her motivation and her hopes for her poetry going forward.
First, tell us a bit about yourself!
Hi, I’m Niharika Shah*, a junior at Emory pursuing a double major in Economics and English & Creative Writing. I’m originally from India (moved cities all my life) but travelled to the United States for my Bachelor’s Degree. I’m a poet, or at least, aspire to be one someday.
What led you to start writing poetry? When was this?
I’ve been writing poetry since the second grade when I was first introduced to rhyming words, and I remember maintaining journals for all of my compositions and silly little illustrations. But it was only when I turned fifteen, and I was introduced to the works of Shakespeare, William Blake, Robert Frost, Vikram Seth and other such geniuses, that I started to develop a keen interest in literature with a focus on poetry because I felt that I could not only understand and interpret a poet’s intention behind his choices but also draw inspiration from them for some of my own creations. Afraid of revealing this passion to my inner circle, I began sharing my work on the internet amongst strangers and looked forward to their critique and appreciation. In 2017, when I was about seventeen years old, I was encouraged by a friend to read at an Open Mic and at my first ever on-stage experience (less stage, more cafe with a mic-stand in the centre). I was applauded and cheered tremendously. I was approached by several members of the audience who said that they could relate to my words on a personal level, and that warmth that I received from them pushed me to continue writing and reading and improving on my craft.
Writing was always labelled a ‘hobby’ in my life, until I landed at Emory and took my first ever Creative Writing course and fell in love with the subject all over again, and harder, if that was even possible. I took a leap in terms of my career and future when I decided to add Creative Writing as a second major to Economics, and resolved to put in double the amount of effort to graduate with excellence in both programs—all to prove to myself that I can be the writer I dream of becoming, as long as I am willing to work for it.
It is common for any Indian household to be skeptical of professions within the arts, especially for their daughters, for they are not as stable as their counterparts in business, engineering, and medicine. It was not the easiest of arguments to propose to my family, that I wanted to grow intellectually in both subjects, and that it was very common and very feasible to be employed in a Corporate Analytics team by day while working on a best-seller by night. One of the principal contributors to my drive to become a successful, published poet, is to prove to little girls and boys of my country that a career in writing, painting, music, acting, filmmaking and the like, is as serious and as realizable as any other. I didn’t grow up with icons to look up to – personalities who had gone against familial and societal norms to follow their dreams of becoming a notable author, and I would like to become that someone, that ray of inspiration for the next generation of dreamers. And I would like to start that journey now.
What role does poetry play in your life?
I have always been a little bit of a writer. Whether it is for note-taking and school purposes or for personal thought journals, I’ve always preferred to write things down because putting pen to paper carries an aesthetic sense of release. It feels fulfilling to give my fleeting thoughts some weight and structure, and poetry has always been my sole means of expression.
What do you hope others take away from your work?
The day that I am approached by the readers of my to-be-published book, and told that it is my poems that they held on to on the nights they felt nobody else would hold them, will be the day I tell myself that I’ve made it - that everything I worked for, has delivered. All I am truly looking for is acceptance and the feeling of being recognized and understood in a way that I never felt, from my social circles. Being a poet means you are dramatic and you exaggerate by nature, and therefore, there is always room for mockery that poets turn every fleeting thought into sad songs. But young adults, who truly understand and appreciate poetry for its craft and techniques and little details, are who I am targeting. My poems are fairly autobiographical and I only hope that they read my verses and see me for who I am and my story for what it is, and give it the love and support all writers in this age need. When I read a poem that I consider outstanding or out of this world, it is usually because I admire the way the poet uses the same words we all know and use, and pieces them all together in a way none of us could’ve ever imagined, and projects such deep meaning through them. I hope that people find a similar solace and satisfaction in reading my work, one day.
What is your process for writing?
I wish I had a set process for writing, but with school and extra-curriculars, I hardly get the time to stick to a schedule. Usually, I start with a prompt that either comes from my personal experiences or a word that I randomly came across on a poster and that really stood out to me, or from one of my university classes. I practice free-writing where I write down my thoughts as and when they come to me, and then sit with it for a couple hours completing my first draft, and revising it in certain corners. I come back to it the next day or whenever I have time next, to look at it again and modify it accordingly. I have a tough time making things concise and tend to elaborate and over-explain certain metaphors, so I try to practice concision in my revisions. Sometimes, I come across a poem written several months earlier, and I edit a word or two that suddenly sounds too jarring or unfitting, but I think I’m just at an age where I feel like I’m not good enough for publishing and so I keep a manuscript on my laptop that I keep checking in on periodically, adding new pieces and revising old ones.
From where do you draw inspiration?
I consider myself privileged and extremely fortunate to be connected to a world full of highly distinguished individuals - not just poets, but notable authors, musicians, speakers and entrepreneurs - who share their stories on public platforms for the whole world to easily access and draw inspiration from. Because I am a student and being a student is my primary job, I rely on my classes to help steer me in the right direction. The English Department at Emory is fantastic (and very underrated) and the path that its creative writing courses pave for a student in terms of writing prompts and seminars with keynote speakers and simply the books and reading material recommended to the students are so incredibly stirring, that that is where I draw most of my inspiration from.
Social media definitely plays another major role in my life. Ever since I launched my page on Instagram this summer, I have grown to admire the platform that Instagram provides to budding creative artists. There is a trove of art on the internet, freely available to anyone, that is a great way for any artist to draw from. There are ‘monthly poetry prompts’, and themes and festivals that I usually follow, or if I feel inspired enough, I might do an After on an idea or concept presented by a fellow local artist or even a renowned one. There’s a lot of interaction between these social-media page owners, that motivates me to constantly do better and be better.
Do you have a favorite writer or poet?
There’s too many and it’s too hard (and seemingly unfair) to pick just one, but my top four would be Lang Leav, Ocean Vuong, Lucille Clifton and Amiri Baraka. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few but these are definitely four poets that I’ve currently been obsessing over.
What poem are you the most proud of?
Again, there’s a few, but I think there’s two - one more formal with its structure and language, and another more free-verse and less strict with its language.
The first:
poem in praise of cellulite
after Lucille Clifton
if there is a moon
more hallowed than this
dense as a doormat
brown scruffy and thick if
there is a moon
more timeless than this
that levitates to the orbits at the far end of jupiter
makes love to a fair europa if there
is a moon
wiser than this
with age comes wrinkles comes foresight
knows better than to hide behind spanx if there is
a moon
more common than this
no water into wine just
water if there is an
end to this moon if
there is an edge
to fall off
ask that it stretches its arms out
to hug
to kiss a goodnight
as hallowed and timeless and wise
and common and true
The second:
i’m trying to make peace with mortality.
i was always afraid of death / yet I’ve died 6 times now / when she left before i got to say goodbye / when he died in my mother’s arms / when he said he wanted to cut me into little pieces to feed the stray / when i kept asking for air and you kept pouring me water / when i came 2 inches short of home and home picked itself up and moved a thousand miles away / when i caved /
i’m trying to make peace with time.
i could never learn to be late / always first at all the birthdays / never fashionable / seven thirty meant seven twenty nine / punctuality meant precision meant / peace never came in anticipation of arrival / thought healing would never delay / she lied / i’d been waiting since may / she meandered in around march said sorry got held up at customs, i was not made to feel welcome in your country /
i’m trying to make peace with lasts.
i never cared much for endings / they suck the joy out of beginnings / they pull the plug on the point of it all / they leave you with qualms and discomfort / but i love sunsets / i love colored skies in motion / how blue dies for orange dies for pink dies for red dies for / black isn’t the sexiest part but it’s testimony to change / antecedents of the ever growing airspace / finales make me cry / so do puppies on a limp / so do christmas songs / post-its with kind personal messages / so do you / and not one of these is permanent / so if i can not last forever, so won’t this grief /
*pronounced Ni-haar-ick-aa
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