Tishani Doshi: ‘Writing a poem can be a hugely optimistic act’
Tishani Doshi: Poetry as an Act of Hope
On Birds and the Mythic
Bharatmorningnews.com – Among all the animals sharing our world, birds remain the most enigmatic to me. While I can picture myself inside a lion, a beetle, or a bandicoot—perhaps because they walk the earth—birds possess something transcendent. Their ability to soar fills me with wonder. Over the last ten years, my fascination has grown from casual interest into something bordering on obsession, and increasingly, these winged creatures appear in my verses.
I struggle to remember details about them. Despite studying field guides, I can only identify roughly twenty species, so I accept my status as a beginner. Yet as a poet, my connection to birds runs deeper than taxonomy. I care about what they symbolize, how they serve as omens and messengers, and how they bridge temporal boundaries. Others may analyze why birds migrate in formations or decode their songs, and I read such pieces with reverence. But when a bird crosses my vision, it enters my poetry naturally.
Writing a poem can be a hugely optimistic act.
The Beach as Teacher
You reside on a Chennai shoreline with your spouse and canine companions. How does this environment influence your perspective on nature, mortality, and endurance?
The ocean has accompanied every stage of my writing. In Madras, the coastline served as both escape and connection—a port, a beach, a gathering place, a refuge. Since relocating to the coast, however, I have developed a heightened awareness of death. Not in a gloomy manner, though snakes and tangled turtles occasionally wash ashore. Rather, the endless rhythm of waves, the primordial origins of life resting at my doorstep, and the vulnerability of this ecosystem—having endured floods, tsunamis, cyclones, and threats from coal plants—creates a feeling of impermanent beauty. Each day reminds me how brief human existence is. Yet while we exist, there is splendor.
Language and Violence
Your poem "A Theory on the Origin of Language" connects speech and aggression from humanity's beginnings. How do you view the strength and boundaries of words amid global turmoil?
I constantly contemplate change and transformation, including how language functions in our current era. Words are either appropriated until they lose meaning or dulled into emptiness. Poetry must intervene, must interrupt. When I heard the red-wattled lapwing crying—that sound that opened "A Theory on the Origin of Language"—I considered why language developed, whether we can free it from violence, or if that liberation remains impossible. Language warns, but it also sings. Its limitations exist only because we have placed them there. Like all living things, words are not static; they evolve and perish. Poets continually search for methods to restore and reimagine what language can accomplish.
Emotional Fluidity
Your writing blends anger, gentleness, playfulness, and amazement. Do you pursue this equilibrium deliberately, or does it emerge from dancing, writing, and living through our contemporary moment?
I follow my subconscious rather than my conscious mind when composing. I do not seek to solve poetry's mysteries; I prefer they remain mysterious. I appreciate having multiple emotional layers in my work, where intellectual and accessible elements merge. This combination signals movement and flexibility. Synaptic leaps occur naturally. What I pursue most intensely now, both as creator and as someone who engages with art, is awe. I want to be transformed. Whether connected to aging or the weight of modern technology, that sensation once abundant has grown rare. Wonder is essentially human, and surprise represents one path toward it. You cannot schedule wonder or persuade it into existence. It must surprise you unexpectedly.
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