Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad : part five

What do you feel poetry can accomplish that other forms can’t?

Poetry can be so many things at the same time - a story, a song, a painting. This protean quality is what distinguishes it from other forms of art. Poetry is also interactive - it is an invitation to the reader to bring a part of themselves into the universe of the poem, to find fragments of themselves in it.  My students often say that analyzing poetry is like solving a puzzle, or looking into a kaleidoscope - where so many levels of meaning and patterns emerge with different readings/turns. I think one of the most fascinating aspects of poetry is how totally unrelated images and concepts can be yoked together, juxtaposed, to forge new links, and create unexpectedly beautiful montages. 

Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad : part four

How does a poem begin?

With a word, a phrase or a line, a photo, a memory, a conversation with a friend or a stranger, something I saw on my walk that caught my attention. Anything can spark an idea for a poem. I usually sit down to write with a rough idea of what I want, but I don’t fret too much about how it is going to turn out when I am in front of the screen (I save all the fretting for when I am editing!) I just jump in - with a word or a phrase. I then build on it and go from there. 

Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad : part three

What are you working on?

I have several different projects going on at any given point in time. At the moment I have deadlines looming for some open calls that I would love to write for - my poems are all half done and are awaiting the editing process. I just submitted a manuscript for a mini-chapbook of poems dedicated to my mum. I am in the process of editing another mini-chap dedicated to my dad (I know. It’s been all about celebrating family this year). I am also working on my debut collection and am collating and culling poems. (I published three books of poetry as a teenager. Then I went on a long hiatus from poetry and started publishing again only three years ago. Since I don't have a book of poems out as an adult, this will be my “debut” I guess). If all goes well, I hope to have my manuscript ready for submission early next year.

Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad : part two

What do you find most difficult about writing poetry?

Editing! Editing my poems is hands down the hardest part for me. I find that the first draft comes easy. I open Google docs with the poem bursting to be born, and I usually have the scaffold down pretty quickly, usually in one sitting. It's after that that things get tricky. Editing, for me, takes days. Sometimes I leave a poem alone for weeks before returning to prune it, with a fresh pair of eyes. I like to write three or four versions of a poem, playing around with lineation and with the shape of the poem on the page, before deciding on its final avatar. 

Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad : part one

Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad is an Indian-Australian artist and poet, who serves as an editor for Authora Australis. She is a member of Sydney's North Shore Poetry Project. Her poetry has been published in various print and online journals and anthologies including Cordite Poetry Review, Bracken Magazine, Black Bough Poetry, and Eunoia Review. Her art has been featured on the covers of several journals including Amsterdam Quarterly yearbook, Pithead Chapel, and Stonecoast Review. She won the 66th Moon Prize awarded by Writing in a Woman’s Voice Journal. She was shortlisted for the Glass House Poetry awards, and nominated for the 2022 Pushcart Prize. Her art has been nominated multiple times for the Best of the Net.  She is the author of two micro-chapbooks published by Origami Poems Project. She lives and works in Sydney on the traditional lands of The Eora Nation. Find her @oormilaprahlad and www.instagram.com/oormila_paintings

How important is music to your poetry?

Musicality in my writing is very important to me. I like to experiment with word pairings and rhythms, and I always read my work aloud to hear how the words and phrases sound. I play improv piano and I have written many poems about the music that has inspired me at different points in my life. That said, I like to write in complete silence. Absolutely no music when I write. I have to literally hear myself think and I cannot do that with background music on. I was at a pub once with some poet friends and someone came up with a writing prompt for all of us to work on, and I had to plug my ears with tissue so that I could write. This is not the same process when I paint though - music doesn't interfere with my creative process there. I always have classic rock playing in my studio when I paint. Really loud too!