Fringe and Geekery

There are some mindsets around poetry such as - it is tough to understand, only some people’s ball-game, poetry writing cannot be taught, rhythm is tough to write ...
The objective is to explore via discussion and an interactive workshop how poetry is much more accessible to us to read and to write that we believe it to be.

Outline

At some basic level, all the arts are available to all of us - to create, not only consume. To create any art piece, however tiny, can be a fulfilling liberating experience. Rarely is writing poetry taught to anyone.
In this workshop, participants are invited to get a feel of writing poetry. Via simple fun exercises one can write couplets and small poems that can surprise the writer himself. It would be a different kind of adventure. Writing poetry is not inaccessible and esoteric.
We will explore the role of rhythm in poetry and access poetry via rhythm.
There will be discussions on how to engage with poetry in the first place - as a reader or a writer - and explore where poetry is in our life vs where it can actually be.

Requirements

Notebook, pencil/pen

Speaker bio

A software developer who loves painting, writing and the sky and the trees.
Runs a Hindi poetry website (Kaavyaalaya) since 1997.
Created a software (Rhythm-in-Verse Hindi) that creates a data visualization of the phonetic and temporal patterns in a poem. This software helps people refine their writing. Currently has a user base of around 75 people.
Writes poems in Hindi and English.

Links

• My Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/vani.murarka
• My poems in English: http://manaskriti.com/vani-expressions/category/writings/poetry/
• Rhythm-in-Verse Hindi (Geet Gatiroop): http://manaskriti.com/geet-gatiroop (There is an English interface - please see that, if it helps).
• Kaavyaalaya - the House of Hindi Poetry http://kaavyaalaya.org