Adam believes ‘All poets are born not made’

Adam Bashneen is a meritorious student at Apeejay School, Saket. He is very popular in the school for his poems and other literary contributions and recently set the stage alive with his superb performance at the school’s winter carnival. 

Adam is now a proud author, as he welcomes his new book with a super engaging title to the world. Selected as this week’s Apeejay Promising Poet and setting the bar higher, Adam reveals what makes ‘All Poets Die’ a wonder work. Adam, we are delighted to hear about your new book, tell us everything about it?

‘All Poets Die’ is a collection of elegies which contains poems that explore sorrow, death, lamentation and the fleeting beauty of life. It’s all those feelings that people have which can’t be put into words and so have been put on paper. For I believe ink is more expressive than spoken words. You can know a lot about someone from the way they write even if you never met them.

Well said young man! Quite an interesting title too! What’s the story behind it?

There’s this latin phrase that goes something like ‘Poeta Nascitur Non Fit’ which means ‘A poet is born, not made’. Yet the absolute truth is that everything that is born in the world has to die. That’s why all poets die. It has a very poetic meaning behind it.  Even though all poets die, we leave behind the ink that lives on forever. The ink of our soul!

Pretty profound I must say! What inspired you to explore such a deep idea?

To be honest I had stopped writing after class 6  because I somehow lost interest after a terrible writer’s block. A friend of mine encouraged me to start writing again after she read some old poems of mine. My poems draw a lot of inspiration from the themes of famous Canadian singer and songwriter  Weeknd’s songs. My writing style was inspired by John Milton and John Donne until I discovered my very own writing style.

Coming back to your book! How many poems does it have? How much time did it take you to write them?

It has 20 poems and it took me almost 8 to 9 months to write them because poetry comes to one naturally. So no matter how hard I try to write, I won’t be able to until something strikes me. I always used to note down those thoughts in my phone and later make a poem out of them. The best ideas come to you when you least expect them.

Walk us through your publication process too, it will help aspiring authors

The trick is to read, observe, question and then write. As a poet one should  read a lot of other poets to know the different ways in which one can express their feelings. Observe your surroundings because they have the best stories to tell. Question how you feel about everything, how does it affect you or those around you and how you would want to influence it. There is this one moment in your day which may last for maybe only 15 minutes, when you sit and write and feel like you have killed it. That is the moment when you stop writing.  Once you have a good collection of poems, give it to a publisher and get them published. And never scrape poems because everything has beauty, you just might not see it at that time.

 You will be awarded for this book in the International Kolkata Book Fair, how’s the josh?

Pretty High! My book was chosen along with a few other titles for display at the International Kolkata book fair. It’s Asia’s largest literary event, bringing together global literature and cultural experiences. I will even be receiving an award for my book as well and it’s a top of the world feeling!

Your school must be celebrating your achievement?

Yes the school surely is. The credit goes to my school for always being a pillar of support in my journey. I am thankful to Principal sir Sujeet Eric Masih ji who has always been the guiding light for all of the students of the school and I would love to express my gratitude to all the  English teachers who played a crucial role in developing my language skills and vocabulary. They deserve the book and this award as much as I do.

But do throw some light on your marketing strategy for the book?

The book is going to be featured on several news platforms in a while. Blogs have been written about the same. For the further marketing strategy, I have already started with ads and sharing of the book across various book reading communities pages and platforms. With help from some of my wellwishers, I have had international publicity as well with a few orders from Germany and Hong kong. Also my peers played a  crucial role in spreading the word about my book. I am really grateful to them

Some advice to other writers and poets?

I would just want to say everyone should write. Maybe give it a try if you never have. For the pen is the strongest weapon ever made. It can change people, society and their thoughts alike. So even if you find your writing to be weird or you believe it isn’t good enough, just remember it opens a medium for your heart to convey messages that no one would ever know otherwise. Write for yourself, not for recognition, For your writing must satisfy you and you alone!