Interviews
‘Nature preservation is the highest priority’
Akshat Kumar, student of Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park fights for environmental conservation through his poem
Everyone knows nature is beautiful. People travel widely to admire its beauty and click lovely pictures in their smartphones and even plan to spend a lovely vacation in its arms. Yet people do not hesitate to destroy and pollute nature. This realisation comes from a class 6 student at Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park – Akshat Kumar.
In the Apeejay Promising Poet’s special interview, the budding poet says he has three more poems on nature conservation ready to be published. Read edited excerpts:
Since when did you start writing poems?
I started around July last year. My first poem was on nature.
Kids these days find poetry boring. What inspired you to write?
There was a school project when I was in class 5. One had to write a poem as a part of the project there. While writing the poem, I realised that I enjoyed the process of writing. Then I wrote some more poems over the next months.
How does your school support you to keep writing?
In the computer lab we once had a free period, I wrote a poem on the desktop there. Nidhi ma’am, my computer teacher, encouraged me a lot and even spoke to Manjusha ma’am, my language teacher for sending this poem for publication.
Rhyme or free verse?
Rhyme, when I recite a poem with rhyme, it sounds beautiful.
Favourite writer and their work
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney is my favourite. It is very humorous and is a comic. For, I love reading comics
What is the process behind writing a poem
I try to think of some catchy first 2 lines of the poem. Then I think of a rhyming word in accordance with the rhyme scheme of the poem, and gradually weave the sentences. I write directly in MS Word on my laptop and edit it there. It takes me 2-3 days to write a poem. I write mostly on nature.
What do you love the most about writing poetry?
I get to increase my imagination and improve my grammar by thinking of new grammars.
One advice for budding poets
Start! Write! Think of a word that goes well with the poem’s flow. Don’t write random words!
Your next poem is on?
My next poem is on friends and that bond between friends.
Your poem ‘Nature’ was absolutely wonderful. The message was clear and simply conceived and conveyed. Your thoughts?
Thank you! I have written four poems on nature by now. That was an initial poem I wrote. I thought of sending it for publication. Hope it brings a change!
