Author Q&A | K.V. Dominic answers my questions regarding one of my favourite poems from his latest collection!

Posted Thursday, 12 January, 2017 by jorielov , , , , 1 Comment

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Good morning, dear hearts!

I am happy to give a warm welcome to Mr Dominic, of whom is the poet who truly captured the spirit of convicting poetry & shared experiences of our contemporary world through his poignant eye for not only detail but for clarity of thought on how to expound and express one’s opinions in an ever-changing world!

I am thankful to re-highlight key portions of my review, which not only ascertain to the poem being featured today through our conversation but on behalf of the Professor’s writerly style and how he augments his thoughts into his poetry.

I am unsure if you remember, but in the Autumn I had the joy of reading his latest poetry collection wherein I found myself marvelling at how connected I felt to his words & to the ways in which he found a voice through prose to articulate his innermost thoughts & feelings on the topics he was disclosing. The beauty of course is the fact this collection would delight readers who already appreciate modern poetry whilst being a good introduction to those who enjoy cross-cultural expositions.

I am so very thankful to be a part of this second tour featuring his collective works and for having the honour of asking him about his poetry. Even though as you will see, I mistook the inspiration behind the poem itself, it still translates a strength & magnitude of spirit irregardless of how it impressed us on first reading.

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The Professor is a deep thinker, social commentator and poetic fusion of his socio-religious beliefs, wherein he bleeds his heart into his ink. He is very much connected to the events that shape History whilst allowing for a pause of personal vexation to tip his pen towards finding understanding or at the least, an exposition of the anguish that could fill a multitude of souls. His aim is to educate and inform, to own the emotions he feels and to convey his earnest beliefs that we are all connected in his words through Man, Nature and God. A similar concept I have conveyed myself on my blog – where the natural world and our living sphere are inter-connected whilst living a faith-centred life. I appreciated his honesty and his ability to separate his ideals with his passions whilst attempting to continue the conversation forward. I believe that is the greatest hope of a poet – to get a social conversation started and to leave the readers impassioned by what they’ve just read. He prompts his readers with study questions throughout the collection as a guide left behind to encourage a hearty discussion where his topics can be dissected and conversed about openly. I felt this was a good addition, as sometimes it is hard to know where to begin when broaching topical poems and this felt to me like a good window into how a discussion could begin even in a book club who primarily reads novels.

-quoted from my review of KV Dominic’s poetry collection

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Author Q&A | K.V. Dominic answers my questions regarding one of my favourite poems from his latest collection!Essential Readings & Study Guide
Subtitle: Poems about Social Justice, Women’s Rights, and the Environment
Source: Author via Poetic Book Tours

K. V. Dominic "Essential Readings" gathers for the first time the three most important works of poetry from this shining new light of contemporary Indian verse in English: "Winged Reason," "Write Son, Write" and "Multicultural Symphony."

A fourth collection of 22 previously unpublished poems round out a complete look at the first 12 years of Dominic's prolific and profound verse. Each poem includes unique Study Guide questions suitable for South Asian studies curricula.

Written in free verse, each of his poems makes the reader contemplate on intellectual, philosophical, spiritual, political, and social issues of the present world. Themes range from multiculturalism, environmental issues, social mafia, caste-ism, exploitation of women and children, poverty, and corruption to purely introspective matters. From the observation of neighborhood life to international events, and everyday forgotten tragedies of India, nothing escapes the grasp of Dominic's keen sense of the fragility of life and morality in the modern world.

Genres: Poetry & Drama



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781615993024

Published by Modern History Press

on 1st September, 2016

Format: Paperback Edition

Published By: Modern History Press
an imprint of Loving Healing Press (@vvolkman)

The next Essential Readings series release will feature the works of T.V. Reddy!

Read an interview feat. T.V. Reddy about his writing career!

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

Converse via: #Poetry

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These were my original thoughts on behalf of today’s featured poem:

One of my favourite poems was “Helen and Her World” (read poem) where a blind girl is blessed to teach those around her how blindness was a gift and a blessing; not a curse, nor a disability. For how can it be a disability when it enables her to have abilities others do not possess? Her internal flame burnt so brightly it shattered all darkness, etching out a living spirit of goodness, joy and bliss. She sought not to work against her senses but used what she had within her to champion the life she was meant to lead. There is a duality to this poem – one first reading you see the blessing and on the second turn, you see the irony of how perception and acceptance sometimes do not walk hand in hand. How others see you and how you see yourself are not always the same portrait a living soul embodies.

as well as what I had to say about the poet himself:

There is diverge of tonality and of voice – where you feel pulled into what Dominic is relating through each glimmer of poetic elasticity of his own mind where his thoughts become entwined with your own. Where he starts a thought for you to continue lateron, to see where it takes you and what it transcends about your own opinions, thoughts and emotional connections. It’s not a collection to read and put down, but rather one to return back too and continue to read again. There are more poems and instances of poetic clarity I enjoyed reading that I haven’t touched on today, as it would lengthen this review past what perhaps would be logical! The blessings I’ve had in reading his poetic eye on life and India is immeasurable and I look forward to returning to his words and to feel his voice as I read his short stories celebrating the journey we each take whilst we’re alive. For this collection is just that – a cardinal viewing of how our journey is fuelled by our experiences and how our memories endear us to reconsider our positions (on everything!) whilst granting us wisdom out of contemplation.

-quoted from my review of KV Dominic’s poetry collection

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My conversation with Mr Dominic:

The poem I highlighted on my original review was “Helen and Her World” – could you expound upon how you wanted to treat the legacy of Helen Keller but also bridge her legacy into an soliloquy of how best to live life by embracing the light and never yielding to the darkness?

Dominic responds: The poem “Helen and Her World” (K. V. Dominic Essential Readings and Study Guide p. 22) is based on the life of a historical person, a Post Graduate student of the poet when he was a college professor. She is an embodiment of light or optimism and proved through her life that deformities can be turned to strength if one wills. I have never seen her in gloom but always face others with a smiling face. By birth she was totally blind and after completing her post graduation and training course in education she now works as an English teacher in the government high school. She got married and has a little daughter aged two months now.

Was it hard to highlight the height of the awareness of what someone whose blind might internalise as their outside world whilst showing humble honesty about their emotional resolve to always seek out the blessings rather than the hardship?

Dominic responds: True, it was very hard for me to face her in the class room though she appeared always smiling. I was always aware that her life is dark even though she doesn’t betray it and it often pained my heart thinking about her misfortune and bleak future. Though she pretended to be happy and cheerful internally she was crying, I guessed. What would be the imagination and fancy of a person who has never seen this world?—I fail to guess. And I hope none can guess it and read her mind.

Did you intend to have the poem read reflectively with a duality of insight between perception and acceptance – wherein how others view your living truth is not necessarily the same portrait of how your living spirit embodies your own truth?

Dominic responds: It seems that Helen of the poem has accepted her fate and reality. I have watched many blind people and they all seem to be more cheerful than the majority of people with eyesight.  Once the reality is accepted they try to compromise with their fate rather than brooding over their tragedy and wasting their life. They try to overcome their handicap through proper functions of their other organs. That is the reason why Helen is smarter than other students of the class in all activities. It might be true that while others view them or take them with a sympathetic attitude, they never like to be treated that way.

You write eloquent poems casting light on the dimensional space of the human experience – how do you first sit to write the words to convey your thoughts? In other words, how do the poems alight in your heart to share with the world?

Dominic responds: The plot or theme of a poem is born in the mind spontaneously or while reading some reports in newspapers or viewing television news or even from the observations during travels and walks. Then it is pondered over again and again for several hours or even days. Once the outline is moulded in the mind it is then put on paper or computer

Being a poet, do you find you appreciate soaking inside poetry or longer narrative pieces (such as novels or non-fiction works) for your own personal joy for literature? What stirs your bookish heart the most to read?

Dominic responds: Being a poet, no doubt I find joy for myself when I compose a poem and love to read it again and again. Poetry again is the best among all genres of literature which satisfies my bookish heart, even if I write short stories and critical articles.

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This blog tour is courtesy of:

Poetic Book ToursFollow the blog tour for more readerly insights & reactions.

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NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them: I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.

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Originally when I conceived my idea for this second highlighting on behalf of Mr Dominic’s poetry, I was going to include further commentary on *five!* more of his poems which truly touched my mind & heart. However, this pre-dates my father’s medical emergency Thanksgiving weekend; of which you can read about here. Ahead of a formal update about my Dad’s continued recovery & progress now that he’s returnt home (since a few weeks ahead of Christmas) – I’ve been including short notes in my top anchour posts, such as this one. As my heart & mind are still re-aligning back into reading – I decided to err on caution & omit my thoughts on the next poems I wanted to highlight until a moment where I feel the poetry as fully as I did in the Autumn. Perhaps, in the Spring?! Stay tuned!

I wasn’t sure if I could keep the *quotation* of the poem itself as I merely re-printed my thoughts from my own review and kept the link in place for others to read the poem themselves on the author’s site. I hadn’t realised this wasn’t based on Helen Keller when I came across it originally and it speaks to the manner in which ‘all of poetry & literature’ is open to interpretation and understanding based on how we connect to the words, sentiments & literary voices we’re breathing into our spirit.

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{SOURCES: Book cover for “Essential Readings & Study Guide”, author biography, author photograph of K.V. Dominic, book synopsis and Poetic Book Tours badge were all provided by Poetic Book Tours and used with permission. This interview is centred around “Helen and her World” by K.V. Dominic’s Essential Writings & Study Guide (2016) of which the author was graciously able to give me further insight into about it’s inspiration. The publisher gave me permission to link to the poems I listed in my review and this interview. Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2017.

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About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

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Posted Thursday, 12 January, 2017 by jorielov in 21st Century, Blog Tour Host, Equality In Literature, India, Indie Author, Modern Day, Poetic Book Tours, Poetry




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