Face to Face with Pradeep Biswal

Pradeep Biswal started writing when he was just 10 year old. He is well known name in Odisha literary circle. During his college days he become known as a poet. He is a bureaucrat by profession but a poet by choice.

Here an interaction by Sujata Shiven for FnF:

Q. When did you start writing poetry?

Ans: From my early childhood days, when I was hardly ten years old. In my high school days I was recognized as a budding writer. In the under graduate stage my poems got published outside college magazines and broadcast on All India Radio. During the Post-Graduation period in early eighties my work got published in all major literary journals and I got recognised as a poet.

Q. Who had inspired you to write poetry?

Ans: My Grandfather and my teachers in the school and college inspired me to write. Besides, my father was a creative person himself and my mother was also fond of literature, which inspired me.

Q. Why did you choose poetry to express your thoughts?

Ans: Can I say, poetry choose me instead of me choosing poetry. It is spontaneous and natural for me to write poetry. Of course I had tried my hands in prose and still used to write essays, stories etc. but poetry is my favourite field.

Q. Who is your favourite poet in world literature ?

Ans: T.S. Eliot, who brought a perceptible change in the poetic vision of the world in 20th Century.

Q. Are you satisfied with the writings in contemporary Oriya poetry?

Ans: Yes. Contemporary Oriya Poetry is comparable to poetry being written in any other language across the world.

Q. It is said that readers of poetry are a minority. What is your feeling?

Ans: It is everywhere, in every language. Only a sensible reader can appreciate poetry.

Q. What is the place of awards in the creativity of a writer?

Ans: Awards can neither create a writer nor kill a writer. However, awards can promote creativity.

Q. What is your advice to aspiring young poets?

Ans: Aspiring poets should read classics of one’s own language and try to identify his/her roots. One should keep open his/her eyes and ears and try to be honest to one’s feelings.

Also Read:

Writer in Spotlight: Pradeep Biswal

Delhi: Three Expressions (Poem)