Poetry
Daljit Nagra: The Bard of Dollis Hill
by SUCHITRA BAJPAI CHAUDHARY
Reading Daljit Singh Nagra's poems is like finding an Asian quilt on a shelf at Harrods with exotic colours that bring back memories of the subcontinent, particularly Punjab - of its people, their dreams, their culture and values.
The second son of Sikh immigrants from Punjab - his father migrated to the United Kingdom in the late Fifites and his mother in the early Sixties - Daljit, 46, includes vivid images of Punjab in many of his poems: "pink kameez with ballooned bottoms'', "mustard oiled trail of hair" and "brocaded pink sandals".
He writes about immigrant life in a voice that is distinctively Punjabi, a style some critics have termed ‘Punglish' (for Punjabi English).
"I'm keen to break away from the burden of verisimilitude; I don't care if I capture a real spoken voice," says Daljit.
"I'm trying to create an imagined human voice, which is ornate and lively. It is not essential to me that this voice be scientifically validated by having proof of someone who speaks in exactly that way. The language I use in my poems allows me to capture a non-standard English voice, which I hope creates linguistic excitement for the reader.''
Critically acclaimed
Apart from creating excitement among readers, his work has received awards and rave reviews among critics in the world of literature.
The English school teacher's debut book of verses Look We Have Coming to Dover!, which was published by Faber in 2007, earned him the Forward Prize for the Best First Collection the same year. It also won him the 2007 Forward Prize for Best First Collection and was shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award. In 2008, it won the South Bank Show Arts Council Decibel Award.
His second book Tippoo Sultan's Incredible White Man Eating Tiger Toy Machine, published last year, got rave reviews around the world for its colourful, larger-than-life stories about growing up in London.
Critics have not wavered in showering him with praise.
"Anyone who hasn't read Look We Have Coming to Dover! should prepare to be wooed and wowed," said the Observer while The Guardian termed him the bard of Dollis Hill (the place in north-east London where he lives).
The London Review of Books said, "Nagra's work has excited attention because he deals with the experiences of, for the most part, the British Asian working class, specifically Punjabis, and employs both standard and non-standard English to do so.''
The poet is happy with the positive response to his work.
"The writing feels validated and it feels great that British poetry can recognise or at least praise the experiments I am conducting in poetry. I never expected any recognition from the poetry community so I am very pleased,'' says Daljit, who lists William Blake, John Keats, Seamus Heaney, Derek Walcott, Czesław Milosz and Emily Dickinson as his favourite poets.
Although he has been compared to Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he says, "I am untypical of English poets in that I have written many happy love poems.
"Poetry offers the liberty to explore our real and surreal emotions and does not demand a chronological or linear unity in structure. And also I enjoy playing with language in a heightened way. You can do this over 20 or so lines and hold the reader's focus.
"I like to explore issues regarding caste and class ... My Indian background imposes caste on me, and my working class background in London imposes class on me. They are barriers that I politically engage with and also imply through the way I engage with poetry forms and language," he says.
Seeking honest feedback
He believes that the strength of his poems lies in the fact that he consciously works on themes. "They have been developed from poem to poem and from first to second collection. Spontaneity is important in that poetry should be lively, risk-taking.''
Daljit says writers need mentors. "The big development in my writing came when I worked with Stephen Knight who has mentored me since 2002. He made me focus on my craft and helped me develop as a critic of my own work. Most of my success is due to his constructive criticism and his generosity with time,'' says Daljit on his website.
He has a piece of advice to budding poets: "I would encourage all new writers to seek honest feedback and read the best of the latest poetry.''
NOTE: Daljit Nagra is on the Board of the Poetry Book Society. He has judged the Samuel Johnson Award 2008, The Guardian First Book Prize 2008, The Foyles Young Poets Competition 2008, The National Poetry Competition 2009. He has also hosted the TS Eliot Poetry Readings 2009. He is a regular contributor to programmes on radio.
[Courtesy: Gulf News. Edited for sikhchic.com]
March 2, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Manjeet Shergill (Singapore), March 02, 2012, 10:28 PM.
Show me a Punjabi poet and I will show you love. Okay, it's not poetry - but I am excited we have a Punjabi poet. I am now definitely moving to England.