Reflections on the young poetic heart ~ Malinda Words

All great writers have one thing in common. They all began with a first publication. All great writers develop their craft by voracious reading, continuous writing and agonising over words and phrases. They can, if they so wish, look back to the early days, the first manuscript and the maiden publication.

If they were to peruse through those pages, they are likely to reflect on the innocence of it all. Then they’ll come across something, shudder and ask themselves ‘did I actually write that stuff’ and on another page, reading a different line, stop in awe, and ask the very same question, ‘did I actually write that stuff?’

It would, I believe, be the same with Thiyara De Silva one day in the distant future if and when she picks up a copy of ‘Between day and night: poems and prose.’ For now, in this moment of launch, tangibility and waves of affection if not admiration, it’s the ultimate feel-good. Or close to it. At this moment.

Young and aspiring writers are often advised to maintain a journal. While reading the journal or say notes maintained by Albert Camus, I understood why. It’s the honest transliteration of that which is observed. Observation and honesty: building blocks, foundation. Thiyara has got those right.

The disclaimers frame the reading, but they are not necessary. We write what we know or think we know. We write what we feel, if at all. The reader reads as he or she will; will keep certain things, forgets others.

Thiyara has no illusions about the would-be reader. She believes there’s something for everyone, perhaps some companionship when company is needed for a moment. There could be new perspectives between the covers, she suggests, or words that speak thoughts that have crossed the mind.

A note scribbled on the first page dedicated to a friend who purchased the book says it all, I feel: '[I] hope you find yourself somewhere in the pages.' She's written a personal story and these are the ones that are capable of telling readers something, anything, even if it's just a fleeting thought and nothing more, about themselves.

The book is what she says it is: ‘a collection of often unrelated thoughts, feelings and perspectives on various topics compiled across two years.’ Her friends as well as others of her generation would recognise, relate, empathise and delight. Older readers would recognise ‘that time’ in their lives, the same joys and anxieties albeit differently clothed back then.

‘Between night and day’ reads like a journal, a collection of status updates that weren’t posted for whatever reason. They tell us about Thiyara. Obviously. And so we find a young person unafraid to share her ‘journal’ and journey with the world. And so we find a keen observer who faithfully records her observations. She sees, processes, draws conclusions and tells us to make of it what we will.

There are lines here that indicate a mind that is not at ease with what is, an instinct that says ‘perhaps, but perhaps not,’ and proceeds to uncover layers in search of that which doesn’t come shouting or fully dressed but is nevertheless real.

It is fascinating to observe her thought process in some of the poems (and easy because she doesn’t fuss over the descriptions.

‘Cats don’t care about what people think.
That’s how I know I am not one.’

That’s a claim, but to the extent she’s been transparent, I feel Thiyara worries less about what people think than most of us do.

Poetry and prose, she says. The prose certainly has poetic trace; the poetry or the pieces that have ‘poetic structure’ are descriptive. In time, she will probably figure out roughly where the boundary lies. She is unmistakably authentic, there’s not a shred of make-up on the countenance of what she’s presented. She has the kind of imagination that’s almost life-breath to a poet.

Life and time will make her better able to unpack complexity and obtain nuance and salience. The world is made of metaphor and I feel she knows this. Writers, especially poets, get better at getting a grip on metaphor the more they live, reflect, read and write. Such learning will no doubt enhance the literary worth of what she writes.

For now, this is ‘first’ and like all ‘firsts’ gives future readers of her future work a location from which trajectory can be traced and assessed.

The most important ‘come-away’ is the heart. A poetic heart. Tender, but that’s a young-thing. A good thing. It can be potent. It can empower. We must wait. Patiently.

malindadocs@gmail.com

['The Morning Inspection' is the title of a column I wrote for the Daily News from 2009 to 2011, one article a day, Monday through Saturday. This is a new series. Links to previous articles in this new series are given below]

17 July 2023

Reflections on the young poetic heart

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