Remember her name: Anita Nahal. She is an Indian-American poet, flash fictionist, children’s writer, columnist, and professor (photographed below). Anita has three books of poetry, one of flash fictions, four for children and three edited anthologies to her credit. A fourth edited anthology of poems is set for release in Spring 2022. Her latest released poetry book is, What’s wrong with us Kali women? (August 2021). Anita’s poems and flash fictions are found in journals in the US, UK, Asia and Australia and her poems are also housed at Stanford University’s Digital Humanities Initiative. She is also a columnist with Aaduna, a New York based journal. Two of Anita’s books are prescribed in a course on multiculturalism and immigration at the University of the Utrecht, The Netherlands. Anita teaches at the University of the District of Columbia, Washington DC. Anita is the daughter of Sahitya Akademi award-winning Indian novelist, Chaman Nahal and educationist, Sudarshna Nahal. Anita resides in the US with her son, daughter-in-law and golden doodle girl. More on her at: https://anitanahal.wixsite.com/anitanahal
I, Yerusalem Work, had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Anita. Below are her responses to my questions. Enjoy this thought-provoking journey and get to know more about this amazing author. Thank you for visiting my blog.
1. Whose writing do you emulate? Which poets do you recommend?
I am not sure I emulate any one poet in my writings. Folks say some of my poems remind them of Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, Phyllis Wheatley, and Amanda Gorman. They also say, my poems reveal the strength of writers such as Langston Hughes and Toni Morrison. I feel blessed with such comparisons. When I write, I don’t read poetry at the same time, so that I am not influenced by any one poet’s writing style.
Overall, I am influenced by anyone who can compel me to think about living, surviving, and thriving. Besides the above writers, my father, Dr. Chaman Nahal, who was a novelist and professor, has certainly impacted me. Also, Laini Mataka, Gayatri Chakraborty, Vikram Seth, W.E.B. DuBois, E. H. Carr, Candice Bushnell, and so many others. Furthermore, many writers through my Facebook connections post writings that are deeply inspiring. And my mother, Dr. Sudarshna Nahal who wrote one of the seminal books on principal leadership in schools, and finally my son, who writes beautiful poetry and informative pieces as well… Therefore, many people motivate me to write. Of course, the best teacher is life, itself. Life is my biggest motivation. (Parts of the above response are from those provided in an interview with Dr. Sagar Kumar Sharma for his forthcoming book, Writers Speak.)
2. What aspects of your identity most influence your poetry? How do you want to be remembered?
Being a human, a single mom, an immigrant, a woman, an educated-enlightened person, and one who self-reflects acutely and profoundly, and institutes efforts to inculcate changes to bring positivity to others’ lives and my own … all these dynamics of my being find their way into my poetry. These also are the qualities for which I wish to be remembered. Overall, I hope that I am remembered as a person who is a humanist, a phoenix, a renaissance woman, and an avid speaker/writer for justice and equality.
3. How does your work life and educational background impact your poetry?
Hmm…that requires some thinking. I suppose my being a professor, making the effort to prepare for my classes, along with my desire to teach well, to communicate clearly and objectively, and to learn from my mistakes, impact the way I approach the craft of writing poetry, as well. Each day, I must sit down to write, even if no words come out, even if I trash those that do come out. One must respect the process of writing. Also, continuous revision of my poems long after they are first published, is a constant factor in my poetic sphere. Sometimes, folks will read a poem in one journal and then months or years later, they will come across the same poem in a different avatar. I crave for refining the language in my poems…to be judicious in the words I utilize, the variations of words I employ (using the thesaurus a lot), and the diversities in which I approach similar emotions and themes. I want to keep the readers engrossed, intrigued…and I suppose in my classes as well, I want to make sure students want to join my classes because I teach captivatingly, keeping their attention as well as assisting them as best as I can in comprehending the course materials.
Furthermore, I think, having earned all the degrees I have, and doing some of them while being a mom, travelling the world with my young son, presenting at conferences, facing challenges such as leaving my birth country India, resigning from a tenured professorship there, adjusting to the US as my adopted country, going through a divorce, raising my son on my own, changing jobs, being laid off and having to reestablish my credentials and skills, rebuilding our lives, yet moving on…those survival instincts certainly seep into my literary outpourings.
4. If you could meet anyone past, present, or future, who would it be and why?
My parents, especially when they were children, so I could play with them and grow up with them
As far as well-known personalities are concerned, I think I would like to join Harriet Tubman in her underground perilous journeys, sit in the same seat as Rosa Parks, walk in the judicial halls with Ruth Bader Ginsberg, sit with Maya Angelou and learn from her survival strategies, take long walks with Indira Gandhi, watch over Anne Frank, cry with Mammie Till and all parents who have lost their children, interview JLo, Barack Obama, Fareed Zakaria, Anthony Fauci, Nancy Pelosi, Lady Gaga, and Kamala Harris, among many others. Most dear is the time I spend with my son and the conversations we have learning from each other.
I would love to have a copy of my latest book of poetry, What’s wrong with us Kali women? reach Vice President, Kamala D. Harris!
I think from all the above I would ask, what did you do right, and what would you have done differently? Once Maya Angelou said in an interview: “I wrote about my experiences because I thought too many people tell young folks, “I never did anything wrong. Who, Moi? Never I! I have no skeletons in my closet! In fact, I have no closet!” They lie like that, and then young people find themselves in situations and they think, “Damn, I must be a pretty bad guy. You know, my mom or dad never did anything wrong, so I’m pretty bad, and they can’t forgive themselves and go on with their lives.” (https://teentalkingcircles.com/2018/06/22/in-this-older-interview-maya-angelou-speaks-about-how-to-make-it-through-tough-times-always-relevant/)
How amazing are the above words. She (Angelou) was a soul who knew herself and wanted others to learn from her errors. You know, I’ve been saying to my son and keep saying repeatedly, that I have committed many mistakes, and please, learn from them and don’t repeat them. This loop of karma from us to our children and from our parents…I am inherently conscious of it and fear and respect it.
So, from all the above, once again, I would ask, what did you do right, and what would you have done differently?
5. Who is your target audience? What lasting change do you hope to make in the lives of your readers?
Everyone is my target audience if they feel pulled to my writings. I want folks to say, okay she did this, we can too. I would like to be a role model for others and stand out from among the billions of humans on this planet and be remembered for the positivity, the justice, the humanism, the wide plethora of themes I write about. I wish to make folks, sit up (or stand up ) and say, whoa, that was some poetry!
6. When did you start writing poetry? What’s most important about the art form?
I started writing when I was around nine years of age. My father was a writer and professor, and my mother was principal of a K-12 school. Both Ph.D.’s in English. So, learning and writing became a desire I wished to pursue. Also, I felt sensitively about a lot of injustices around me. My father nicknamed me, mother of all humanity! I would support those who were the underdogs. Again, quoting from my interview in Dr. Sharma’s forthcoming book, Writers Speak, “For me, poetry is the combination and juxtaposition of a myriad elements. Poetry is, variously, an expression, sharing, introspection, as well as it is cathartic. I write because I feel strongly about things, especially about injustices or hurt and sadness humans go through, or the narcissism of humans. I write so I can get it out of myself as that’s my primary form of artistic expression, and to draw attention to an issue, an emotion, an action. Hopefully, in the process, I can encourage folks to ponder solutions and change. For me, poetry is a process for understanding myself and others, or situations, or happenings.”
I employ various literary methods in my poems, such as imagery, paradox, metaphors, motifs, tautology, satire, soliloquy, personification, symbolism, similes, allusion, Socratic questioning, flashbacks, dream sequences, and foreshadowing for expressing everyday life. Poetry is a remarkable genre, as one can weave in messages, hint at things, set barometers, encourage change, soothe, calm and in some ways be meditative to the person and the readers. And therein is the intrinsic value of poetry.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to do this interview with you. Your questions were thoughtful and engaging. I hope the readers find some worth in my responses. Best wishes and blessings!
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This interview was a collaboration between Yerusalem Work and Anita Nahal. Please read more from Anita on Amazon. Her books are pictured below.
