It is rare for one so young to display a creative talent that catches one’s eye in a world saturated with content. Yet, 15-year-old Gurbani Kaur Tikku manages to do so with her debut poetry book My Eyes Like the Sight of You, published by Notion Press. On the occasion of the launch of the book, the Sunday Guardian caught up with the young poet, artist, and essayist to speak about her poems, writing, and more.
Excerpts from an edited interview:
Q: Why did you choose to write poetry?
A: My book my eyes like the sight of you. is a very raw expression of me as a person. I have always known that I am an observer at heart. I am inspired by our world and all the elements residing in it. I am fascinated by people around me and from them, I readily absorb new ideas to speak about every day. Further, as an empathetic and creative person, my exposure to different lifestyles has enabled me to express my feelings through a variety of mediums — whether painting, writing, music, or poetry.
Specifically with poetry, I feel as if I didn’t choose it; it chose me, and I am glad it did. As for the book, at its core, my eyes like the sight of you. begins with the central theme of sonder before exploring grief, girlhood, rebellion, and pure love. It is a collection of 55 poems and it is a piece of my heart.
Q: What was your process of writing the poems and how long did they take to write?
A: My process of writing the poems was quite random! I wrote my first poem on August 20, 2023, to express my feelings when my brother left the country to attend college. I remember sitting quietly with my father, reminiscing and writing. Since then, poetry has taken over my world.
I have grown through poetry, lived through poetry, loved through poetry, and at times, given life through poetry — to inanimate objects or distant people. Each poem takes varying amounts of time to write. Sometimes, when I’m in a constant stream of consciousness or wildly inspired by another author, the poetry comes naturally as if the pen is moving for me. Other times, I find it hard to express myself, even when the thoughts are present — when I cannot think of words to justify my emotions, or when my mind itself cannot justify them.
Overall, this book took me almost two years to write in its entirety. It was a long process of discarding manuscripts, rewriting poems, refining formats, and completely rethinking everything. But it is a journey I am proud of.
Q: What are the challenges of writing poetry? And how did you overcome them?
A: Challenges are always there. There is no single way to overcome them other than by being authentic. As David Foster Wallace once said, “What the really great artists do is, they’re entirely themselves. They’ve got their own vision, their own way of fracturing reality, and if it’s authentic and true, you will feel it in your nerve endings.”
This is also what my father has always stressed. Hence, my only goal is to be authentic in everything I do. Writing is not something you can try to imitate; it must come from within. I feel all of us have a poet inside us, a voice in our brain so clear yet so static, so vulgar yet so lyrical — and the challenges can only be overcome when you use that inner voice, when you have an ardent need to express yourself.
Other than that, you need to read often. Reading anything from articles to novels widens your scope without you realising it. What you have learnt may not always be visible, but when you need that knowledge the most, it will come forth.
Apart from reading, even simply observing societal dynamics, environmental phenomena, or listening to conversations is all content. It is content your brain will soak up like a sponge if you let it. After a while, writing should come so easily that every breath you take can turn into something you would want to write about.
Q: What makes your poetry unique and different from that of others?
A: My poetry is uniquely me. It is for those who have stared at a crack in the wall for too long and found a whole universe in it. It is for all who pause to notice, for the ones whose friends call them overly sensitive at times, and for those who are fascinated by the power they possess and desire to savour it fully.
The book is only 104 pages bound together by soft cardboard, but it is my vulnerability encapsulated, like a weighted blanket in the peak of December. It continues to unravel the same way, chronologically: different months, different seasons, different séances — all aimed at making you feel a variety of emotions.
Q: What are you working on next?
A: After publishing my first book, despite all the excitement, I felt a bit empty within, thinking I did not have anything to work on anymore. It took me only a few seconds to snap out of it and realise that this is just the beginning — like a warm candle placed at the entrance of my literary journey. I have been working on poetry as well as some essays to hopefully get published in their own time. For now, poetry is back to just being an escape.
I have always kept myself busy. It is what I am good at. Alongside writing, I am deeply invested in natural sciences, philosophy, art, and music. Expressing myself through different disciplines and watching them intermingle is my greatest joy. I have written poems over my paintings and painted over poems, and then musically interpreted those days at dusk with a guitar in my hands. This book is all of that captured — gleaned from my diaries, sketchbooks, and notes. And I hope everyone who reads it will cherish it.
Q: Why do you feel one should read your book?
A: This is something that the book tells you itself, within its title and blurb. If you like poetry, thinking rhythmically, ruminating deeply, and dancing through words, then you should read this book. If you too make fake circumstances and imagine storylines in your head just to distract yourself from the silence, then you should read this book. This book will help you be friends with the silence, not force you to fill the gaps, but to be okay with them being there.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com.
