I’ve been trying to articulate what it is about Srividya's Sivakumar’s poetry that has made me such a fan, and I believe that every time I share her work, and write about it, I’m getting just a wee bit closer to her words. Srividya’s gaze is steady- her metaphorical ingenuity hovers with the ease of intuition, floats gently on the surface of the imagination with the coyness of visions of first love, or the serrated edge of dark irony, resistance and critique. Hers is a no-nonsense approach, to a reality that would be disappointed with anything but the brusqueness of pragmatism.
The poem I’m sharing with you today - Eggs - is a storm of a poem, rising and falling with the wings of humour and conviction. She talks of experiences at the RMU (Reproductive Medicine Unit) using the metaphor of eggs and slowly unwinding the spool of stories of oppressive behaviour and cultural conditioning that disregards the individuality of a woman, her identity and choice. The recipes that she references get more and more bizarre in their juxtaposition with the question of reproduction and the claustrophobia of the woman’s “role” or designated “place”. We begin to see the hypocrisy and rank inequality that shrouds the drama of reproductive demands on women. As she builds up to her final flourish, we are left gasping for breath, searching for that stray bit of conscience that seems to have betrayed us as the poem unfolded.
Make sure you catch her reading of the poem, shared below. Srividya will be sharing her poems with us tomorrow (Sunday, October 4th, 6.30 pm) along with Vimal and Rajutai at the poetry reading that marks one year of Poetly - New Language.
You can join the event using this zoom link - https://bit.ly/2S97zWG. Hope to see you there!
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