‘I do not write for myself!’

On his first book of poems Dom Moraes wrote: ‘Manohar Shetty's poems do not so much state as imply. The world they connect with is a world of perceptions and sudden realizations. His best poems have a delicacy of touch and texture which would be outstanding in any young poet. This book is full not only of promise but, often, of actual achievement.'
Three-and-a-half decades later, Dom's words still sound fresh and meaningful. Even today, his critics and admirers find Manohar Shetty's poems as appealing and admit that their lingering effect cannot be wiped easily. Having just released his ninth book of poems - ‘Full Disclosure' - on October 27, Shetty discloses that this book puts together all his eight individual collections so far and runs into over 300 pages.
"It spans more than 35 years of work, beginning with my first book published in 1981 and ending with 20-odd new and unpublished poems," states Shetty, a Homi Bhabha Fellow and a Senior Sahitya Akademi Fellow who was also awarded a Fellowship by the Fundacao Oriente. Shetty also won the top prize in the nationwide ‘Asian Age' Short Story Competition for his story ‘Writer's Block' in 2004.
Indeed, words have been serving this master for almost four decades and Shetty admits that the subject matter varies with time and experience. "When you're young and rebellious, it's time for those ‘anti-establishment' poems and of course, poems on love, requited and unrequited. With time comes, a fuller approach and, hopefully, some maturity. But animal and bird imagery have remained central metaphors in some of my poems, not for their own sake but as parallels to the iniquitous society we live in."
And like all art, readers can find more than one meaning in the written words. And Shetty agrees that some poems can be difficult and complex indeed while others willfully obscure, "as if the poet alone holds the secret to a mysterious, arcane world". "I like to think of my work as being readily accessible, though the art of imparting simplicity can, in itself, be difficult. A poet - or any writer - should not expect appreciation merely because a work has gone through several hours of labour. A reader's job is merely to find some resonance - or not - in the final product," he says, adding that he does not write for himself. "Though there is a therapeutic element in my work, I don't write for myself. If I did, I wouldn't publish the work. I would keep it locked away in a secret diary. The fact that it is published makes it open to public scrutiny, to appreciation and censure." As for the critics, Shetty feels, "There are very few knowledgeable and discerning ones in the field of contemporary poetry in English, unlike in the West. In India, all poets are apprehensive of their books falling into the wrong, incompetent hands. Besides, we have very few specialized literary journals in the country."
It is often said that poetry is born more out of pain than in pleasure. It's a catharsis of one's deepest emotions. But for the poet in Shetty, poetry is about meaningful pauses too. He feels, "Overstating the case can effectively kill a poem. It is the art of beauty in brevity. Very few poets write epic length poems now. It is precision and clarity that lends an edge to a poem. The tension comes from the craft and language with an undertone of emotion."
Adding in the same breath, Shetty points out - love poems can be especially difficult to write as it is easy to go overboard when you are in love and just as easy to go all mournful, weepy and hysterical over unrequited love. "In both cases, subtlety and understatement, is the key to make any lasting impression," he quips.
Recalling his entry in the world of words, Shetty says, "I was actually quite put off by poetry in school. All those Romantics - Shelley, Keats, Byron - seemed almost nambypamby, effeminate. I was struck by poetry only when I discovered the contemporary, modern poet in a bookshop in Mumbai in the mid-seventies. It was a great thrill making that discovery, especially the Penguin series with a sampling of work by three contemporary poets in each volume."
Much later, just down the road in Colaba Causeway, Shetty discovered the work of poets like Ted Hughes, Thom Gunn, Sylvia Plath, Derek Walcott and others in the OUP (Oxford University Press) showroom. "I guess my instincts were right as both Walcott and Heaney went on to win the Nobel. But it is the work of Hughes that has continued to endure for its power, craftsmanship and immediacy," points out Shetty who has been living in Goa since 1985.
It amuses this poet and writer that as soon as people discover that he is living in Goa over the past 30 years and more, they begin to assume that the place has been a source of inspiration. "That isn't quite true," asserts Shetty.
Does that mean that Goa has not appealed this versatile wordsmith? "It took me several years before Goa got under my skin enough to produce a poem. Since then I've written only a dozen or so poems that are directly related to Goa. Other poets can relate directly to the charms - or otherwise - of a particular place. But my own sources are more internalized. Without that emotional spark, a poem rarely comes off," he reveals.
On poetry, his thoughts are so different from others. He believes, "Poetry is an individualistic art, and that is evident in the myriad kinds of poetry you find in international journals. To each his or her own and you need an element of luck for you to find an editor with a responsive chord. There is no such thing as a ‘model poem' that will find favour with every editor."