In an exclusive interview, Fatima discusses the scope for English poetry and her future endeavours as a writer…
Fatima Ijaz is a published poet who was born in Karachi. She studied Liberal Arts at Hartwick College, New York (USA) and finished her undergraduate degree in English from York University in Canada. Later, she completed her Master’s in English Linguistics from Eastern Michigan University. She won first prize at the Mclaughlin Poetry Contest in Toronto (2007). She then returned to her birth city, where she further studied English Literature at Karachi University. Ijaz now teaches English and Speech at IBA. She is also a contributing editor for an online literary magazine called The Pandemonium Journal. She was a participant at The Karachi Literature Festival in 2020 and 2021.
Her work has been published in numerous publications, including The Aleph Review, Ideas & Futures, and The Bombay Review. Some of her work includes The Shade of Longing and Other Poems, which she is the author of. In an exclusive interview, Fatima discusses the scope for English poetry and her future endeavours as a writer…
You! What inspired you to turn to poetry as a creative medium as opposed to the novel or the short story?
Fatima Ijaz: Most of all, the intensity and defiance of a poem – it dives deep into an experience and yet resists total surrender to the reader. It’s daringly direct but disappears before you can capture it – like the sighting of a mermaid in a sequinned sea.
Don’t get me wrong, I find novels fascinating. As I recently said in response to a similar question at the Quetta Literary Festival, novelists are deeply committed individuals and have the nerve and strength to write at detailed length. However, as a reader, I am always seeking the dark creativity of poetry, even in the longer forms. I do wish to evolve to writing short stories myself, and have several unpublished ones in my diaries.
You! English poetry is often believed to have remained on the fringes of Pakistan’s literary scene. To what extent do you agree with this statement? If yes, why is that the case?
FI: Poetry has the tendency to be inaccessible – out of reach, like stars that are fixed and present but not really there at all in the here and now. This aspect probably makes poetry an acquired, exclusive taste. I guess there is the possibility of writing a charged, activist sort of a poem, which is goal-oriented and specifically wants to be heard loud and clear.
It’s in the intention of the poet – does s/he want to be known or even exposed? Add sensationalism and I am sure poetry would start to thrive, but the poem always demands sophistication and dignity even in the wake of blatant tears and tragedy. You will never find contentment similar to that found in soppy or uselessly violent dramas and nonsensical, trite comedy films in serious poetry! Reading poetry will enhance and refine you as a human being – I really do encourage it.
You! Is there a dearth of strong talent within the realm of English poetry in Pakistan?
FI: There are many talented English poets in Pakistan, as the volumes of The Aleph Review will affirm. The question is: is being a poet your elemental condition? It can’t just be an external or social activity. Poetry is indulgence in the extreme solitary life and, like all disciplines, needs years of committed practice.
You! What can be done to strengthen the scope for English poetry in Pakistan?
FI: We could introduce Master of Fine Arts in creative writing in our universities – where there is proper and dedicated study and practice under the guidance of established mentors. This might propel local publishers to look at English poetry as a serious form as well.
I have designed a couple of poetry workshops and taken it to a few universities. Recently, I created a more detailed five-day workshop as well. More established poets could also bring their learnings across through such acts perhaps.
You! The poems in ‘The Shade of Longing’ have been described as “personal keepsakes for eras, people and places that no longer exist”. In what ways has memory influenced the structure and content of your collection?
FI: I thought a lot about the ‘locked time’ that we no longer have access to – even though we lived in that time once. It was only on the wings of memory that I could hope to go to these distant places in the now-deserted landscape of my own mind. I travelled – akin to a sci-fi adventure – and came face-to-face with my past selves and old ways of looking at the world. Some of these were black-masked and difficult; others were more inviting, as if waiting for me for years. Holding the memory lantern and being persistent, I was able to safely revisit lost selves in time. This process resulted in ‘The Shade of Longing’.
You! A seasoned poet writes that your “poems read like links in a chain…that keeps us tied to both past and present at the same time…[and] also define what the future holds for us”. In what ways has this technique enriched your ability to retrieve the past through your work?
FI: I think you can be in an intensely alive moment through this parallel ability of being here and in the past at the same time. It is multitasking in a sense and creates the possibility of a rich conversation – it also creates the ‘new’ future, as your will participates in altering both past and present realities. This experience was powerful and gave me the strength to go deeper into the wild reaches of the past.
You! You’ve stated in an interview that “poems can be invocations to…surreal, dreamy ways of being”. What is the significance of dreams in your work?
FI: Sometimes I resume unfinished conversations in my dreams – these are far more expressive and creative in the dream realm! Also, I feel there is an intense silent observer in all of us, even while we are apparently having ordinary encounters. It is this observer who is surreal, poetic, dreamy. My work is informed by all of these factors.
You! What’s your creative process for writing a poem? Does it vary with every piece you produce?
FI: A friend of mine once remarked that my poems seemed to have been written by different people. I think each poem asks of you to bring out the palette, assemble the paints, make careful choices of colour and precision. I’d like to say each colour-piercing of a poem is unique.
My creative process – well, sometimes reality isn’t enough to hold what is happening around you or in your mind. This moment is open and you walk into it transformed into a writer.
You! What are you working on next? How different is it from your previous work?
FI: I’ve recently started compiling works for my new collection. If ‘The Shade of Longing’ was my first contact with the readers, my new collection reflects a feeling that I want to share and express more. It’s less ambiguous and lasts longer than a candle flame. It also includes a memoir piece. I am really so grateful for the careful and serious attention that my poetry was given and it has encouraged and spoilt me to present new poems. Working on this new book even feels like the next stage of a relationship with the readers of ‘The Shade of Longing’.
A law graduate from SOAS, London, Taha Kehar is a novelist, journalist and literary critic. He has authored two novels ‘Typically Tanya’ and ‘Of Rift and Rivalry’.
