a chit-chat with aastha agrawal, a melbourne-based poet and artist
The Naarm creative lets us in on how yoghurt became a source of inspiration.
Hiya Aastha! Tell us about who you are. Hey! I’m an Indian writer and illustrator based in Melbourne/Naarm. My creative endeavours range from poetry and short fiction to articles and illustrations. Additionally, I enjoy acrylic and mixed media painting, but that’s mostly something I do just for myself, for now.
How did you first discover a love for poetry? I think it started back in high school when we were given poems to analyse. I know a lot of my friends hated English class, but poetry was truly one of the few things that interested me. I revelled in the idea of no concrete or correct answers, interpretations, and assumptions. I’ve been a fan of poetry since.
What, or who, are your biggest poetry inspirations and why? This is going to be a cliche and obvious answer but the people around me, the everyday experiences I have and the hardships I encounter and I see are my biggest inspirations.
Similarly, my culture and the disconnect I feel are massive themes in my poems. I also love watching documentaries on people like Agnes Varda, Nancy Wake and Sylvia Plath.
What’s the best headspace to be in to write poetry? I don't know if I can say that there's necessarily the best headspace to write poetry in because anyone can write poetry at any time and in any headspace. Like any artwork, it’s subjective, so what might be one person's idea of the 'best' headspace to write won't necessarily mean it's going to generate good poetry. It would be great if I were in a good headspace while trying to craft a poem because mental wellness comes first, but I can't necessarily say that it would result in good poetry.
Poetry should be written whenever one feels the need to. A lot of my poems come to fruition when I'm feeling down, but I've also written poetry in a good headspace.
What inspires your ‘Enchanted Characters’ illustrations? Are they ever based off real people? My Enchanted Club Characters are my way of combating restlessness. They're not really based on anyone specific; maybe here and there I'll be inspired by someone's features or an item of clothing they're wearing. I would love to make characters based on people though! Perhaps it's something I can venture into in the future.
Talk to us about your poem, “Dhai Calligraphy”. Why did you choose yoghurt as a main source of inspiration? The act of making yogurt at home is grounded in the knowledge of measurements, temperature, and patience. It is a skill often passed down from generation to generation among the Desi community.
Growing up, whenever my mother would make dahi, there would be arguments over who got to make the first indent in it. This memory, of which I thought nothing at the time, has become vital to my understanding and appreciation of my culture.
Naming the poem “Dhai Calligraphy” seemed fitting as the act of indentation was almost artistic and held a lot more value and meaning than just scooping with a spoon some fresh yogurt. The poem is also set on the page to mimic the indents made by spoons on the surface of yogurt. Even to this day, my mother makes her own yogurt through fermentation. Now I appreciate it a lot more.
How often do you experiment with the physical layout of a poem? Not as often as I'd like, actually! I believe every element of a poem carries significant weight, so you want to be very conscious and deliberate about what you add or don't add to a poem. It just made so much sense when it came to “Dhai Calligraphy”, it was a no brainer. But there are other times when I've tried to experiment with layout and I realise that there's no need, the poem speaks for itself.
Is the ‘I’ in your poetry a fictional or realistic version of yourself? The majority, if not all of my poetry is non-fiction and so more often than not the ‘I’ is me. However, I’m often referring to my past-self or within a collective.
Talk to us about winning the IWD x Converse 2021 prize. I actually won that for an article I submitted to Fashion Journal. They were having a collaboration with Converse for International Women’s Day, so I wrote a piece and by some miracle they chose me to be one of the four people who they published! The prize I won for my poetry was the POCC billboards that went up in London, which was truly a surreal experience.
See more of Aastha's rad work by visiting her website over here.
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