Sweet Talk with Trivarna Hariharan

FG: How were you introduced to poetry?

TH: When I was in the third grade or so, I was introduced to a considerable number of classic poets - Yeats, Wordsworth, Whitman, Dickinson, Eliot and many others. I was so enamoured by their style of writing that I wanted to emulate it. Therefore, a major chunk of my 'early' writing came about as a result of the poets I'd read.

I completely agree with what Czeslaw Milosz says in Ars Poetica, which is: "The purpose of poetry is to remind us how difficult it is to remain just one person, for our house is open, there are no keys in the doors, and invisible guests come in and out at will." This is one of the many reasons I find poetry truly endearing: it carries a remarkable amount of meaning, and say so much in so little.

FG: What has influenced you writing? Who inspires you?

TH: That's difficult to answer, because 'influences' are seldom concrete or tangible. There's so much to be inspired by in the form of people, observations, events. The first author who 'inspired' me is not someone who writes predominantly in verse, strangely. Ruskin Bond has been an incredible inspiration. The simplicity with which he conveys what he wants to, is beautiful. He taught me how to look for love and beauty in the smallest of things.

FG: You published Yours, Faithfully: A Collection of Poems

(Createspace, 2014) when you were thirteen, and your fourth

book, Home and Other Places (Nivasini, 2017) will be

coming out only three years later. How has your writing

grown since your first book? Has the process of publishing

and forming your book changed, and if it has, how have you

dealt with it?

TH: "Yours Faithfully" wasn't so much a book as it was an

impulsive decision to publish one. Home and Other Places wasn't

hurried. I gave it enough room to breathe. I wish I'd done that

with my earlier pieces of writing as well. I realize how important

it is to allow a piece of art the journey it deserves to have. I value

the time that it takes. I approach it with more patience than I used

to, before.

FG: Do you have any other passions? Any projects you’re working on?

TH: I am a keyboardist. I primarily play Western Classical, but I enjoy exploring other genres too. I haven't discovered (or tried to learn) a new art form in quite some time now. So if given the chance, I'd love to learn something new.

FG: Did you begin playing the keyboard before or after you started writing poetry? Did you, or do you, find something special in engaging in one of the activities that you don't experience with the other?

TH: That's a good question. I started playing the keyboard before I began writing. Music is very significant to my ethos. There are times when I feel like my writing doesn't seem to say enough, or at least as much as is required. Music fills the silences left behind by certain memories.

To me, they are similar and different. Every art form seems to have something in common with the other. But there's something very distinctive (and almost exclusive) to each one. They all have their own unique styles, syntax and technicalities.

FG: If you could travel back in time to any age, what would you tell your past self?

TH: To not evade my present. I spent (and still sometimes do) a lot of time thinking about the past (or the future). Its imperative to live each moment in its entirety.

FG: What have you been reading or listening to lately? Your favourite tv shows? Are there any lesser-known books, shows or albums that you’d recommend?

TH: I've been reading Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov. It's a

beautifully written memoir. I've been revisiting some of my all

time favourite music - which includes so many songs of Kishore

Kumar, Jagjit Singh and Farida Khanum. I don't watch too many TV

shows, but I've lately been watching old Hindi cinema - Satyajit

Ray, Raj Kapoor, Shyam Benegal.

Amongst books, I love Ocean Sea by Alessandro Baricco, The

Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa and The Reef by Edith

Warton. All three are brilliantly evocative. In music, I've been listening

to some of Beethoven's lesser known works - Fugue in D Major,

Kontretänze No. 1 in C Major, Rondo in B Flat Major (Sviatoslav Richter

and Beethoven) and some others. They're absolute treasures.

FG: To stay true to our name, do you like sweet or sour food better?

TH: Hard to pick one. I'd say both!

Welcome to this month's Sweet Talk, a series in which we Rascals chat with cool and creative teenagers. Today, I’ll be talking to Trivarna Hariharan, a poet, author of four books of poems, and editor-in-chief at Inklette. You can read her official bio below:

Trivarna Hariharan is an undergraduate student of English Literature. She has authored The Necessity of Geography (Flutter Press), Home and Other Places (Nivasini Publishers), Letters I Never Sent (Writers Workshop, Kolkata). Her poems appear or are forthcoming from Alexandria Quarterly, Allegro, Birds Piled Loosely, Random Sample Review, Open Road Review, TXTOBJX, Vayavya, Café Dissensus, Red Bird Chapbooks, The Sunflower Collective, Quail Bell, Eunoia Review and others. She has served as the editor in chief at Inklette and Goodwill Ambassador for Postcards for Peace. She is the poetry editor for Corner Club Press.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Trivarna! We’ll be looking into all these music and book recommendations, and we encourage all of you Rascals to check out Trivarna's books and other work online as well.

Look out for Issue Two, which should be coming out in the next few weeks! Submissions for Rascals Reviews and staff applications are still open, so head on over to our guidelines if you are interested in showcasing you work or becoming part of the Sugar Rascals family! Remember to sign up for our weekly recommendations newsletter and follow our social media accounts to stay updated.

Farah Ghafoor is a sixteen-year-old poet and editor-in-chief at Sugar Rascals. Her work is published or forthcoming in Ninth Letter, alien mouth, and Big Lucks among other places, and has been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Farah is the recipient of the 2016 Alexandria Quarterly Emerging Artists and Writers Award. She believes that she deserves a cat. Find her online at fghafoor.tumblr.com.