Kathmandu:

With the aim to encourage new writers by providing a spacious platform for expressing their feelings and sharing their experiences through poetry, the Society of Nepali Writers in English (NWEN) organised a one-day workshop at the Hillside Resort, Nagarkot on March 28. Around 43 participants of the programme, which was divided into four sessions, got the opportunity to read, write and present their poems in presence of senior writers and professors, Scholars like Dr DP Bhandari, Dr Padma Devkota, Prof MP Lohani, Prof Hriseekesh Upadhyay, Basanta Lohani and Prof Dr SP Lohani spoke on different topics and inspired the participants.

Speaking on creative writing, Dr Bhandari said, “Creative writing is a means of satisfacti-on. A poet recreates hi-mself through writing.”

Presenting a long history of philosophy and world civilisation, Dr Bhandari added, “Man cannot live only on bread. Art and literature has vastly contributed to the world civilisation.” Giving the example of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, which he termed “a fine piece of creativity” he remarked that creative writing is not only related to literature.

Poet Lohani shared his personal experiences on the nuances of poem writing. He said that one should not become deliberate about the use of elements of poetry. He echoed Dr Bhandari’s sentiment on poetry being a means of satisfaction. “As a mother becomes extremely happy forgetting the hurdles of pregnancy to see a baby, a poem penned by me obviously makes me happy”.

On the other hand, Prof Upadhyay speaking on ‘Politics and Poetry’ said that any piece of literature depicts a particular history and that politics depends on the view of the readers. He also presented poems by DH Lawrence, while MP Lohani commented on the poems presented by the participants of the programme.

A collection of poems titled Stars and Fireflies by Prakash Subedi was also released by Dr Rameshwor Adhikari. Subedi recited two poems — Stars for You and Commoner. Commenting on the collection Dr Bhandari said the poet would be able to impress his readers at the first reading as he has followed the essential rules of poetry.