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An Interview with Prathap Kamath

‘I am of the conviction that great literature . . .
always stands rooted in history’

Aswin Prasanth

Prathap Kamath is a versatile writer known for the diversity of his literary works. His debut anthology of poetry, Ekalavya, which marked the beginning of his poetic odyssey, showcases the profound exploration of his themes and emotions. Following this, he ventured into the realm of fiction with his Blood Rain and Other Stories, that displays his talents as an ace storyteller. In Tableaux: Poems of Life and Creatures, Kamath presents a rare or even distinctly dual thematic structure, providing readers with an enriching and engaging reading experience. His anthology Black Spring captures a timeless allure that resonates with modern sensibilities, and illustrates his mastery to bridge classic and contemporary elements. Kamath’s expanding versatility also gets extended to the realm of political fiction, as evidenced by his novel The Blank Canvas, which delves into the intricacies of politics with insightful criticism. Kamath’s pursuits in fiction and poetry are informed by his extensive knowledge and critical perspective, which he has acquired as an academic. His academic career enriches his literary endeavours, enabling him to craft compelling fictional narratives and insightful poems that resonate with the sensibility of the readers.

Ekalavya is the title chosen for your debut anthology of poetry. What inspired this choice? How effective was it in encapsulating the essence or the thematic diversity explored in the collection?

“Ekalavya” is the eponymous poem in my first collection published in 2012. It’s perhaps the most political of my poems so far and also one of my very few longer poems. The name Ekalavya is familiar to Indians as being that of a tribal caste character in The Mahabharata whose enviable talent as an archer is spurned and punished by his vicarious Brahmin guru Drona: in the Vedic scheme of things the low caste does not have the right to learn martial arts.  In the poem, I have tried to plant the character in the social context of contemporary India where the same marginalisation and persecution of the Dalits continue. The titular poem has been chosen for the force of its argument and political feeling that might serve as a comprehensive sign for the general purport of the poems in the collection.

The themes, tones, and settings of Blood Rain and Other Stories form a heady, eclectic mix. Could you elaborate on the creative process behind this, specifically on the juxtaposition of violence, corruption, and love amidst the backdrop of Kerala’s ethos?

Blood Rain and Other Stories was published in 2014 by the Delhi based publisher LiFi. It is also my first story collection in English. Earlier I had published two collections in Malayalam compiling stories that were published in Malayalam periodicals over a period of two decades. The eclectic nature of the fifteen stories in Blood Rain could be because they were variously written over a period of six or seven years prior to its publication. Consequently, these stories owe their inspiration mostly to the socio-political milieu of that time in Kerala where I have lived most of my life. For me the story has been a medium to give shape to the way I feel about the events that are happening in the society. As you mentioned, violence, corruption and love (though bereft of romantic overtones) make for the burden of the occurrences in the society we inhabit and these have found their way as tropes into the stories. To this I wish to add a general anxiety over the erosion of long cherished values and also a Kafkaesque fear that pervades the body politic.

The dual thematic structure of Tableaux: Poems of Life and Creatures makes it a unique reading experience. How did you envision this? What significance do you believe it holds in conveying the complexities of human existence and our relationship with the natural world?

While planning this collection published in 2017, I had in hand a bunch of 20 poems that were distinct for being contemplations of animal life. In them, I have been attempting to reach the core of my perceptions of creatures through a binding of thoughts and images.  This section is subtitled “Anima,” and you may see an anthropomorphic turn in their presentations. They seek to mark the variegated nature of human relationship with the animal world. I am of much gratitude to my friend and writer Dr. A.V. Koshy whose Foreword to the book makes a scholarly and appreciative assessment of these creature poems. Grouping the rest of the poems as “poems of life” was an ingenious move to lay them in contrast with the latter part of the collection. In them, compared with Ekalavya, I think my poetry has shifted its gaze from the political to the subtleties of individual experience. Without any overt points of reference to the objective world, the poems in this section subtitled “Ex nihilo” seem to sprout as responses to inchoate external stimuli.

Your work Black Spring has a classic/eternal charm while maintaining an appeal that resonates with modern readers. Could you talk about navigating this fine balance in this work?

Maybe the classic/eternal charm you mention is the result of the refinement my poetic idiom underwent during 2017-19 when these poems were composed. I think my reading of that time was aimed towards attaining a better assimilation of the “Indian” in our English poetry. This probably must have fetched a fine balance between content and form in these poems. Many of the poems contained in Black Spring were published in prestigious Indian online journals like Bombay Literary Magazine, Madras Courier, Vayavya and a few foreign ezines. Here too, there have been a few poems that emphatically react to socio-political events of topical importance, but their representations have been more subtle and nuanced in language. Besides, there is also a section at the end titled “Aaspatri: pictures from the halls of suffering,” which comprises meditations on physical and mental suffering. The emotionality of these poems might have been appealing to readers.

In The Blank Canvas, Hamlet Damodaran’s journey intertwines with Kerala’s political history and cultural milieu. How do you explore the setting as more than just a backdrop, rather as an active participant in shaping Hamlet’s inner conflict and external challenges?

The Blank Canvas (2022) is a political novel in its core. The protagonist’s apparently apolitical stance is the result of a deeply felt disillusionment with the leftist ideology in praxis. It revolves around a fictional mystery that is embedded in the communist politics in the Kerala of the 1960s through early 80s. For those readers who are in the know of this history, it will be evident that the story is inseparably intertwined with it. Hamlet’s search for the truth behind his father’s murder also resonates with the socio-cultural milieu of contemporary Kerala, which sets the contours of his life’s trajectory. The unveiling of a truth hidden in the past also serves as a commentary on the ethical degeneration of the political present.

To what extent does your experience as an academic inform your pursuits in the realm of fiction and poetry? Is there a specific form of creative expression that you feel aligns more seamlessly with your scholarly endeavours?

There are people who believe that an academic life in literature can be disadvantageous in creative writing, probably because it may supposedly affect originality. However, I believe that the disadvantage is limited to the extent of the claim it lays on intellectual energy. The rigours of academic pursuit can act as a drain on creative urge and time. But on the positive side, an academic training in literature can be very useful in obtaining a deeper understanding of literary techniques, trends and history in addition to a more advanced exposure to great literature. All these would invariably have a salutary effect on an academic’s creative endeavours. As regards a form that is more in alignment with scholarship, I would say fiction. A reader of contemporary literary fiction may not find it difficult to understand this as fiction these days is equally a matter of scholarship as well as imagination.

Are there any set of perspectives or writing styles of authors/poets that have shaped and influenced your writing?

I am of the conviction that great literature, especially fiction and drama, always stands rooted in history, which it seeks to appropriate and interpret in imaginary terms. Regarding this, poetry seeks a more indirect and subtle way. The world of literature is replete with evidences for this. I cite three recent instances in fiction – Nights of Plague (2021) by Orhan Pamuk,  The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (2022) by Shehan Karunatilaka and Victory City (2023) by Salman Rushdie. I have been an avid reader of world literature, especially fiction, and there are many writers whom I have greatly admired. Any work that elevates one spiritually, intellectually and aesthetically can also influence a writer’s views and craft. But I would say that 20^th century has been the most satisfying for my tastes. In poetry the greatest early influences have been the English and American modernists. It is difficult to point out influences among contemporary poets, though there are many whose works I admire. Their works come to us mainly in anthologies and magazines. In the past decade, I turned more to the reading Indian poets, among whom I have been enamoured of the great ones from Nissim Ezekiel to some who are still writing. Also, there are a quite  number of Indian poets, both in India and abroad, who are writing excellent poetry, and whose works can be found in various ezines and print magazines that are currently coming out internationally.

Could you talk a bit about the recent developments in art and literature that seem of merit to you? Do you think they might inspire the forms/themes of your upcoming works?

I should be wary of answering the second part of your question, because I can’t see anything substantial coming up in the future. While reading English poetry that is published presently both in India and abroad, I find it not yielding to classification in terms of style and form. Perhaps the critics will find it out when time has set these works in perspective. Yet, it may be said that poetry now focuses more and more on the mundane and everyday experiences and details of life without any philosophical pretensions. It is also distinctively political and critical. It also does a lot of experimentation with language and form. Instapoetry is an example. Fiction seems to be expanding in a variety of forms and medium. Graphic novel is a case in instance. So are the stunningly experimental styles of writers like George Saunders, David Foster Wallace, Afonso Cruz etc. The greatest development now is that with the advent of social media, writers have to a large extent been freed from the constraints of traditional publishing. Now any writer can reach his readers globally without the mediation of a publisher. This has made writers bold in exploring newer contents and styles. Having said this, it should be noted that even now, the stamp of recognition can be attained only through the medium of a respectable traditional publisher.

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Aswin Prasanth holds a PhD in English Language and Literature from School of Arts, Humanities and Commerce, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Kochi Campus), India. He is the Academic Essay Editor of Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature. His articles, book chapters, columns, reviews, and interviews have appeared in Studies in European Cinema (Routledge), Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics (Routledge), Quarterly Review of Film and Video (Routledge), The Poet, The Cue, Rain Taxi, Asian Lite International, Everybody’s Reviewing, Mathrubhumi, The New Indian Express, and others.

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