Are You Grabbing Opportunities? Or Are You Waiting For Them To Grab You?
Confessional poet Megha Rao talks about dealing with rejection as an artist and making the most of every possibility.
The world really is up for grabs. Just keep looking for possibilities. They’re really there.
Megha Rao is a confessional performance poet and a surrealist artist. Her work has been featured on platforms such as Penguin Random House India, Firstpost, The Open Road Review, New Asian Writing, The Alipore Post, Spoken Fest, Why Indian Men Rape and Thought Catalog. Megha is a postgraduate in English Literature from the University of Nottingham, UK, and is currently spending her time between Mumbai and Kerala.
We catch up with Megha post BHX Shillong, and speak to her about everything she’s been upto and what’s in the pipeline for her next.
1. Congratulations on the release of Teething, it’s gotten such a phenomenal response. Tell us a little bit about the process of writing and performing these “scattered memories” as you’ve described them.
I started from the last page and then made my way to the beginning. The characters of Teething are broken, and have a non-linear memory trajectory. Theirs is a universe that is told in parts, assembled differently, ever so fluid. I don’t think all of them can be performed, but there were some in the collection that could be taken to the stage.
2. Some of your poems are extremely personal, how do you draw the separation between the poet Megha Rao, and Megha, the person?
Everything I write comes from a personal space. I don’t think I could ever write about something I don’t know or feel strongly about. I interact a lot with emotions when I create, and this is a sacred space for me. Megha the poet is just a part of me, the side of me that writes. Megha the person, she’s evolving, rising, reviving. I’m so proud of both of them.
Megha the person, she’s evolving, rising, reviving. I’m so proud of both of them.
3. Social media has been a huge tool for you in building a community (of wolves) as you call them. Do you feel a lot of pressure to keep up and constantly post to engage your community?
Not really. I’m someone who has been very careful about reality checks. I’m not an Internet person, but I love community. I don’t feel pressure to keep posting because I’m here to leave behind a legacy, not to put out work on a daily basis just so that I can grab one extra eyeball. That’s draining and exhausting. I’m in awe of anyone who can do that, but I know I can’t. I take my time, work at my own pace, and that’s how it’s going to be. Nothing can influence that, because when I write, I enter an alternate universe.
4. You’ve explored many different formats in your poetry — from free verse to a performative style, to podcasts and even releasing Teething as an EP. What is the next medium you are excited to explore?
I’d love to mix music with live poetry. Collaborate with a band while performing. Jazz and rhyme, how beautiful that would sound! I go crazy for the saxophone.
5. Rejection is a huge part of being a writer and an artist — how do you deal with that and find the motivation to keep going?
I try again. I know I have opportunities wherever I turn. The world really is up for grabs. Just keep looking for possibilities. They’re really there.
6. What did the BHX experience mean to you and how have you collaborated with the tribe since coming back?
BHX was such a beautiful community of smart, ambitious and extremely inspiring people. For me, the experience was a wholesome one. I absolutely did not want to leave. There are a lot of cool collaborations in the pipeline, mostly live shows, merch, ideas about the next big thing.
7. From performances to the second season of Poems to Calm Down to, a lot of exciting projects seem to be in store. Give us a sneak peek into everything you’re currently working on.
A poem for POETRY magazine, a collaboration with the Plated Project for Teething, these are two things I’m very excited about. I’m also very thrilled to announce we’re featuring the brilliant poet Karuna Ezara Parikh on one of our podcast episodes. Poems to Calm Down to was a success that surprised and humbled me, and I’m very happy that its second season is coming out soon. We worked real hard on it!
