Tag: The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: 2021 Edition Page 1 of 3

The PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series: Celebrating Inspiration with Kusumita Kanango & Anurima Biswas

On December 20, 2021

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series, which celebrates the talented young creatives featured in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Youth Edition.

Today, Kusumita Kanango and Anurima Biswas are telling us what inspired the pieces they sent us

Kusumita Kanango

Kusumita Kanango (India) enjoys reading, penning poetry and music. “My mom inspires me to derive my strength and my happiness from within myself.”

Kusumita sent us the poem titled We are the young dreamers:

‘‘Kissing you // Kissing the Moon’’ arose out of my urge to touch upon the love that loses its way in the distance. My vision is of the sweet bruise of unrequitedness, eclectic and palpable. The speaker yearns for the kiss of their beloved, the caress of their soft hands, the sound of their laughter, and find themselves having recurring fantasies as they balance on the verge of destruction.
My inspiration is scraps of moments; an amalgamation of rushed emotions, silvery nights, and quiet hearts shattering like glass. The moments of this poem are forlorn sighs and almost said words, unfulfilled nights and melancholic days.
Kusumita Kanango

Anurima Biswas

Anurima Biswas (West Bengal, India) enjoys writing, reading, photography, listening to soft and calming instrumental music, and flipping through art books and fashion magazines. She sees herself working and writing for a reputable magazine. “My role model would undoubtedly be my mom because I think it is the most difficult and strenuous task in the world. I look up to her each day, for her guidance and advice. She is very precious to me and I admire her work ethic. It would be an honor to live up to her expectations as an individual.”

Anurima sent us the short story titled Under the Umbrella:

There were a million thoughts in my head which fired up this idea of writing such a piece of poetry.
The thought process was inspired by the 90s Indian romance films which took place in Mumbai and Calcutta at the time when romance was forbidden. I grew up watching these movies with my father and grandparents while eating potato chips and fruit soda.
Through the poem I wanted to convey the idea of love which is not portrayed by show but is felt from within. The lovers are not intimidated by the presence of other people in the rain and express themselves without holding anything back.
The message behind is pretty simple: love is not something you show as a trick or as false pretense but rather something of dedication, trust and openness. Lovers are unaware of the anxieties of the world and remain carefree.
Anurima Biswas

Kusumita and Anurima, thank you for sharing what inspired your pieces. We know that people will love your work as much as we do!

This is the last post in our PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series. We hope that you enjoyed reading everything!

The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Youth Edition will be available very soon. Keep an eye on our blog for our upcoming release announcement!

Cendrine & David

The PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series: Celebrating Inspiration with Eva Quetzal & Shivani Tripurani

By Auroras & Blossoms

On December 16, 2021

In Inspirational Artist Series

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series, which celebrates the talented young creatives featured in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Youth Edition.

Today, Eva Quetzal and Shivani Tripurani are telling us what inspired the poems they sent us

Eva Quetzal

Eva Quetzal (Denver, U.S.) enjoys rock climbing, watercolor painting, and protesting. She would like to become an artist and work for a human rights organization. “My Abuelita is my role model because she is full of sunshine and is the most generous person I know.”

Eva sent us the poem titled We are the young dreamers:

I wrote the first lines of this poem as an almost chant that I’ll say when biking up the hill to my house. For the rest, I wanted to convey my hope in my generation. I feel there’s so much work to be done.
Eva Quetzal

Shivani Tripurani

Shivani Tripurani (Hyderabad, India) loves reading, music and dancing, and wants to pursue a career in the creative field. “Artists such as Halsey, who promote poetry and music, have been huge inspirations. I love her uplifting music and style.”

Shivani sent us the poem titled Candied Melanin:

“Candied Melanin” is a written potpourri of pride and honest hope that addresses people of colour. Our skin colour only reveals so much of our story. Through this poem, I do not want to tell the world to acclimatize their vision to discern the differences in people’s complexion; rather, I want the world to harden their perspective to realise that red bleeds beneath all of our melanin – marginalized community or not. I was inspired to write this poem, because culture and heritage are something I grew up nurturing, and I intend to savour it and mould it into everything new I learn and unlearn every day. The best way for me to share this message is through a few metaphors and rhymes, so I truly hope that whatever the interpretation, “Candied Melanin” can make us a tad bit more accepting, respectful, and united.
Shivani Tripurani

Eva and Shivani, thank you for sharing what inspired your poems. We know that people will love your work as much as we do!

Cendrine & David

The PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series: Celebrating Inspiration with Raj Ratan Mala & Sara Weinstein

By Auroras & Blossoms

On December 13, 2021

In Inspirational Artist Series

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series, which celebrates the talented young creatives featured in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Youth Edition.

Today, Raj Ratan Mala and Sara Weinstein are telling us what inspired the poems they sent us

Raj Ratan Mala

Raj Ratan Mala (Bokaro Steel City, India) likes writing, cooking and singing. He wants to become a writer. “My role model is my father. He taught me my worth and he set an example for how other men should treat me. He was a gentle person with an astounding personality. I wish I could be half as good as him when I grow up.”

Raj sent us the poem titled Chiselled Maiden:

I’d love to give a little backstory behind the reason for carving those verses. My mother is one of the prettiest women I’ve ever known and it might be same for most other people as well! When I was little, it might sound insolent, but the ten year old me always got envious when my father called her pretty; or maybe I might’ve felt betrayed since I wanted to be his only princess. One good winter night, I asked him who’s prettier and being brutally honest, it was on a witty remark. I’ll save his words since that’s all portrayed in the poem and even though he’s gone, his words shot my heart like a dart (in a good way, of course).
All women are goddesses and my mother is the goddess who created me. In the poem, there’s a description of a painter, painting a middle aged women on his canvas and she’s trying her best to look as young as she can, covering up her stretch marks, tightening her corset, holding her breath.
The more she asks the artist to paint her prettier, the more details he adds to his piece. He painted the women with all her flaws, all those details she didn’t want to be seen. Little did she know, or I must say, little does every woman know, that they’re a work of art and art is not supposed to fit into any beauty standards, it’s a creation that’s one in the whole world and perfect in every term. The flaws are the details that need to be embraced, not stroked with the colour white.
Raj Ratan Mala

Sara Weinstein

Sara Weinstein (Rockville, U.S.) enjoys writing, debates, reading, and exercising. She would like to become a politician or a civil rights lawyer. “I greatly admire Lucy Stone, because she was unconventional and stood up for the rights of herself, others, and others like her, in a time when that was not conventional and accepted, and she paved the way for future generations of women to have more rights, even though she did not live to see her efforts come to fruition.”

Sara sent us the poem titled Lavender’s Green:

I wrote this poem in a time when I was really struggling with social anxiety, and I felt really alone at the time. I felt like this poem really expressed how I was feeling, because I felt really alone, and like I was the only one feeling left out and uncomfortable with the social atmosphere that everyone else seemed to love. I felt like I had to keep these feelings to myself because no one else would understand them, and that if I just pretended that I felt “normal” and happy around other people, then maybe the anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed and out of place that I got from the big crowds and loud music would eventually just go away and I wouldn’t feel them anymore after a while. They didn’t go away, and I still get them, but I have developed comforts (such as the smell of lavender) in places and things that feel familiar and at peace and help me feel less uncomfortable during and after social events that I wouldn’t have been able to handle even a year better. My social anxiety is by no means gone, but this poem sort of speaks to how I felt out of place, and how certain comforts were able to help me tolerate and get through these feelings!
Sara Weinstein

Raj and Sara, thank you for sharing what inspired your poems. We know that people will love your work as much as we do!

Cendrine & David

The PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series: Celebrating Inspiration with Lauren Goulette & Pragya Gupta

By Auroras & Blossoms

On December 9, 2021

In Inspirational Artist Series

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series, which celebrates the talented young creatives featured in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Youth Edition.

Today, Lauren Goulette and Pragya Gupta are telling us what inspired the poems they sent us

Lauren Goulette

Lauren Goulette (Hudson, U.S.) enjoys Lacrosse, poetry, rowing, yoga, and reading. She would like to become a human rights lawyer. “My role model is Kinsale Hueston because she incorporates a modern yet timeless outlook on her poetry reflecting ancestry and heritage.”

Lauren sent us the poem titled Flowers in My Jeans:

My poem was inspired by growing up in northern Wisconsin, surrounded by nature, and how much that meant to me and the people around me, especially toying in that childlike-awe and mystical perception of our surroundings. It is the written form of my nostalgia and recollection of youth and childhood memories.
Lauren Goulette

Pragya Gupta

Pragya Gupta (Hapur, India) likes writing, debating and cycling, and wants to be a human rights lawyer. “Besides my mother, American Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is someone I look up to. Her enthusiasm and ability to bring about change through grassroots campaigns and policy-making is inspiring to me.”

Pragya sent us the poem titled Life:

I was eleven when I wrote my first poem. I was merely trying my hand at rhyming words and poetry happened. Little did I know it would become a part of my soul; that it would make me understand the complexities of this world and be my pillar in my teenage years.
“Life” is the poem closest to my heart. I remember writing a part of it in a garden while I manifested life from the perspective of nature, and the other one beside the window in my History class. What really inspired me to pen down this piece was my experience of getting bullied at school, blurred images of friendships, and overcoming the fatty tag. Then followed the feelings of misery, loneliness, and abandonment. I was struggling with the hypocrisy of adults, lies in casual friendships, mockery of being overweight, and constant demeaning from all sides. They say, “Whatever happens, happens for a good reason!”. My mother brought me “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, whose preface has now become my every morning read and whose gravity continues to pull me towards its divinity. I changed school, met new people, came out of my little shell, and made a good friend. This is how “Life” was born. I had learned very important lessons of life, which I effortlessly wove into words. Now, all I hope is that the ones reading it will not be disappointed, and rather love “Life”.
Pragya Gupta

Lauren and Pragya, thank you for sharing what inspired your poems. We know that people will love your work as much as we do!

Cendrine & David

The PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series: Celebrating Inspiration with Uma Nambiar & Ananya Bhardwaj

By Auroras & Blossoms

On December 6, 2021

In Inspirational Artist Series

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our PoArtMo Anthology (Youth Edition) Series, which celebrates the talented young creatives featured in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Youth Edition.

In this mini-series, eight of them will share what inspired them to write the poems and stories that they sent us.

Let’s start with Uma Numbiar and Ananya Bhardwaj.

Uma Nambiar

Uma Nambiar (Los Angeles, U.S.) likes singing, writing and reading, and would love to become a screenwriter / writer. “My role models are my parents because they have taught me everything I know. Both of their personalities are so sweet and funny, and they teach me how to be my best self.”

Uma sent us the poem titled Aurora’s Awakening:

I have always loved writing poetry, and the day that I wrote this poem, I wanted to write something about a specific scene. I created an image in my head, something that I deemed magical. While writing the poem, I tried my best to capture what was in my head but in words. I have always been inspired by nature, so writing about nature in this specific poem felt like a great idea.
I was also inspired to write about how beautiful nature was, in a way that depicted it as something glittery and shiny and magical. That is why most of my poem has a lot of analogies to diamonds, pearls, etc. I have also always been intrigued by gems and jewels and stones and whatnot, so I thought it could be cool to write about that. This is what inspired me to write Aurora’s Awakening. Thank you for your consideration!
Uma Nambiar

Ananya Bhardwaj

Ananya Bhardwaj (New Delhi, India) enjoys painting, writing, cartooning, and playing the piano and guitar. She wants to become a software engineer. “My role model is Marie Curie because she was a brilliant scientist.”

Ananya sent us the poem titled Rise Again:

Sometimes, we may feel like giving up and just forget everything and never show our faces again in public. But, if anything I have learned from nature, is that it never gives up. The trees still grow. The flowers still bloom and give us beauty. And that spirit of never giving up should drive all of us.
That is what this entry is about, that even the saddest person can learn from nature. What seems like a faraway spring day, a forgotten memory will come to end the darkness as no winter lasts forever. All we must have is the patience to reach there slowly and try to find hope in the darkness.
Ananya Bhardwaj

Uma and Ananya, thank you for sharing what inspired your poems. We know that people will love your work as much as we do!

Cendrine & David