Jay Prakash

“Poetry is frequently introduced as an object of dissection rather than an experience of encounter. Students are trained to hunt for metaphors, symbols, and devices before they are allowed to feel the poem. This premature intellectualisation breeds anxiety rather than appreciation.”
― Alok Mishra

“Criticism that thrives on exaggeration or selective reading ultimately undermines its own credibility.”
― Alok Mishra

“And we are still here
walking in this maze of perplexing
entries and problematic exits.
No words exchanged.
Even our eyes seldom throw
some letters of compassion or contempt
on each other.
I believe you, and I do so.
I know only you may show
the final door to enter
with no exit that follows.”
― Alok Mishra, Thoughts Between Life and Death

“No heartbreak can make a poet!
Poetry doesn’t stem from a broken heart
which fell apart
merely because someone left
and left a few marks to be felt,
dealt with and smelt
with emptiness and shallowness
of the breast.”
― Alok Mishra, Thoughts Between Life and Death