By Abigirl Phiri
Worth Noting:
- I am Mr. Muhammad Adnan. I emerged from nowhere, a remote area in Mandi Bhauddin, Punjab, Pakistan. I did a dual M. Phil in English Language and Literature. My major was literature. While doing my Master’s in English literature, I go through classics: Homer, Dante, Virgil, Petrarch, Pindar, Shakespeare, Milton, Spencer, and A. Pope. These poets left a deep influence on my poetic growth.
- Yes, I am an emerging poet. I have participated in many poetic presentations on International Level and have got top winner positions. I have achieved the top winning rank in many International Poetic Competitions.
- My poetic inspiration is my ‘Babay’ my mother, and My Teacher Usman Ali. Both nurtured my talent and due to them my ordinary poetic works have graced in German Magazine, Indian Anthologies, and Pakistani Anthologies.
Academic literary genius Muhammad Adnan
Unlike most of the poets and writers, Muhammad Adnan has the backing of education in this field given he is a holder of a M.Phil in English. Not only is he widely read but he is also a prolific poet himself. I have had the pleasure to witness such mastery in the poetry anthologies that l have shared with him. The icing to the cake is that Muhammad Adnan is sharing his wealth of knowledge of this craft with his students. This is because the doctrine sharing is tantamount to caring reigns supreme in poetry. Since yesterday 5/10/2023 was the World teachers day, this coincides with his interview feature how these figures play a pertinent role in shaping the lives of their students be it from elementary education to tertiary institutions. Below is what Muhammad had to say over his colorful journey.
Please tell us your name and how your journey started in poetry.
I am Mr. Muhammad Adnan. I emerged from nowhere, a remote area in Mandi Bhauddin, Punjab, Pakistan. I did a dual M. Phil in English Language and Literature. My major was literature. While doing my Master’s in English literature, I go through classics: Homer, Dante, Virgil, Petrarch, Pindar, Shakespeare, Milton, Spencer, and A. Pope. These poets left a deep influence on my poetic growth. Later on, Romantics: Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Coleridge, and Byron also polished my rawness. The impact of these poets is quite evident in poems, I have written until now.
Moreover, my teacher Mentor Usman Ali a renowned dramatist sprinkles newness and freshness in my raw poetic talent. It is his vocabulary, expression, and intent reflected through my poetic language.
In addition, American and African Poets: Chinua Achebe, Derrek Walcott, Richard Wilbur, Adriene Rich, Sylvia Plath, and Emily Dickinson left a magical impression on my poetic journey. I still remember Still Citizen Sparrow and The Last Bulletin.
Have you won any major accolades for yourself in poetry? Are you a published poet?
Yes, I am an emerging poet. I have participated in many poetic presentations on International Level and have got top winner positions. I have achieved the top winning rank in many International Poetic Competitions. I reviewed the national anthology; You Are a Champion. I prearranged an Open House: A literary sitting with Authors arranged by the Department of Languages at the University of Chenab, Gujrat in 2023. I organized an event Circle: A Legacy of Readers arranged by the Department of Languages at the University of Chenab, Gujrat in 2022.
In addition, I have been featured nine times in a German Magazine (Raven Cage Ezine) and served as Co-Compiler and Co-Author in various International Anthologies i.e. All is not Lost, Be My Eyes, and My Whole You.
My poetic pieces are highlighted on Instagram Pages by various international communities.
Who is your inspiration?
My poetic inspiration is my ‘Babay’ my mother, and My Teacher Usman Ali. Both nurtured my talent and due to them my ordinary poetic works have graced in German Magazine, Indian Anthologies, and Pakistani Anthologies. These Muses choked my poetic Spirit and I designed a poetic gallery of different National and International Anthologies.
Furthermore, some of my friends: Shakir Shehzad, Antique Rehman, Ahmed Hassan, and Adnan known as my Romio were fountains of inspiration in my poetic journey. Without them, it could be nowhere.
Last but not least my students are my real asset. They are also a source of poetic inspiration. They lauded and celebrated my each and every achievement with open heart. They knitted poetry and sketched pictures. Rahat Saleem, Ayesha Siddique, Sidra Mehwish, Anila Asghar, Umme Salma, Maria Musarrat, Abi Waqas, and Tajallah Qureshi. Apology, if I forget others. These students are my poetic inspirations.
Tajallah an enthusiastic student did a lot in my journey. She sketched and edited most of my poems published in National and International Anthologies. She remained a co-author with me in German Magazine, Indian and Pakistani Anthologies. She is still on song in her poetic journey. She designed it statistically and her contributions to my work are marvelous and plausible.
Where do you see yourself in the near future?
As a student of creative writing. I imagine myself beyond the sea. I wish I could live all the legends mentioned above. I have a dream to recite my lyrics on my poetic inspiration in a well-known English poetic platform. I wish I hold their hands while recitation among African, American, and English poets. I wish I had dedicated my words in radical ways. I have a dream to touch diverse poet laureates in British and American literature. I see myself in renowned institutions of creative arts.
What problems have you faced as a poet?
The issues are numberless. I live in such community where singing poetry and writing poetry is a crime. It’s a platonic state where intuitions are prisoned and poets are cornered. They are not valued. Imagine, a person in a remote area portraying emotion in a third language. It is kind of a crime for elite intellectuals who hate poetry, who hate the worth of imagination, and who perceive that the realistic phase is their property. They forget Walcottish phrase ‘language is the property of imagination‘. I had faced a lot. Early on the tag of second language, secondly, who understands it? Thirdly it’s familiarity with natives, who consider it a language of the elite or superiors. As a teacher, still I am facing multiple problems, I have a voice but no ear to share, no room to sing, and nobody to cheer. It’s a language of heart although dumb or deaf you can dance to it.
Share with us one of your best poetry pieces
Each poem has a special place in the heart, I am sharing the lyrics of one of my recent poems:
Tangible Trance.
Eyes!
Wondering like Maximus
Entered in the Valley of Romance
Whiteness welcomes to forgetful Oedipus
And the beauty spell them in tangible trance;
Posturing like Athena
She muses Apollo
Odysseus implores her
And remains in furs;
In the Valley of Romance
Peacock dances
Princess of Tartary Furnaces
Destiny drizzles and Joy joys;
Greeks and Romans roam
Clasp and cling in fair foam
Cherishing different rituals
Keats swims and crosses the tunnels;
Kindly share your social media handles
https://instagram.com/m.adnan_gujjar?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
https://www.facebook.com/adnan.gujjar.50115?mibextid=ZbWKwL
Any word of advice to others who would want to venture into poetry
I am also a learner. How can I advise? I just recommend reading. As much as you read, you vomit statistically and artistically. Read! I advise all the poets as one of the renowned Caribbean poet Derek Walcott says ” I read, I travel, I become”
I request ‘Read as feed until you lead’
Similar Posts by Mt Kenya Times:
- A Review Of The Last White Man In Contemporary Paradigm
- Adan Mohammed named new KRA Commissioner General
- Kenya grinds to a halt as opposition rallies behind fuel protests
- Choromai urges farmers to embrace planting season as he ramps up development message in Kieni constituency
- LSK demands urgent review of fuel and power prices, warns of legal action
Mt Kenya Times