An Interview and news from our Dreamer and Poet

It was in 2015 that I introduced my readers to the Dreamer Poet Satyananda Sarangi. I am happy to tell you that in between, he made progress in his profession and poetry. 

If you are new to my blog, you can read here about him:  Today’s Dreamers Are Tomorrow’s Authors And Poets. He had his first success at that time: The Paper Boat – Be A Witness Of A Dream Come True. Also, he wrote a thank you poem for us at that time: A Poem to thank for all the support. I like how he can create meaningful quotes only with one keyword in seconds. He is truly gifted.

We kept in touch over the years, and I happily observed his progress. In between, he finished his Electrical Engineering study and now works at the Finance Department, Government of Odisha. 

Now is the right time to write about something motivating and tell you about the success of dreamer poet Satyananda.

Interview with our Dreamer and Poet Satyananda 

Tell us something about what got you into writing in the first place.

Satyananda – To be honest, the writing career was never planned. Looking at this day some ten years ago, I’d have never said I would be into poetry. I was this guy at school who had nothing to do with poems. But yes! The imagination was evident, but I had never really imagined becoming a poet. The writing was accidental, and I remember writing 1-2 pieces back in 2014.

But the way we see it today, you’re on a roll, and it is pretty rare to get all the writing opportunities for someone your age. How has the dream run been?

Satyananda – Ever since I started seriously writing (by serious writing, I mean when you dream of being read by the masses), it has been more of a roller coaster ride. Every writer/poet dreams of being widely read and his works being discussed. Writing is tough, and the process of getting published is tougher. I keep telling these to people – “Poetry is made of perspiration and perseverance – both work in tandem and is not mutually exclusive.” For numbers, I have had over 90 rejections till now, but the spirit hasn’t waned – and so, I’ve over 63 publications to my name.

You talk of dreaming to be widely read. What are you doing to reach your dream?

Satyananda – In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, “A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.” But what you do to get that dream on track to reality matters most in the long run. On a personal level, I read and pray to ensure that I never have to encounter Writer’s Block. Reading takes you places but praying keeps you grounded. These two aspects, I believe, are key to achieving one’s dreams.

Currently, you’re an administrator after getting through the Civil Services Examination. How difficult is it to strike a healthy balance between work and writing?

Satyananda – Quite a tricky question to answer! But simply put, if you can find a complementary angle somewhere between your full-time profession and your hobby, it can really work wonders. The administrative work presents numerous scenarios, people/characters, and behavioral patterns – if studied closely, can further fuel your creativity. I’ve never known an author/poet who hasn’t borrowed from real characters in his professional spheres. Undoubtedly, the writing has gone down a bit, but the quality that emerges after long intervals of experience are worth the wait.

In February 2023, one of your works was placed in the “Honourable Mention” category at the Annual International Poetry Competition of the Society of Classical Poets, New York. Tell us more about this and other places where we can find your work.

Satyananda – Writing for the English-speaking world isn’t a cakewalk for someone still in his twenties, and English is not his first language. I can recall taking a break of months in 2016 after a flurry of rejections from abroad had shaken me. and I turned to the olden poets to hone my skills in rhyme and rhythm. I spent months reading a thousand poems, including those of H.W. Longfellow, W. Blake, P.B. Shelley, S.T. Coleridge, W.B. Yeats, W. Shakespeare, R.L. Stevenson, R. Bridges, C. Marlowe, A. Austin, J. Keats, and many others. Then, I revamped the writing journey. It is the reason I often advise emerging poets to read and read more.

Answering the second part of the question – my works have been featured in the Hypertexts, Shot Glass Journal, the Society of Classical Poets, Sparks of Calliope, Snakeskin, The GreenSilk Journal, Westward Quarterly, Page & Spine, Glass: Facets of Poetry and other national and international magazines/journals.

Most of your work is motivating and inspirational, unlike so much of post-modern bleak and depressing poetry. What’s your opinion on this?

Satyananda – Perhaps, I would say writing on themes is a personal choice. In my case, I have a natural inclination towards spirituality, and faith, hope, and courage themes are end-products. There is already too much uncertainty, hate, negativity, low self-esteem, and depression in the 21st Century. My writing comes off as a retaliatory force to all such negative influences. There are certain days when I experience the opposite; I am not sure what I believe in for days together. But as man proposes, God disposes. As well put by Shakespeare, “The mind can make a hell out of a heaven and vice-versa.”

If you could recommend one such motivational poem for all those who are finding it hard to fight through life, what would it be?

Satyananda – Actually, there are many! But there’s this poem of mine that I wrote in 2021, and Westward Quarterly Magazine, United States, published it. As a matter of fact, I won’t believe that I’ve written it.

From Love to Faith

Since from me, all fondness for love

Has now fled; and this lifeless world,

Too small for what I can’t speak of,

May think to laugh off the scorn hurled

At my art, my rhyme, and my songs-

The songs of a poor heart that longs

For silence most treasured by hills

And hushed flowing of gentle rills.

Tell them I wrote this in cold rage,

When Passion was breathing its last;

And when beyond the sense of age,

The prime of my ink had passed-

No more enough to hold and bear

The crushing weight of selfish care;

A care that as a stranger comes,

With its own soothing beats and drums.

Yet the world doesn’t end here at all,

For some lonely man may resort

To these words written full of soul;

And discover ruins of a fort

Built once upon a time with zeal

And undaunted hope, thus may feel

The burden of love little less

Since sorrow comes only to bless.

But who dare lose his soul in art,

And in striving for higher things?

That higher once becomes a part

Of low desires; and mortal wings

Fear the flight to mystique lands;

Where the pilgrim all alone stands

To catch the pleasant sight of God,

And finds in Him, all paths untrod.

All men in whom He dwells and moves,

Shall see love has many a name;

But the finest, the one that proves

All with different names are the same:

Yet the betrayed forget and weep

And give away prayer and sleep-

The source of all enduring love,

Lies in the paradise above.

I wonder at God’s love for man,

That arrives unasked-for each morn;

No account of how it began

Even when I was yet to be born.

I shall be for what I was made,

To rejoice both the sun and shade,

And take everything meant for me;

Mirth and grief of the highest degree.

Thank you, Satyananda; keep going, keep growing. To your successful dreams.

Do you like the inspiring Story of our Dreamer Poet Satyananda?

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