With a master’s degree in Economics, Imsuienla Kichu of Mokokchung Village currently has her profession at Lady Bird School, Mokokchung, but is no stranger to talent when it comes to writing poems.
Aien’s interest in writing started in her early teens at a time when making lyric books and pasting cut-outs from newspapers to make it prettier was a thing.
However, those songs and lyrics fascinated her and the ability of an artist to be able to tell an entire story in a few lines, or the way they rhymed the words, the emotions they were able to capture in that 3 or 4 minutes track, all of it made her decide to put her thoughts into words and ever since, she began writing for pleasure and share them online.
Speaking about how she gets her inspiration, she said anything anywhere inspires her. ”It could be from the characters in a movie or a book or myths; also, I get inspiration from the people in my life and yes, nature,” she said. She then shared how she would love to pursue publications if the right time comes.
Here is Mokokchung Times trying to know a little bit more about her.
MTimes: Hi Aien, do you have a book close to your heart?
Aien: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is one of the books that keep me grounded. It’s a story about where the shepherd boy travels beyond his land to search for treasures while it was buried at the place where he first started his journey all along.
MTimes: What writers did you enjoy reading as a child?
Aien: I didn’t read much except an adventure book I used to enjoy in our school library called THE FAMOUS FIVE by Enid Blyton.
But a major part of my love for writing is because of music artists and their lyrics.
MTimes: Do you find writing easy?
Aien: It depends. Sometimes even when I get an inspiration it is difficult to find the right words but most of the time I just type whatever I felt in the moment in my phone and a few days later if I find it alright, I upload it on my Instagram page.
MTimes: How do your poems develop? Please guide us through the stages of a poem.
Aien: Empathy and intuition plays a major role. For example, one poem that I wrote called Kalimna inspired by a book called Love My Way by Kate Sterritt, I felt connected with the character Emerson and after I completed the book, I typed all that I could feel from Emerson’s perspective and somehow managed to narrate the book in a few lines.
Sometimes, I try to rhyme or match the syllables or sometimes I just write free verse.
MTimes: Who are your favourite living poets?
Aien: Though funny, I don’t have one. It is not the poet that I follow mostly but it’s the poems which could be written by anyone.
MTimes: Tell us about some of the books you’ve enjoyed in the past year.
Aien: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Love my Way by Kate Sterritt.
MTimes: Can you give any advice to someone wanting to write and publish poetry?
Aien: I still have much to learn about writing poetry, but if anyone does want to write, I’d say just write. And yes, there is much technical stuff about poems which I still don’t know, but don’t let it limit your desire and passion to write. It would also be great to have a mentor if you want to publish poems. And most importantly write for yourself.
