𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨

 𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 

Ａｕｔｈｏｒ ｎａｍｅ: Kaushik Ganguli

Ｂｏｏｋ Ｎａｍｅ: Rhyme of the Century

1. Please Introduce Yourself. 

I am a Senior Finance Professional with 26 years total experience with top flight industry and entrepreneurship. Along with my work, also evolved a parallel teaching/ mentoring/ counselling career. Am also a trained personal counsellor. Am married with two children and am settled in Kolkata, India. Needless to say, writing is an absolute passion with me. I am also an avid reader and international level quizzer, which supplements my writing work. 

2. When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?

I first realized I wanted to become a writer, when I realized that people appreciated my writings and more so, I realized it was something which I did naturally well without much struggle (Here, I would like to differentiate between effort and struggle). Also, I realized that being a good writer was something which benefitted me both personally and professionally. It was something which would help me in my work as well. The dream of being a published author was always there but there were issues of family, work and other factors which did not give me the time to pursue writing.  

 

3. How long did you take to write and publish your book?

Around 2019, I realized that at age 50, it was high time I started living my dreams. Around 6-8 poems were written, it was thus a task of writing another 40 odd poems to make a book which could be published. Deciding the structure and sections came naturally. 

Work started in late 2019, with a dream of publishing and picked up. But around March – April 2020, there was a severe writer’s block which impeded my progress for a couple of months. 

Once I dealt with it, it was a straightforward job to complete and publish online. So, the entire period would be around 7-8 months. My second book is almost ready and should be published around August 2021. 

4. What was one of the most surprising things you learnt while creating your book?

There were a few learnings, Firstly, that writing the book is easy but you need to adhere to certain processes which will help you. Secondly, it is always advisable to aim for completion than perfection (something I always knew but saw it very relevant here). Thirdly, you need help in creating the book and also to clean up the draft. That is where Soulitaire helped me in a big way.  

 

5. Do you hear from your readers much? What do they have to say?

Well, the feedback from the readers on the Amazon online page has been my one source of hearing from authors. A cumulative rating of 4.4 over 4 months and a bestseller rank of #11 means a lot, so I would take it as a cumulative voice from the readers. 

More than this, I would also go by the feedback of the readers who tell me face to face that this is one of the best books on modern poetry that they have read and with variety which is not found in too many books. I have also heard readers say that this is not run of the mill stuff and not for beginners!   

6. What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

Going to England many times over the last 30 yrs, it is the best place to go for a literary pilgrimage. Keat’s house in Hampstead, RL Stevenson’s house in Edinburgh are all places I have been to. Apart from that, book readings by Jeffrey Archer in India have been attended by me.

Someday, would like to visit the residences of Neguib Mahfouz (Cairo) and Orhan Pamuk (Istanbul), whose writings I also like.  

Needless to say is the obvious – Stratford on Avon, which is however a very touristy place. It’s a small town which attracts every one not just the literary buff. Liked it but not too impressed!      

7. What was your favourite poet before you started writing?  

My favourite poets have been Tennyson and Keats. Apart from that, my favourite modern poets has been WH Auden and Nissim Ezekiel who has written on various topics of relevance. Nowadays, with my counselling experience coming in, I am more inclined to write on travel, experiences and mental health areas. My next four poetry books (when written) will all be on mental health, thoughts and feelings and much longer than my current poems.   

8. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

I am not too friendly with other authors, barring empaneled authors of Soulitaire who I interact with from time to time. 

I would however love to meet authors like Frederick Forsyth who is my all time favourite. Another author is Wilbur Smith. From the past, I would have loved to meet Neville Shute and AJ Cronin whose command over the language is impeccable. Most of all, PG Wodehouse who is a model for writing simple daily English over 70 yrs of distinguished career.    

9. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Firstly, I would tell him to write more, but with a purpose to complete all his work. Secondly, I would also tell him that writing is not a full time job, but has to be juggled for many years with a regular profession. So, it needs a lot of passion to keep the activity going. Thirdly, when you write, do it for pleasure and not with the expectation of making money, achieving fame. Very few writers achieve the status of an Archer or Forsyth.  

   

10. Tell us something about your book & what our readers can expect in "Rhyme of the Century?

The Book is an anthology of 52 poems. The title ‘Rhyme of the Century’ is a takeoff from a progressive rock album by the British Band ‘Supertramp’ called Crime of the Century (1974), which was hailed globally on release. Even today after almost 50 years of release, the album is widely hailed as one of the top 200 albums of all time.    

The book contains 3 sections, Places/ People and Thoughts. The places have mostly been visited by the author and the people are all real, with fictitious names. Thoughts are emotions felt by the author at various times, more so after his training as a qualified personal counsellor and dealing with clients/ groups. The book is thus structured in a manner so that the reader reads one poem a week, absorbs the contents and is made to think about the topic. This way, reading the complete book would take one full year.