How to Write a Poem About India
Writing poetry is an art form that is based in passion. Like most great writing, a poem comes out of some thought, feeling or event that has affected the writer in some way. Since poetry has the power to use very few words to express itself, the words have to carefully convey and explore the experience of its subject. If you're drawn to India for some reason, and feel the need to write a poem about it, you'll want to explore what makes you the most passionate about this country to access the best written images.
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Instructions
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Explore India in books, movies, documentaries and photos, or through travel and its native people--or any mixture of these things. You don't have to have gone to a place to be able to write a poem about it, although travel does give you first-hand knowledge and vivid personal experience with a country, which is key to having passion about a place (see Resources below).
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Take all your knowledge about India and put it aside. Throw out any thoughts about what you plan to write. Sit down and think about one image that haunts you about India. If an image comes of extreme joy or beauty, use that image. It might not be a picture image--it might be a political thought or a humanitarian feeling. It might be a simple image of robes or clothing a person wears, or just bare feet. Keep this in the back of your mind.
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Think in general about the tone of your poem. Are you feeling drawn toward writing something positive or melancholy? Are you making a political statement, a statement about humanity, the feeling of the countryside, the people, the children--just see if you get an overall feeling about the heaviness of the poem, or the main subject matter. You have to have a main idea, and images will stem from there.
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Start writing from the first image that sparks in your mind when you sit down. It doesn't have to be the image that you will stick with. You just want to start writing. Much poetry is written in the first person, and you might find that works for you. Let the writing go on as long as you can without worrying about what you're writing. If you feel like it doesn't make sense, that's where you want to keep going. It might be your best part.
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Put the poem away for a few days. If you get inspired to write again, use a different piece of paper, sit down and write again, making sure not to edit yourself. Write freely, write badly--but don't judge. After a few days, return to your first poem and re-read it. You might find that want to edit it, or realize that the poem truly starts with passion in the middle. Cut the parts that don't sing with life. A poem should be concise, can be startling or lyrical. You might find that your subsequent poems fit into the first poem with some editing. Refine your poem until it flows the way you like and gives the feeling of India that had you desperate to write to begin with. If you don't feel you captured it, start again. If there's a grain of passion in you that needs to get out, with practice, non-judgment and freedom, you can begin to access your poetic skills.
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