Inspiring Change with ‘A Thousand Paper Cranes’
Haala Marikar, launched her first collection of Poems at her Alma Mater Badi-ud-din Mahmud Girls’ College, Kandy, recently, conveying that she longed to inspire change and spark hope in an increasingly broken world.
Poetry for Haala has always been a means of penning her deepest fears and yearnings with the ache of hope laced through, as can be seen in her book ‘A Thousand Paper Cranes’. From poems delving into Sri Lankan history and Independence, World affairs and personal reflections, her heart is on her sleeve as she takes her reader down an emotional road-less-travelled.
“I have been writing since I was six-years-old, and my very first poem was about pixies, rainbows and fairies,” she laughed adding that her love for Enid Blyton inspired her work at the time.
“I was around 10 years old, when my parents told me about the terrible things that were happening in places like Syria and
Palestine, and I was moved to write beyond my fantasy world and try and write with more substance,” she explained. She added that her mother and father were her greatest encouragement along with her older brother, urging her to send her poems to various children’s magazines including the Junior Mirror where they began to get published. “I realised that I could make a real difference with my poetry,” she said, explaining that this spurred her on to write more about subjects that dealt with human suffering. Now eight years down the line with the launch of her collection of poems ‘A Thousand Paper Cranes’, Haala said that, as bleak as some of them were, the title in itself invokes hope amidst all the suffering.
The title is taken from a Japanese Legend, where it is said that if you fold 1000 Origami Paper Cranes the gods will grant you a wish; it is also used as a symbol of hope and good luck. “The title is exactly what my poems mean to do. Amidst all the chaos there is always hope,” she continued.
Citing young poet
Erin Hanson as one of her inspirations, along with Graetian Prize winner Sakuntala Sachithanandan who gave her a helping hand throughout, Haala said that her love of reading too has brought her a long way. “After Enid Blyton, I went onto read Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Anne Of Green Gables along with most of the Classics,” she explained urging aspiring writers to never give up on the reading habit.
“I want every writer out there to write what they want to write, and while it’s good to write for yourself, it’s greater to write to inspire change in whatever way you can,” Haala continued.
She said that contributing to publications like the Junior Mirror gave her a big boost in confidence, to continue her journey thus far. “Seeing my work in print encouraged me to write more and more,” she said adding that young writers should never give up, and send in their work to be published, which will help them improve in their skills. “Just go for it! Don’t hesitate” were her parting words.
“I have been writing since I was six-years-old, and my very first poem was about pixies, rainbows and fairies,” she laughed adding that her love for Enid Blyton inspired her work at the time.