Francis H Powell author of Flight of Destiny and other stories
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      • Interview with Alun Robert
      • Scottish Poets
      • Jonnie Dalton
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      • Okorie Harrison
      • interview with Meo
      • interview with Mark Blickley
      • interview with Christopher T. Dabrowski
  • Francis H Powell interviews with other authors
    • Interview with J. C. Michael
    • interview with Gavin Hill
    • Interview with Morris E Graham
    • Interview with Wally Runnels
    • interview with John Nicholl
    • interview with Rob Same
    • interview with Elizabeth Oberbrunner
    • Interview with Michael Wilkins
    • Interview with Karina Kantas
    • Interview with Justin Bienvenue
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    • interview with Roma Gray
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    • interview with Samual Friedman
    • interview with Cynthia Vespia
    • Mark Anthony Tierno
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    • interview with Jean Lowe Carlson
  • download interview questions for authors
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AN INTERVIEW WITH leela soma 

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Tell everybody a little about yourself


Hi, I am Leela, a poet and novelist living in a leafy suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. After doing my thirty years as Principal Teacher, I at last found time to read and write, the two passions that I wanted to indulge in. I am also one of the founders of the small Bearsden Writers Group.
 
Was your creativity affected in any way during the lockdown? Did being lockdown make you feel inspired or deflated?

It took a couple of weeks to adjust to the lockdown. Then I settled down to a routine of trying to write a poem in the morning, then a long walk and feel I could enjoy the rest of the day doing what I wanted. Unfortunately, I did my knee in a few weeks ago, so I am rather frustrated and missing our walks in the woods. I swing between feeling creative and feeling low wondering when we would come out of this pandemic times.
 
Was it therapeutic doing creative work during lockdown?

Yes, I did find it therapeutic especially if a poem flowed easily. Images that often floated in my consciousness seem to reach the fingertips.
 
How did you occupy your time?

Cleaning cupboards, books, clothes for charity, listening to music, zooming with family and friends and reading books that I had always wanted to and contributing to various poetry magazines that wanted a record of the extraordinary times we are going through.

 
What was the main thinking behind your poem submitted to Together Behind Four Walls?

I wanted to write verses that had a deep meaning of the powerlessness and loneliness of these times. Helping a charity for front line workers especially as BAME people are affected the most made me want to contribute in a small way with words. I thank you for inviting me to contribute to this anthology. 
 
 
What inspires most of your poems?

That’s hard to write down. Sometimes it is a photo, a painting, a phrase that I read or heard. Once it was glancing out of the window when I was at a stop sign in the car. Having been born in India I find the old Vedas and legends are such a rich source for a poet. Also, I’m keen on the connections between India and Scotland that have been airbrushed out of history and I want to record that in either in poetry or prose.
 
Do you have any favourite poems, from all the poems you have written?

The poems that flow easily, written from the heart tend to be my favourites. Sometimes the feedback from readers makes it all so worthwhile. 

Do you remember the first poem you ever wrote or one of the first?

My first poems were for raising money for Breast Cancer, just after I retired from teaching. They were not the best but they did raise a small amount for a worthwhile cause and one of them was made into a postcard that still evokes a good response from readers.

Do you ever think of poems before going to sleep or just after waking up?

It must be in my subconscious, sometimes I wake up and scribble ideas on a piece of paper then type the full poem on the computer. So more on waking up than at night!

Do you handwrite poems or go directly on to your computer?

Notes on paper and the drafts on a computer and edited several times after.

Do you ever give up on poems you have started?

Some just don’t work out as you had imagined. It is in a folder so a line or phrase could be used later in some other poem. 

Do you do any other creative activities?

I wish I had a long list of them but no. But I do appreciate art and classical Indian music.

Do you only focus on poetry or do you also write prose?

I have two novels published and a few short stories too. I like doing both. A third novel has been completed.
Do your poems ever have strong messages?

Not all of them. Some deal with injustice, the plight of refugees, or colonialism as I believe it is still not a post-colonial world as some people think we’ve achieved it.

If you had to write a poem about yourself, how would it start?

Dark chocolate? 

Website: https://leelasoma.wordpress.com/
Twitter: glasgowlee
Facebook: Leela Soma


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  • Home page
  • Anthology for coronavirus
  • Francis H Powell interviewed
  • Images of Flight of Destiny
  • Contact
  • meet the poets of Together Behind Four Walls
    • Andrew Tyler >
      • Interview with Seadeta Osmani
      • Interview with Harry Weiss-Jones.
      • interview with Cynthia Vespia
      • Interview with Josiane Vincent
      • Interview with Laura Mucha
      • Interview with Chris White
      • Interview with Carmina Masoliver
      • Interview with Crysse Morrison
      • Interview with Alan Durant
      • Interview with B the Poet
      • Interview with Arti RAI
      • Interview with Neal Zetter
      • Interview with Andrena Zawinski
      • Interview with Trevor Millum
      • Interview with Alison Brackenbury
      • Interview with Toby Campion US
      • Interview with Hadley James Hoyles
      • Interview with Leela Soma
      • Interview with Bernard Young
      • Interview with Coral Rumble
      • Interview with Sue Hardy -Dawson
      • Interview with Dom Conlon
      • Interview with D.L. Lang
      • Interview with AF Harrold
      • Interview with Monique Tell
      • Interview with Stewart Taylor
      • Interview with Cliff Forshaw
      • Interview with Professor Elemental
      • Interview with Marcus Christopherson
      • Interview with Stephanie Davidson
      • Interview with Brook Fischer
      • Interview with Rita Rana
      • Interview with Rhian Edwards
      • Interview with Josh Louis Lingg
      • Interview with Nina Zivancevic
      • Interview with Armand Ruhlman
      • Interview with Christine De Luca
      • Interview with Hélène Argo
      • Interview with Giselle Marks
      • Interview with Thomas Stockley
      • Interview with Giselle Marks
      • Interview with January L'Angelle
      • Interview with Martin Figura
      • Interview with Dennis Copelan
      • Interview with Laura Zuwa
      • Interview with Iam Thandi
      • Interview with Gail Meath
      • Interview with Alun Robert
      • Scottish Poets
      • Jonnie Dalton
      • Welsh writers
      • Okorie Harrison
      • interview with Meo
      • interview with Mark Blickley
      • interview with Christopher T. Dabrowski
  • Francis H Powell interviews with other authors
    • Interview with J. C. Michael
    • interview with Gavin Hill
    • Interview with Morris E Graham
    • Interview with Wally Runnels
    • interview with John Nicholl
    • interview with Rob Same
    • interview with Elizabeth Oberbrunner
    • Interview with Michael Wilkins
    • Interview with Karina Kantas
    • Interview with Justin Bienvenue
    • interview with James Hershey Jr
    • Interview with Brian Parker
    • interview with Roma Gray
    • interview with Rebecca Reid
    • interview with Samual Friedman
    • interview with Cynthia Vespia
    • Mark Anthony Tierno
    • Spotlight >
      • Spotlight Tiffany Appen
      • Spotlight on LaToya Wilson
    • interview with Jean Lowe Carlson
  • download interview questions for authors
  • Book Reviews
  • Tiffany Alpen, Kindred (The Birthrite Series, #2)
  • Together Behind Four Walls