So interesting to be excluded from this list. While on the other hand Todd Swift of problematic Eyewear is on it. Nepotism and weirdness alive and well in Indian English poetry world. https://twitter.com/yaminidandshah/status/1290171810869198849

Some history: When I lived in Bangalore, the lit community was full of cliques and the founder of this org disliked / had some sort of rivalry with someone I was good friend with. Basically I was in the 'opposing' clique - sort of ended up in it before realizing all this shit.

Apparently she started trash-talking my poetry even before I published my first book. As a newbie, I was quite affected by this. So yeah, people in power being petty and cruel everywhere. *eyeroll*. That's why I couldn't resist calling this out finally.

*friends*

People like this affected my mental health enough that I associated that breakdown with 'poetry' and stepped away from it. It's the reason I haven't published more. Slowly finding my way back to it so seeing that tweet was an unhealthy reminder. It's a reminder tho to also

steer clear of the "establishment" & just publish wherever/independently. The imp thing to me is reaching readers not begging for the approval of gatekeepers.

It's tempting to want to go through the gatekeepers esp in relation to imposter syndrome. The whole 'how do I know it's good if it isn't stamped and sealed by some "renowned" person/journal/website. You know what, fuck that.