NILAVRONILL: Do you think literature or poetry is really essential in our life? If so why? And how does it relate to the general history of mankind?
BASUDEB CHAKRABORTI: Poetry as we understand it in conventional and traditional ways is in no way essential to our life. A man can survive without reading a poem throughout his life. Writing or reading habit for poetry is not the instinct for self-preservation. There is no apparent relationship between the Survival of the fittest and poetic sensibilities. I do refer in this context not only to the Biological evolution but also to the Social evolution or Social Darwinism. Human life is a relentless struggle not only at the physical and environmental level but also at the ethical, intellectual and social level. Let me refer to Herbert Spencer’s ethical evolution and particularly Spencer’s pure Laissez-Faire ideology that is of minimal governmental interference in the financial and societal relationships among individuals in a society. In this connection let me refer to the name of Leslie Stephen who was an offshoot of Comte’s Positivism in England. The Science of Ethics Stephen wrote. This overwhelming policy of the 19th century England also influenced the other side of the Atlantic. For example, we can refer to the deregulation of the postal services in the Unites States. The implementation of this policy has result in the all-out growth and the development not only of individuals but also of society. It is the ideal Government “that governs least”. Apparently, it has nothing to do with poetry. I do hereby underline the adverbial word ‘Apparently’. Continue reading TALKING WITH POET BASUDEB CHAKRABORTI
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