Poet’s book celebrates the not-so-serious side of life
The book demonstrates the poet’s journey through a collection of poems from where she started with nonsense poems, moved on to Dada, and where the styles converged.
A poet from Pretoria east explores the similarities between nonsense and Dada poetry.
Sulet Linde recently published her first book titled Dada 4 Nonsense.
Dada was a movement during the previous century that turned the art world on its head. It mocked artistic and social conventions in art and literature.
Dada 4 Nonsense provides a glimpse into Linde’s journey as a writer, from using playful rhymes she had jotted in a scribble book during her high school period, to her transition into an academic awakening at university.
For Linde, the journey of writing stems from a classroom assignment when she was in Grade 7.
“One day in my Grade 7 year, we were asked to write a poem in class, and it was as if some bug bit me that day because I went home and just kept on writing,” she said.
Learning about Dada during her varsity years stands out as a pivotal moment for her growth as a poet.
“I would not say my work is 100% Dada, but I’m definitely inspired by the original Dadaists,” said Linde.
She said learning about it gave her more confidence, and she started to experiment with different types of poems.
Linde explained how she lets chance guide her writing.
“Dada poetry is created randomly. The method I used is based on a poem by Tristan Tzara.”
She described the process as such: “I cut out words from an article, mix them in a bag, and the order they come out forms a poem.”
She said her nonsense poetry often starts with half an idea, then she builds on that.
Linde emphasised that she now sees clear evolution in her style of writing.
“When I started, it was mostly fixed form rhyme like aa/bb/cc/dd or abab cdcd. By the time I went to university, it changed into a free form where there is no fixed rhyme or structure except for the haikus, villanelles and sonnets,” she said.
She said the creation of the book was not an easy task as she footed the bill for the production and self-publishing.
She mentioned that while writing the book, self-discipline at home and work enabled her to complete the editing within three months.
“Many times, I felt like just giving up,” she said.
Linde hopes readers can expand their horizons and view life from a different perspective after reading the book.
“Not everything in life is serious; it is okay to be silly,” she said.
She describes herself as a shy bookworm who loves reading and playing with words.
The title of the book is a play on words. “Instead of saying I’m ‘gaga’ about nonsense poetry, I replaced it with ‘dada’.
Asked what advice she would give to upcoming young authors who would like to publish their books, she said: “Stop waiting and doubting yourself. I realised I was keeping myself from taking that chance”.
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