Sri Aurobindo

Letters of Sri Aurobindo

Volume 1. 1935

Letter ID: 1356

Sri Aurobindo — Nirodbaran Talukdar

June 15, 1935

I am at the end of a long poem; have been working at it for many hours, but could not extract anything.

But what did you extract? Not even words? What a constipation!

I thought what a waste of time! Should one sit down to write without any inspiration seeming to drop?

I suppose you have to go on sitting down, until the inspiration gets converted and drops as soon as you sit.

You can’t say that there is no application. But is it the right method, I ask?

Try, try again – as the spider said to Bruce.

Previously I was sleeping like a dog and now I am working like a bull.

The Bull is the mother animal.

A flood of energy is there, but to what purpose?

O Force, Force,

Can you ever break this coarse

Tough stuff?

Well, if you can achieve poetry like that in English, what may you not do in Bengali?