Bobby Nayyar is a poet, author and publisher who is able to write frankly about himself, his pain and his desires. He founded and runs his own publishing house, Limehouse Books.
He is unusual in being able to acknowledge his own life-graph for better as well as for worse. He has made an honest account of himself in his recent debut collection of work, Glass Scissors. A personal collection, it explores universal themes of love and loss. It is a revelation of one man’s hopes and dreams, and of the delicate nature of the world we live in.
Though the poetry appears to be simple and easy to read, it carries an intensity and power underneath the layers. Bobby Nayyar was selected to appear for readings at Asia House recently.
Background
Born in Handsworth, Birmingham, Bobby’s parents are both from the Punjab. Bobby’s father works in a factory and his mother used to sew coats.
Early influences
Bobby Nayyar told us,
“I didn’t really get into reading until I was 18 and heading off to university. So I would say that my early influences were all musical. Around the same time I started teaching myself how to play the guitar. And like most teenage boys with guitars, my first pieces of writing were songs to girls I liked!”
Education and early challenges
Bobby attended a grammar school in Birmingham. While doing his A-Levels he decided he wanted to go to Trinity College, Cambridge University. But things stalled, even in 21st century Britain. He picks up the story.
“I came up against a lot of resistance to applying to that college as opposed to some of the newer ones. It was one of my first real experiences of both class prejudice, which in this instance just made me more determined. I applied to Trinity College, got the right grades and had a wonderful education. Some of my experiences there found their way into my debut novel, West of No East.
Turning point; deciding to become a writer.
Bobby knew from the age of 19 I knew that he wanted to be a writer and a publisher. The very first short story he wrote at that time, ‘The Last Banana’, was published in a magazine, which gave him the confidence to keep writing short stories, which were then published in other magazines and journals. He said, “I was fortunate to be published in the Mango Shake anthology in 2006, which was edited by Debjani Chatterjee.”
His greatest challenges, and how Bobby overcame them.
Bobby revealed candidly, “Two events spring to mind – the first was recovering from a bout of clinical depression in 2008, which changed my outlook on life greatly. Much of that experience is recounted in my latest book, Glass Scissors, which is a collection of poems. It may sound strange but depression taught me how to be a better person – more empathetic and caring about people, and not money and consumption. The second challenge was setting up my own publishing company, Limehouse Books in 2009. Running a business is a constant challenge but I’m proud to have published 20 books in 6 years and helped the careers of other writers.
Bobby’s biggest turning point- that greatest of Asian taboos.
“Definitely the depression, which remains greatly misunderstood. I’ve tried to explore this and more in Glass Scissors – how these changes in your body chemistry change your perception of desire and without desire you stop being a consumer. One of the benefits of my experience is that it made me more focussed on the people I care about and trying to help others, which is why I hope my poetry can reach other people who are in a similar situation, especially if they are from an Asian background, so they understand some of the issues from a community perspective.”
Financial self sufficiency; making an income.
We wondered if Bobby had become financially independent, now that he has a writing income. With one professional body announcing the average author income to be as low as £12,000 per annum, our interviewee explained, unsurprisingly,
“I wish! It’s hard to make money being a writer but I get additional work teaching creative writing to schoolchildren, which I find really rewarding and enjoyable. I’m privileged to be doing something I love and just about getting by. I don’t dream of getting rich out of my work, rather having the freedom to tell the stories I didn’t have when I was younger.”
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Depression taught me how to be a better person – more empathetic and caring about people, and not money and consumption.
