Lavanya Nukavarapu is a versatile writer and finance professional with a passion for poetry, fiction, and storytelling. Her works, including Bare Thoughts, The Captive, and Cigarettes. Sex. Love., reflect her deep exploration of emotions, relationships, and the human experience. Known for her raw and introspective poetry, she also co-hosts the Spotify podcast Bag of Books, where she analyzes Stephen King’s novels with an Indian and feminine perspective. A dedicated editor, Lavanya supports emerging authors and believes in the power of words to heal, connect, and inspire.
The Literature Times: What inspired you to write your latest poetry collection Sea in My Throat, and how does it differ from your previous works?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: The biggest inspiration is life. While living itself can be hard sometimes, “living in the moment” is much more difficult. It comes with conscious practice and reminding oneself that everything is transitory.
I love to capture those moments in poetry be it happy, sad, anger, frustration, depression, love, anxiety… anything. Even the memories that come in moments like mad rush and leave me overwhelmed becomes a poem. And memories can be triggered by anything, a traffic light, talking to a colleague, listening to other people… the mundane everything and nothing of life.
The Literature Times: In your writing, you often explore intense emotions such as grief, loss, and disappointment. How do you manage to channel these heavy feelings into poetry?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: When I am extremely emotional, I can’t write. It takes time for me to process it. But as the intensity fades away, I grab my pen to journal my feelings. But writing a poem is not merely spilling your thoughts on paper. It requires metaphors, allegories, symbols and imagery. I will give you an example – If I say, I am depressed today, it is just putting down my thoughts on a paper and when I elaborate it, it is blogging. But a poem is a thought intensified; a feeling elevated. And if it has layers and different interpretations, its beauty is enhanced. So, in poetry, I say,
my heart is a black flower,
in its folds, dark forests reside.
Channeling heavy feelings into a poem is difficult. Not all the time can I transform my feelings into words but editing the poem several times and repolishing it does the trick. I sometimes note down scattered lines on a notepad or in Google Docs and then revisit them at a later point in time. Sometimes, a poem remains unfinished just because of an ending line or the beginning line is not satisfactory. So, yes, a lot of work goes into poems too.
The Literature Times: You’ve described poetry as your therapy. How has writing poetry helped you heal and understand yourself better over the years?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: I think as human beings we all need to speak out aloud our feelings and what we are going through. Otherwise, everything piles up inside us and one day it just explodes. Writing is the best way of venting it out, be it in the form of poetry, blogging, storytelling or simple journaling.
Definitely, poetry has healed me, it was my constant companion during my dark days. And what can I say, it is free😊.
The Literature Times: Sea in My Throat is described as both your unique voice and the voice of others who haven’t yet found theirs. Can you elaborate on how you view the power of poetry in giving a voice to the voiceless?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: When I say it is my unique voice, I mean it in two different ways – 1. My writing voice, my creative voice that is different from the other poets 2. As a woman’s voice who has seen some of the darkest days in her life, and who has fought her way out of the shackles created by society.
I write bold. I write honest. So, when I say about my voice, I hope to inspire those who have not yet found their voice or who are afraid to express their opinions. And the freedom to express freely need not be for women only. It is also for men. I hope my readers understand the importance of this through my poetry.
The Literature Times: Your work appears deeply personal. How do you balance between personal expression and connecting with your readers who may have their own experiences?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: I believe all poetry is personal. My poetry is the reflection of my experiences and the emotions I have experienced through my experiences. It took me some time to shed all my inhibitions and share my work on a public forum. Any criticism or bucketing me in one particular genre does not bother me. I will write what I want to write.
And when I write I do not think about connecting to my readers. First and foremost, I write for myself. To keep my sanity, to engage and to vent out. Readers resonate with my poems because I write with my heart and soul.
The Literature Times: The ocean metaphor is prominent in your book’s title. Can you explain what the sea represents in your poems and how it ties to your journey?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: As I said before, the sea in my throat is symbolism for my voice. I have so much to say and all of it is waiting at the back of my throat to come out.
The poems in the book are categorized into three sections: 1. Love and Relationships 2. The roar of a woman 3. The darkness that lingers like a shadow.
The Literature Times: In your earlier works, you have written across different genres. How does your approach to writing poetry differ from your approach to writing fiction, such as in Cigarettes. Sex. Love or The Captive?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: Poetry is my expression and prose is my imagination. My poems are personal feelings and my stories are empathies depicted through characters. Both are very distinct and require separate treatment. And I feel that is how I balance both.
The Literature Times: As someone who has battled depression, how do you navigate the vulnerability that comes with sharing your innermost thoughts through poetry?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: There is nothing to feel ashamed about battling depression or going through rough patches in life. Everyone has their share of battles. Putting your vulnerability in your writings does not make you weak but stands as an inspiration to somebody else who is going through the same phase in life. You can tell those in pain that, hey, look, I have waded through the dark river, so can you.
My poems are laced with sensuality and a lot of times I have been categorized as an erotic writer. It used to disturb me. But not anymore. It has only become my strength to shut up all the naysayers and trollers. I refuse to empower anyone to dictate how my writings should be shaped.
The Literature Times: You’ve worked on a podcast analyzing Stephen King’s novels. How has your podcast experience influenced or inspired your own writing, especially in the realm of storytelling and genre exploration?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: I am Ekalavya and Stephen King is my Dronacharya. No masterclass or book or creative writing course taught me what Stephen King’s books taught me. I have learned valuable lessons only from reading his books. He is a disruptor, a rule bender and yet he follows all rules of storytelling. The only reason I happily agreed to start this podcast was to pay my tribute to this great storyteller. And I thoroughly enjoy talking about his works. I can go on and on about Stephen King and all the learnings, but I would rather encourage you to listen to Bag of Books where we also share writing tips and techniques.
The Literature Times: Looking ahead, do you have any future projects that will continue your exploration of emotion, healing, and self-expression? What can readers expect from you next?
Lavanya Nukavarapu: My next poetry project is theme-based poetry about undressing an emotion / concept / theme / message through a poem. I have just written two poems and have miles to go.
I am also working on a horror story; the sub-genre is witches and witchcraft. It is titled, The Eye of the Crow. In parallel, I am writing a multi-layered, complex, dark thriller, tentatively titled ‘Blood-Prince’. I am so looking forward to completing these works and hoping that the readers will love them.
