Named as a runner-up in the Happiful Poetry Prize 2024, Suchandrika Chakrabarti reflects on exploring grief in poetry

‘happy birthday’ by Suchandrika Chakrabarti was named as one of the shortlisted poems in the Happiful Poetry Prize 2024. This beautiful poem perfectly captures an everyday experience of grief in a subtle and touching way.

Here, Suchandrika reflects on the meaning of the poem, and the relationship between writing poetry and processing difficult emotions.

Why did you decide to enter the Happiful Poetry Prize?

Entering competitions gives me deadlines. Plus the mental health theme seemed like a good fit for my work.

Could you tell us a little about the poem you submitted?

‘happy birthday’ is about the continuing relationships we have with the people we love who have gone from our lives.

Even the simple act of baking a cake can pay tribute to the enduring, if sometimes heartbreaking, nature of this kind of love. It’s about being alone but not lonely.

When writing poetry, where do you find your inspiration?

I’ve had an outpouring of poetry recently – mostly, like ‘happy birthday’, about grief. I’ve spent a surprising amount of my life actively grieving: I lost both my parents before I turned 20, and that was 20 years ago.

I couldn’t really write between the ages of 20 and 35 – but now I can’t seem to stop. I guess that I have processed the feelings enough to write poetry about that time. I’m now working on a chapbook about grief, love, and my parents.

How do you approach writing a new poem?

When a poem’s knocking on the door inside my head so loudly, I have no choice but to let it out…

What advice would you give to aspiring poets?

Open the door.

Read Suchandrika’s poem ‘happy birthday’, and others from 2024, here.

Enter the Happiful Poetry Prize 2025