Poems from the Volcano

By Biplab Sarker

Poems from the Volcano was written in a challenging and painful time in my life. Originally, I had bought a normal diary from WHSmiths with the thought that I would write my daily diary. I was rather overweight though. I had done a Prevention of Type II Diabetes Programme remotely using Microsoft Teams and because of this programme I was losing weight.

From February 2022 I had also decided not to take any medication to treat my Bipolar Disorder. This had resulted in me not being able to sleep which resulted in me suffering horrific hallucinations. It was in the diary then I would write notes about my life. From the age of seventeen to twenty-two I had suffered different stages of mental illness which included, nervous tension, agoraphobia, schizophrenia. I was put in a psychiatric ward for four weeks. My life after that went into hell and out of sheer madness became obese.

I began writing Poems from the Volcano in the Spring of 2022 and concluded in the Autumn of 2022. It is about adolescence heartbreak and the writing is inspired by own battle with heartbreak and depression. Some poems reflect political themes such as Ukraine and Russia. There is a historical poem called ‘Tat’, about Tutankhamun, the Egyptian pharaoh. These poems were a joy to pen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Feb 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9781035820535

Biplab Sarker

Biplab Sarker was born on February 9th, 1972, in India. It was a time when East Pakistan, now officially called Bangladesh, was at war with Pakistan forming independence. London, Balaam is where he stayed with his family until the age of four. The family then moved to Peterborough. At a very young age, Biplab enjoyed reading Enid Blyton books, and every night he would read a story. He struggled with simple educational tasks at primary school and suffered similar problems at secondary school. Biplab achieved BSc. (Hons) Mathematics from Anglia Ruskin University, 1996.

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Synopsis

It can be a hard life writing a set of poems and I awoke one morning and decided to do just that. It was springtime. The air was fresh in the morning, and sometimes in the morning, I would go for a run.

I have bipolar disorder, and because of this illness, I could really not drive a car or hold down a job. I, though, developed a hobby of practicing creative writing.

Poems from the Volcano was written over a period of approximately eight months. Initially, I bought a diary to write about my daily life. This emerged into a habit of writing notes about my depression. Eventually, from this emerged writing poetry. I have always enjoyed reading books, magazines and even nutrition labels on food packaging. I even look at music stars’ lyrics you can find in compact disks.

Life can sometimes be a dirty business, and a lot of the time, we struggle through our adolescent years trying to cope with peer pressure. I write from my heart, and some poems have fictitious characters.

When my father passed away, my life turned around. I lost a lot of weight and then focused on things I liked