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Four Pantoums and a Song, Laila Sumpton
Four COLONIALIST PANTOUMS AND A SONG
Four COLONIALIST PANTOUMS AND A SONG
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Laila Sumpton
The demand for fine cotton, gauze, muslin, chintz and silk fueled the expansion of the East India Company- the most powerful company of it’s time. If you were looking for an opportunity to return to the UK incredibly wealthy, they were the ones to sign up with. Founded in 1600 they operated till 1874 amassing an army of around 200 000 soldiers95% of whom were Indian and even created their own currency. They went from trading with the Mughal emperors to taking over the states of India, eventually ruling a country of 200 million people.
If a state refused their terms and conditions they would face 24 hours of looting- ironically ‘loot’ is a Hindi word. Recently an episode of The Antiques RoadShow on the BBC featured a Mughal ring filled with precious stones which had been found in a charity shop in the UK. The antiques expert explained that it had ‘found its way over from somewhere near the Taj Mahal’- which is a euphemism that someone needs to write a poem about swiftly!
In return for their protection the East India Company made the princely states pay extortionately high taxes. Maharajas were forced to give them the money saved in case the crops failed and their grain reserves. This led to the Bengal famine in 1770 where 10 million died- which was 1 in 3 citizens.
Accounts were written about the Companies’ cruelty, including ‘Considerations on Indian Affairs’ written in 1770 by a former employee William Bolts- inspired by this I wrote a satirical pantoum containing advice on how to colonise. Students at the Keats House summer school attended our workshop on Keats’ own connections to the East India Company and were supported to write their own poems inspired by this history.
Laila Sumpton
Arrive with little to sell, temper your awe and hunger then allude to your strength and sniff out the finest goods.
Temper your awe and hunger, flatter and fan the leaders and sniff out the finest goods, then sit at their feet and smile.
Flatter and fan the leaders, shoulder some of the burden then sit at their feet and smile as you just help organise.
Shoulder all of the burden, send for some more red jackets- as you just help organise and manage what comes and goes.
Send for some more red jackets, manage the competition, and manage what comes and goes; then reassure the leaders.
Manage the competition, allow the leaders hobbies, then reassure the leaders, and bolt the palace doors.
Pantoum
Jessica Robinson
Arrive with little intentions, Other than taking over. Those in the chosen country, Will listen without thinking over.
Other than taking over, Make sure to not lose control. Listen without thinking over, they will And I promise you will not be killed.
Make sure not to lose control, I say Or this empire could woefully fail. I promise you won’t be killed, my men As long as it’s me you hail.
March of the Missionaries
Karensa May López
Weathered boots on foreign shores, New muskets shining with the dream of hidden treasures. Curt bows and formal addressed in A language spinning from their tongues to poison the air.
New muskets shining with the dream of hidden treasures, Sights set on a burning horizon. A language spinning from their tongues to poison the air, Drowning out all other sound.
Sights set on a burning horizon, That dwarfs the new dawn rising from the earth. Drawing out all other sound, The thump of boots on stolen land.
Old Habits
Max Baker
Set foot honest but perceptive Wriggle cosy to their hearts Whisper dreams down the trade lines Clasp shoulders, stain fingers with tea.
Wriggle cosy to their hearts Loosen crumbs - grasp falling fragments Clasp shoulders, stain fingers with tea Invite more wealthy and white.
Loosen crumbs - grasp falling fragments Lend a hand with tax - borrow their arms Invite more wealthy and white Pass parcels of opulence, construe oceans of wealth.
Lend a hand with tax - borrow their arms Ransom resistors, force feeds debts Pass parcels of opulence, construe oceans of wealth March soldiers through their banks.
Ransom resistors, force feed debts Sow seeds in England of rabid national narcissism March soldiers through their banks Make them cry pity for themselves - then capture and trade their tears.
Colonialist Song
Liv Goldreich
I am not made for this country. Place cotton between my teeth, my lungs. Don’t try to learn their tongues. The taste of a new currency is burning in my throat.
Place cotton between my teeth, my lungs so that my skin will become soft muslin. The taste of a new currency is burning in my throat. My dead skin will be woven through this embroidery.
Will my skin become soft muslin? The snakes feast on my generous hands, feeding on my dead skin woven through this embroidery. Remember to pillage the dust.
Snakes will feast on my generous hands. The women here are only walls. Remember to pillage the dust –and a hefty bale of malaria.
The women here are only walls so sit here and count family like coins, wheezing on a heavy bale of malaria –and smile as teeth become chaff.
