We interviewed Dalip MacCune, the first runner-up of the Wingword Poetry Competition 2025, for his poem, Body Language of the Dead. He was awarded a cash prize of INR 30,000 by the committee.
Dalip MacCune is a writer, editor, and media professional whose lifelong engagement with words has spanned journalism, publishing, and creative expression. With postgraduate degrees in English and Political Science, alongside a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from YMCA Delhi, his literary depth runs parallel with his professional expertise.
Over the decades, Dalip has had a long editorial journey. He has worked as Editor with Rashtriya Sahara (1992–1998), helmed the India Post newspaper (2002–2003), and served as News Editor at Jain Satellite TV (1999–2001). He has also directed the Institute of Media Studies and Information Technology (2012–2024) and is currently Executive Director at RIPS.
Beyond newsrooms and lecture halls, Dalip has produced documentaries for Doordarshan, the Ministry of External Affairs, NFDC, and other institutions, focusing on wildlife, art, and culture. This visual storytelling complements his passion for poetry, where his voice finds a more intimate and lyrical register.
Poetry, for Dalip, is both a refuge and a lens—an art that allows him to merge personal reflection with broader human concerns. His poems are often shaped by his eclectic experiences across media and culture, balancing intellectual insight with emotional resonance.
You write about Kashmir with great familiarity and intensity. Do you feel freedom denied to one is freedom denied to all? And how does your poetry contribute to the discourse of free speech and mobilization?
Is it not a tragedy that human beings call themselves civilised but choke the voice of the people? Birds and animals are better than us; they sing and roam freely across the world. India is a signatory to the UN Charter.
The UN General Assembly in 1948 outlined in the UN Charter, fundamental human rights and freedoms to which all individuals are entitled, without discrimination.
Rights such as freedom from torture, freedom of expression, the right to life, liberty, and security of person, and rights to education and work.
Whatever may be the circumstances. It is the responsibility of the people in power to ensure these rights to all individuals and the members of the society living in the vicinity of the designated state.
We have failed to protect the people and the rights of the people in Kashmir. To which we have to discuss and contemplate, and try to remove the fault lines. War on war to end the war is no solution.
When the voice of the people is silenced, art, literature, and culture speak.
Poems on Kashmir echo the pain, suffering, and torture that silently resonate in the toxic air of the conflict zone. These poems reflect the criss-cross journey of the people hiding behind the grief and anger, ambushed by the reality of life. People are destined to suffer for life with hope in their hearts and prayers on their lips. They inhale life and death with each breath in one of the most militarized zones of the world. Kashmir has become one of the most dangerous zones for human existence, punctuated by the arrest of human consciousness and the demonic power equation.
The personal has always been the political. But the political is personal, too. Your poems also echo the same sentiments, and you don’t shy away from using harrowing imagery to describe violent human experiences. Do you think your poetry is most alive when you are writing about trauma and discrimination? What fuels your creativity?
Art, literature, and culture are the mirrors of society. People living in a civilised society should not speak the language of the oppressor. They have to create space for dialogue. Otherwise, silence will engulf the society and darkness will eclipse freedom. It is the responsibility of all the artists and writers to narrate the harrowing experiences of the people and tell captivating true stories in an artistic way. If the writers are not sensitive to raising their voice against violence and suppression of the people, the social norms will be buried, and autocracy and dictatorship will erode human rights. There will be an existential crisis. Humanity suffers at the altar of power. Political mutation reshapes life in conflicting zones, and consciousness helps in creativity.
Your academic training spans English literature, political science, and journalism. These three disciplines are deeply entwined with questions of power, narrative, and representation. How have these different disciplines shaped the way you approach your editorial and media work?
I have covered Kashmir since 1989. A writer has to endure the pain of political and social upheaval and find words to translate the feelings of the people to narrate the stories. I have lost so many Kashmiri friends, felt the pain of half-widows, felt tormented by the suffering of people devastated by killings, experienced heartaches to see challenges faced by human rights activists, and endured distress to see the disappearances of innocent people. I have written articles, documented the turmoil of Kashmir on a YouTube channel. The entire work on Kashmir was deleted by the channel, citing violence. My work on the personal lives of terrorists, human rights, and sufferings has been echoed on several platforms. Political Science, English Literature, and Journalism are the means and tools to narrate stories on different platforms.
How did you get to know about the Wingword Poetry Competition? Do you think it is important for poets to participate in writing competitions, and why?
I saw the Ad for the Wingword Poetry Competition on Facebook. I wanted to parade my poems on Kashmir, so I participated in the competition. It has helped me to echo my voice for the people of Kashmir. Writing competitions are forums to reach out to the people and express your viewpoint. If given a chance, I would like to submit a few more of my poems to the Wingword Poetry Competition. It is an authentic platform to liberate the captured voices from the chambers of suppression and illusion.