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On Discovering Ann Townsend
I am enjoying reading poetry written by Ann Townsend. In her poem “The Coronary Garden” she describes a suicide attempt: “from the brisk whiteness a tulip unfolding from each wrist.” The entire story unfolds like a mystery novel. Often I think this is about romance but then I stop myself – maybe it isn’t… “like a…
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On finding “Dragon Jotter”
The clean-up of cupboards and boxes I found size 36 tops and smiled. At size 42 these look like doll clothes. This is change I oscillate between sizes Big. Small. Same old me. A shelf full of old writing Mostly journals Among them “Dragon Jotter” 2008 Photography of Hong Kong by Neil Farrin When I…
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river’s lullaby
of rivers crossed walking barefoot on their saturated beds their vastness bound into a trickling ribbon the pregnant swelling during monsoon fish in baskets, fish in oil dried fish rubbed with salt hung to dry the roundness of stones beneath feet of rivers exiled burnt in heat, shivering in the cold often looted,…
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The dots I can’t connect
In my deep moments of losing and finding myself in a ghazal (right now I am reading: “Red Ghazal”) I find my mind turning to songs I’ve heard. Sometimes I can find a direct connect between the two e.g. reading Adrienne Rich and listening to Abida Parveen sing Mirza Ghalib‘s ghazals, Rich often refers to…
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Butterflies
On being asked why do I have butterflies tattooed on my arm, I hesitate, fumble, I hear myself quoting Darwish, “The poem is always incomplete, the butterflies make it whole.” In that poem “To a Young Poet” he writes: “Don’t ask anyone: Who am I? You know who your mother is. As for your father,…
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Har ek baat pe kehte ho tum ke tu kya hai
Originally posted on Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs: This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog. During 1960-70, Lata Mangeshkar had sung some beautiful non-filmy ghazals. Two of these NFS, viz. dahar mein naqsh-e-wafaa…
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Patricia Smith Breaks Down “Hip-Hop Ghazal”
Originally posted on Poetry Genius: In a beautiful convergence of hip-hop and poetry, teacher, poet, and overall “word woman” extraordinaire, Patricia Smith, has shed light on her “Hip-Hop Ghazal” on Rap Genius. What’s a ghazal, you ask? Read the annotations to find out! Gotta love us brown girls, munching on fat, swinging blue hips, decked…
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CSAAM April 2013: Touch – A Ghazal
I was asked by Kiran Manral if I would like to contribute to the Child Sexual Abuse Awareness month April 2013. I greatly admire Kiran’s work with India Helps and Child Sexual Abuse Awareness so I was deeply moved that she thought of me as someone who could possibly contribute. I had done a semi-fictional account…
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Just words
He destroys my tools And I let him keep his word Just words.
