Overwhelming response

michellewendydcosta Uncategorized

Overwhelmed by the responses to short stories. Such careful reading and appreciation of the short form.

Six reviews so far on Kaani, do drop by 

1) Accident by Fehmida Zakeer- Reviewed by Rebecca Lloyd

2) Pawn by Amanda Lee Koe- Reviewed by Prashila Naik

3) The trouble with mangoes by Janet H. Swinney- Reviewed by Neera Kashyap

4) Hope that he hears by Prashila Naik- Reviewed by Rituparna Roy

5) The Monotony of Hornbills by Jyothi Vinod- Reviewed by Abha Iyengar

6) Once again next year by Oindrila Mukherjee- Reviewed by Krishna S. Srivalsan

 

Read them here

*   *   *

Advertisements

Recommendations

michellewendydcosta Uncategorized

Fiction:

1- Sunita DeSouza goes to Sydney by Roanna Gonsalves (Review forthcoming in Kitaab)

2- Love In An Age of Taxonomy by Anil Menon (Short fiction in Usawa Literary Review, review coming up in Kaani)

Poetry:

1- Jonahwhale by Ranjit Hoskote

2- We live in the newness of small differences by Sohini Basak (Interview coming up)

3- 40 under 40: a post globalisation poetry anthology (been re-reading this. what mind-blowing poems!)

Movies (old):

1- Nightcrawler

2- Another Earth

3- Denial

Poetry Post 1

michellewendydcosta Uncategorized

There are so many talented poets writing poetry now. Every week I’ll be posting names of five poets whose work I have enjoyed with an excerpt from one poem of theirs. They are in no order. Do check out other poems by them.

1- Nabanita Kanungo

This is from her poem ‘Season‘ published by The Bombay Literary Magazine.

The regular mate isn’t around.
Her owner has taken her away on a holiday.
One day, his risks at luring someone else paid off
and the ensuing rituals offered neighbours hope
that the embarrassment may stop.
But the scuffles and races must have been too brief
to take the hoarseness out of his throb.
He still calls and disgusted women shush him

 

2- Nandini Dhar

 Here’s a bit from her poem ‘Preface‘ in Almost Island.

 

Uncle says, we were both heavy. 
Like welding machines, the last 
hour of silence before dawn. 

Mother smashes a medicine-bottle against the wall 
because grandfather has called her a goddess. 
The liquid red, like fresh blood 
on the kitchen floor. 

3- Sumana Roy

Here’s a bit from ‘Are you lonesome tonight?‘ at Poetry at Sangam.

 

The door opens itself
into a cave: it holds
a lover’s night.
A caged monsoon.
The room is its own
prisoner. It handcuffs
a silence to the bed.

4- Anindita Sengupta

Here’s a bit from her poem ‘We left Bombay to start over‘ in Mascara Literary Review.

A stampede was due.
We left because there was money to be made
in a city with thighs of steel. We left
because hope is tiny and lodges
between a man’s ribs like cancer. But mostly,
we left because we were promised things.
We flew south like geese, twigged a nest
in the outsider neighborhood.
Flyovers flayed the city
but none would hook us across.
We didn’t know that then.

 

5- Manjiri Indurkar

Here’s a bit from her poem ‘Knees and Elbows, Elbows and Knees‘ in Aainangar.

 

It is difficult to sit with folded legs
During the summer nights
I feel the urge to touch the sweat
That gathers between the knee joints
When the calves touch the thighs
And they perspire together, like a conspiracy.
A joint venture

My elbows are dark and the skin is coarse
Maa gives me a lemon to scrub them
If I do it every day, I can fix them.
But I don’t.