The publishing scenario as regards
poetry does not conjure up a very encouraging picture. Publishers in general are rather reluctant to take up poetry publishing. And yet, here we have ‘A Hudson View’ and its two member team, Amitabh Mitra and Victoria Valentine who are not only willing to take on such a risk but are willing to go even further and boldly publish the first time writer. Their’s is a motto which clearly says, “Publish or perish”.
At the onset, I would like to make my intentions clear. It is not my intention to rip apart what has been put together with as much love and care and devotion as the Creator himself. I am here to help suggest perhaps a few ways in which one can improvise on what is already a great job.
I would not be exaggerating when I say that I am deeply moved by the sincere effort put in by an enthusiastic team with nothing but love and passion for poetry in their hearts. Hudson View is proof that in a world where consumerism drives and aesthetic value occupies a backseat, that there still exist a few oasis of pure undiluted creativity.
Before I move on to the poetry, I must add that the careful thought and choice of pictures and the idea of presenting them in the covers are much appreciated. I especially liked the picture called ''''
Changing Seasons’.
Deepti Naval had made an impact in the Hindi poetry scene with her book ‘Lamhe Lamhe’ in the seventies. It was indeed a great surprise and an honor to have her English
poems selected by Amitabh Mitra for this journal. Her poetry like her art brings the confluence of images drawn from within,
words that have felt hurt and joy and touched on the paper with the masterstroke of a word painter. Deepti Naval''''s
poem "Smita and I" only emphasizes Ramendra Kumar''''s startlingly contradictory observations in "Memories":
Who can forget the dusky, sultry, passionate and deep thinking woman that was Smita Patil? She has left an indelible impression on our minds.
And the words,
Then,
Without blinking
Without turning
Said,
"There isn’t."
stating the
simple truth about the flip side of fame will find an answering echo in the heart of every entertainer for whom the line demarcating his or her public and private life has been obliterated and the two have merged as one. It makes one realize how vulnerable these people really are.
A few poems are so many scenes played in everyone''''s life that I found myself nodding my head in agreement, recalling just such a scene in my own life.
How much of poetry is Love? The whole of it, I would say, as page after page after page speaks of one soul imprinted on another, the invisible form made tangible in the whispering breeze, in the fragrance of flowers, in the erratic heart beat, in a name that comes unwontedly to the lips with every breath.....so gentle and fragile an emotion that the words that express it must move oh, so gently, so gently...
With Love dominating poetry so much, one almost dares a
Poet to deviate from the common mantra. And I found it in several poems and in one poet almost completely.
Joe Quinn is one such poet
The images he conjures up touch a raw nerve. There is cynicism in his poems laced with the faint awareness of the existence of good things, somewhere, not far away.......somewhere....
So really, I throw up my hands in despair. How can I help you improve upon perfection? I draw on all my meager resources, my little experience and my unfailing instinct to guide me so I may do justice to this task set before me.
My guidelines are simple, because what I seek is simple. I seek to understand what is being told and the way it is being told, the presentation. As such, there are poems that satisfy me, poems that surpass my expectations.
And some poems that leave me confused. Jan Oskar Hansen''''s poem, ''''
Summer Grass" is one such poem. It is interesting yes - but is it poetry? Can prose divided into lin
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