For National Poetry Month: Poet Sweta Srivastava Vikram

In 1996, the Academy of American Poets created National Poetry Month, to be celebrated each April.  During the month of April, schools, libraries, booksellers, poets, and bloggers throughout the U.S. celebrate poetry by participating in readings, festivals, workshops, and other special events.

April has gone by too quickly!  I wasn't organized enough to be on the schedule for the National Poetry Month: Reach for the Horizon Blog Tour hosted by Serena from Savvy Verse & Wit, but I did want to post something worthwhile in honor of National Poetry Month.

Over the past few years, I've had the pleasure of reading four powerful books of contemporary poetry by award-winning writer Sweta Srivastava Vikram, Because All is Not Lost, Kaleidoscope: An Asian Journey of Colors, Beyond the Scent of Sorrow, No Ocean Here, as well as her striking novel, Perfectly Untraditional.  I've reviewed each of these books on my blog, and I also posted an exclusive interview with Sweta in 2010.  If you visit her website, you'll learn more about this prolific, multi-talented author, and you'll be amazed (but not surprised if you've read any of her work) at all of the honors and awards she's won!  When I heard the recent news that her poetry books were traveling to Scotland to a university library as well as to the Glasgow Women's Library, I decided I'd found the perfect subject for my poetry post.

In the nick of time, before National Poetry Month draws to a close, I'm privileged to present one of her poems from the book No Ocean Here, a collection of poetry published in 2013, about women from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.  This book, which has become an Amazon bestseller, gives women a voice against the violence and oppression they face far too frequently.

Sweta Srivastava Vikram

The poet prefaces her poem, "Superwoman", nominated for the Pushcart Prize, with the following statement:

Even in educated, modern families, men and women are not expected to do an equal share of housework despite both the husband and wife keeping jobs.


Superwoman

Her poems smell of onions,
even the raw air disapproves.

She is tired of being a superwoman--
slicing her dreams,
for dinner, running
from wall to cement,
picking up pieces
of wishes not her own,
looking beautiful during the day,
abandoned by prayers at night.

She turns on the water in the sink,
it drowns the sound of her tears.
Sighing, she pounds her fist into bread dough
until the blue veins on her fingers squirm
and she blames the onions.
 

I think this poem will resonate with women worldwide, with those who work outside of the home, as well as "only" in the home (man may work from sun to sun, but women's work is never done).

Thank you for graciously sharing your poem on my blog, Sweta.  Your poetry possesses style, eloquence, and depth, and I look forward to reading your new work.

Comments are welcomed.

(PUBLISHING DISCLAIMER: “Superwoman” excerpted with permission from the book No Ocean Here published by Modern History Press.  Copyright (c) 2013 Sweta Srivastava Vikram.  All Rights Reserved.)

Really Random Tuesday #7: Giveaway Winners and Cats vs Dogs

Congratulations to PA and Jinky! Each won a copy of Kaleidoscope: An Asian Journey of Colors, a collection of poems by Sweta Srivastava Vikram. And Miss Lissy has won a copy of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon. Congratulations, Miss Lissy! Thanks to everyone who participated in these giveaways. It was a lot of fun for me to host them and to read all of the wonderful comments. If you didn't win this time, please take a look at the other book giveaways posted on the right side of my blog and try your luck again if anything appeals to you.

Last week, Avis from She Reads and Reads included some photos of her photogenic cat, Cairo, in her Really Random Tuesday post, whereas Naida from the bookworm often posts photos of Diego, her adorable chihuahua. Today Veens from Giving Reading a Chance treats us to some pictures of her very beautiful baby boy. This Tuesday, I decided to include some photos as well. I don' t have a baby at this point in my life, but I do have a cat and a dog.

Sara

"As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows cats have enormous patience with the limitations of human kind."
~Cleveland Amory

Jenny

"No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does."
~Christopher Morley

My guess is that most book bloggers prefer cats to dogs, but I could certainly be wrong. (I would have thought that Virginia Woolf was a cat person, due to her introspective nature, yet she wrote the biography Flush, a book devoted to a cocker spaniel owned by Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.) Perhaps many of you, like me, appreciate the attributes of cats and dogs. Are you a cat person or a dog person--or both, like me?

Really Random Tuesday is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of. If you're inspired by this idea, feel free to copy the button and use it on your own blog. Please leave a link in the comments if you’re participating. Thanks for reading!

Kaleidoscope: Review and Giveaway

"Colors are the smiles of nature."
~Leigh Hunt

Having recently interviewed Sweta Srivastava Vikram after reading Because All is Not Lost, I was thrilled by the opportunity to review her new book of poems, Kaleidoscope: An Asian Journey of Colors. In the introduction of Kaleidoscope, the author says that her book, part of the World Voices Series, "delves into the implication and philosophy of colors from a Hindu woman's point of view", and that "the color she adorns herself with almost depicts the story of her life". The colors of an Indian woman's wardrobe are certainly significant; they represent her emotional state and thoughts. For example, the color red means marriage, green indicates conception, and white signifies widowhood. In the poem "Reflecting on Iridescence in Mama's Wardrobe", the author uses the colors of a sari, from pink to black, to depict the various stages of life from youth until death. The golden warmth of the third stanza is palpable:

"I hid under mama's yellow sari,
warm, as the sunrays at dawn,
so I could lose myself to words,
write an ode to daffodils,
and pretend I was Wordsworth."

While I am not Hindu, I'm particular when it comes to the color of my clothing, too. During the hot months of summer I tend to wear white, but since it was mild this year I wore blouses in the colors that I find most appealing, bright blues such as cobalt, turquoise, and purples; I rarely wear neutral colored tops because they feel too drab. I'm drawn to certain colors in clothing, and recognize the power of color to influence my mood and outlook. This chapbook goes beyond wardrobe colors, though, and mentions color in a myriad of other ways, directly and indirectly, citing her "soft lungs" and the "skies of London". Each verse is beautifully crafted, expressed in a variety of poetic and verbal forms. I dove into this book of poems quickly and eagerly, then slowed down to savor the words and the images, marveling over Sweta Srivastava Vikram's unique mix of grace, humor, and eloquence, which forms a medley of beauty and color.

Exciting news! The publisher is generously offering two books as a giveaway. This book giveaway is open internationally!

• To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment.
  
• For an extra chance at winning, become a follower of this blog, or let me know that you're already a follower, or that you subscribe in Google Reader.
• For an additional chance, post about this contest on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter.
• For another bonus chance, name your favorite color or colors, or leave a comment about the importance of color in your own life.
  

Enter by 5 PM PDT on Monday, September 27. Two winners will be chosen randomly and announced on Tuesday, September 28. Good luck!

Special thanks to Victor from Modern History Press for sending me Kaleidoscope.