A riveting anthology of 150 poems by 24 persons from India, Oman, USA, Canada, Bhutan, Kenya, Greece, Italy, Austria, Japan, UAE and Turkey.
To write poetry is to create a world that exists in a different dimension altogether – a world that is ethereally beautiful and sublime, as much as it is scarred with suffering, pain and ugliness. And yet beyond all this there is a promise, too, of hope, light, change.
Writing poetry, as difficult as it is, is one thing; a stupendous achievement in itself. But to sift through volumes of other poets’ thoughts and writings, get under the skin of their souls, sift through mountains of imagery and metaphors, and unravel mysteries hidden deep inside labyrinthine minds, is something next to impossible. And after all that, to get to the heart of the matter and lay it bare for all to see, is the most exacting test of a person’s sensitivity, patience and skill.
As the editor of the recently published anthology of 150 poems “IMPRESSIONS & EXPRESSIONS: ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL POETRY”, Amita Sanghvi has proven without a shadow of doubt that she is all of this and much more. The anthology brings together the handiwork of 23 poets and one artist, so a total of 24 persons. From start to finish, the whole process of putting the book together has taken about eight-month or so, from November 2020 to July 1, 2021, when the book went on sale around the world.
The collection of poetry is currently available free all over the world to anyone who has a Kindle device or a Kindle App on the mobile phone. Non-Kindle subscribers can buy the anthology online from Amazon as an e-book in the following 13 countries: USA, UK, Canada , France, Italy, Germany, Japan, India, Australia, Spain, Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico. Otherwise the book is also available as a paperback in USA, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan, Canada and Australia.
A faculty member of the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), in Muscat, Oman, Amita is a poet herself, with a commanding reputation. She is the author of her highly acclaimed book ‘Lavender Memories and other poems’. The poems are a tribute to Omani artist, photographer and a colleague at the SQU, Dr. Ibrahim Al Bakri. His oil on canvas landscapes of Oman in predominantly lavender shades unlocked the fountainhead of Amita’s poetry. For someone who hadn’t ever given poetry a second thought, Amita has become a diehard convert and can’t stop writing poetry that is beautiful and so soulful ever since.
Responding to an email interview Amita explains: “As a reader, I wanted in my hands all these poems accessible at once, and conveniently. Just thinking about it, I realised, what would a poetry lover want, 24 separate books or a collection in a single book? And that’s how this anthology came about, There was this urge that someone has to collect their works that need to be in the readers’ hands as a book to go to”
Writing poetry, as difficult as it is, is one thing; a stupendous achievement in itself. But to sift through volumes of other poets’ thoughts and writings, get under the skin of their souls, sift through mountains of imagery and metaphors, and unravel mysteries hidden deep inside labyrinthine minds, is something next to impossible.
Elaborating further Amita adds: “I realised that a collection was required. In order to do that it was necessary to sift through hundreds of poets online, and bring those together in an anthology, that will have a combination of tender feelings as well as powerful emotions of lasting impact. And they would definitely have to be poems that beckon readers to go back to them, again and again. It was a time-consuming yet rewarding process of sifting the wheat from the chaff. But the end result is a great collection”.
What made Amita to take up such a stupendous task of compiling an anthology?
“The question that came up before me was whether one poem is enough to fathom a poet’s depth and breadth. Clearly, it became quite obvious to me that we need to give every poet sufficient space to express the entire gamut and range of their feelings, through different moods and styles. So, the collection is rich in diverse poetry, contributed from all over the world- India, Oman, USA, Canada, Bhutan, Kenya, Greece, Italy, Austria, Japan, UAE and Turkey”.
Amita says: “My criteria for selection was based on three factors. It had to be poetry that was evocative and touches the heart of the readers. It had to be thought-provoking poetry that enables readers to stretch their worldview. And lastly, it had to be aesthetic, devoted to the lyrical aspects of rhythm, harmony and balance with the intrinsic ability to heal readers, who worship beauty for beauty’s sake and art for art’s sake”.
Elaborating further she explains:” The utmost value of poets is their uncanny ability to perceive life, death, suffering, love, this living world in the most sensitive and most original way; each poet’s voice is inimitable. Each poet’s worldview is so unique that their works are incomparable
As this collection is aimed at very diverse academic cultures of the world, the poetry chosen is of high linguistic quality that is inspirational and highly relatable to and provides the best contemporary poets with a platform to reach out to their readers and promote poetry as a healing and bonding space.
In conclusion, Amita says:” I had to decide on one single criteria: “Do I feel like reading this poem again? Did I find it intriguing enough? What fresh perspective did I gain this time, what insight and what happy epiphany or how did I connect this poem with my own experiences? The answers were obvious over a period of time, and I knew who would get a place, and what poems would be held in high regard among serious poetry lovers”.
Beyond that, if anyone has any further questions, Amita’s answer is simple: ”Pick up the book, read it, and you will know!”
