The Million-Petalled Flower of Being Here Contributor(s): Ravinthiran, Vidyan (Author) |
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ISBN: 1780374763 ISBN-13: 9781780374765 Publisher: Bloodaxe Books OUR PRICE: $15.26 Product Type: Paperback Published: June 2019 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Poetry | European - English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh - Poetry | Asian - General - Poetry | Subjects & Themes - Love & Erotica |
Dewey: 821.92 |
LCCN: 2020478123 |
Physical Information: 0.3" H x 6.1" W x 9" (0.30 lbs) 64 pages |
Themes: - Cultural Region - British Isles |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Vidyan Ravinthiran's second collection is a book of sonnets for his wife. These are love poems that turn analytical, consider the world, and in which the pronoun 'we' aspires to stand for a larger community, including (if you like) readers themselves. Many describe life in the North East for a mixed-race couple, considering both the redemptive force of love and the cultural origins of our discontent. Brexit; racist and sexist abuse; class; our work-life balance, and our relationship with institutions (be it our employer, or the NHS); taboos surrounding mental health; civil war in Sri Lanka; media representation of minorities; immigrant anxieties: these poems look inward, but also outward. Worrying at the link between society and our private lives, they scorn a politics which would put us all in separate boxes. Love, and imagination, may not conquer all, but as recent shocks suggest, 'we' must at least try to understand people different to us. Shortlisted for the 2019 Forward Prize for Best Collection, the collection is a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. |