Poems

Auteur

K. G. Subramanyan (1924-2016) was one of India's most respected artists. He was part of the arts faculty at M. S. University, Baroda, and was professor emeritus at the Kala Bhavan Center at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, India. In 2012, he received the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award, for his outstanding contribution to the arts. His other books include Moving Focus: Essays on Indian Art and Living Tradition: Perspectives on Modern Indian Art, both also published by Seagull Books.

Texte du rabat

Word-pictures crafted by a master artist from everyday moments offer deep reflections on contemporary existence in this poem collection. I lie and lay my head upon the grass
And unwind the body hardened stiff like glass.
But the tiny blades tickle the lower ear
Making me ask myself, why do I bear
This crass impertinence and sink my head
Still further down its bed of prickly green? So asks the poet, his ears pressed against the earth as he maps the world around him in a new geography of sound. Places, photographs, books, neighbors, afternoons, love, loss, and longing are sketched into word-pictures by Subramanyan as he reflects, reacts, and reminisces in this collection of poems. These memoir-poems will help throw into relief some of Subramanyan's symbols and motifs, better contextualizing his oeuvre.