It was in graduate school, when I first started experimenting with poetry. They were short Telugu lyrics, haiku-like three line English poems, and some longer verses. A friend from the Humanities Department brought a series of issues on campus poetry. Though they were just a bundle of cyclostyled sheets stapled at margin, like all novice poets, I too was elated to see my first poems in print. A little later I borrowed my cousin’s Olivetti typewriter. Taking a break from my graduate research work, I typed, with scrupulous diligence without a single typo, about twenty-six poems. The small collection included several long poems, some almost as long as thirty lines, of free verse. My scientist cousin and an uncle, himself an accomplished Telugu poet read through the collection.
Then a long hiatus interposed and I thought I had almost lost my touch with writing poetry. My main interests were elsewhere. Recently, rather unexpectedly I plunged back into poetry. This time I wanted to really explore the depths in poetic expression, images, and imagination. The book is a culmination of such effort, it contains original English poems and translations of my Telugu lyrical poems (melodious songs).
Some, but not all, of the poems were posted at my blog at Sulekha (http://tenneti-rao.sulekha.com/), a few can be found at my e-blog (http://pattri-pulu.blogspot.com/). About a dozen poems, both in Telugu and English were published in the web magazine of Telugu Literary & Cultural Association of New York – they were under my pseudonym, Atri. As part of the poetic exploration, four Telugu song recordings, in my own voice, were uploaded at Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/gosthajammi). Now, for the first time, as many as eighty- four English poems (including translations) are collected in this slender book, giving them an oeuvre and a formal collective (artistic) identity. A short preface by the author serves as an opening to the poetic dialogue. A range of subjects – from nature, romance, nostalgia, contemplation, to daily vagaries of life are touched upon. Both spatially and temporally, the poems cover vast distances, across continents and centuries. Many poems attracted sizeable audience on the Internet and at least one poem got translated into Japanese.
The whole book is in English from cover to cover. Some poems contain a stray Sanskrit or Telugu word, but such non-English words comprise only less than half a percent of the total vocabulary. Copious explanation of such foreign words is given via foot notes, thus obviating any difficulty for the reader. For the sake of brevity, directness and distinct flavor, the author has retained such words in the final version.
The beautifully crafted hand cloth bound book can be purchased in India from Writers Workshop (http://www.writersworkshopindia.com/). The publisher has a Kiosk (The Book Nook) at 162/92 Lake Gardens, Kolkata 700045. In North America, copies can be obtained directly from the author. Each book has the original signature handwriting (perhaps one of the last works to be adorned with his distinctive calligraphy) of Professor P. Lal. Plus, it comes with colorful hand embossment and wrapping of Orissa sari cloth with unique motifs, which are found only in the trades of traditional Indian weavers. Copyright by the author 2011
