Saturday, March 15, 2025

PRATIK's HLF/NYWW ISSUE HIGHLIGHT : JAMI PROCTOR XU's long poem, "Kali ~ Kathamndu"


JAMI PROCTOR XU

Kali ~ Kathamndu

        



 

                                           1

 

your name appears for weeks     in the signature line

of all her letters    name auto-corrected    to become you     

2 3 4   Kali, coming again, why are you coming again

   timedestroyerhealerprotectormother

      fire on the tongue     divine divine

 

               Om Klim Kalika Yei Namaha

 

      the fire within rises as the plane lifts

from the Chengdu greens of the trees and the Jin River

 into the turbulent fog until the sky opens  

   blue into the Himalayas    喜马拉雅 Ximalaya

   veined in browns   the twisting rivers   one begins

a translucent turquoise    before taking on yellow-brown

    silttheyellow that becomes its namesake   below this flight path

    just south of highlands, deserts, and riverbanks where she has been

    on the ground and in this same sky     the lotus hand healing

    Denis telling her these mountain formations make you feel

    as if you are seeing the divine mind itself   all its jagged formations

sandstone singing  a poet's square the sacred lake not far north of here

if you stick your tongue out far enough into into the sky you'll taste its salt

and feel, again, yak hair between your fingers, soft, as you pet the white yak

whose owner tells you it feeds the whole family with the money made

from photographs at the lakeside  a single yak hair in the mind draws a line

as you cross the unseen border   sandstone trees roads rivers   thousands

upon millions of years enter each breath grown purer as you reenter

clouds and a sudden expanse of snow on Sagarmatha    if you reach your hand

out far enough you'll touch its snow with your fingertips, just as the stars have   

to feel the texture of the lives and deaths of those who've ascended and gazed out

you rest your forehead against the cold window      all lives enter as

the third eye breathes in    the descent back into browns greens streets and paths

 

                                                          2

 

on the bus from the plane to the terminal on the tarmac in Kathmandu

a Nepali woman looks exactly like Anne but with darker skin

          beautiful how that happens   black hair flowing wild in the wind

                                divine feminine energy

              She devours Time. Naked Time. Naked Kali.

              She is an open system. She eats energy and manifests energy.

              No concept need apply. She is the flickering tongue of Agni.

              fire. She is the mother of language and mantra... *

Kali calling again appearing and reappearing in language as language

as my name as my friend whose face is on another woman she is this woman

she is every woman protector destroyer healer time hibiscus in the mind

                            

                                                          3

 

remember the thirty-three year old woman wearing a gray t-shirt that read:

              stay wild, prove you exist

remember her burning holes in desk drawers to make space for sunflowers

               to bloom inside to be seen

remember her carrying her teacher's burned body to the riverbanks, scooping mud

              to soothe the burns and scars

remember her sitting still while eight artists sketched her face, saying:

              let yourself be held here

 

in Kathmandu, she walks barefoot in the rain among fallen flowers

 

                                                          4

 

Jacaranda   the wind whistles   a purple flower

to become her name    Lucie says she loves

the name in Chinese as well   蓝花楹  Lanhuaying

       a pillar     full flowering, shedding

 

      as she stands at her aunt's bedside

 

the doctor asks  Do you know who this is 

and her aunt says Bertie   the nickname of her own aunt

not the name of her niece standing at her bedside

elevated calcium induced delirium makes her aunt forget even her own name

as the nurses bathe her aunt   she chants the Gayatri mantra  so the sound

can hold her in her fears and the excruciating pain in her hip broken and replaced

she feels her grandmother holding her aunt's hand as she holds her hand

and her aunt asks   Am I going to die?

No   she says   they say you are going to be okay

just as the doctor repeats again three days before she dies

He says  Your aunt will likely live another ten years

She's quite a person   he says

Yes  she says   She taught first and second grade for over thirty years

 

in one tree a whole spring of flowers

in one flower the name of a whole tree

in three days she becomes her aunt's mother,

aunt, niece, daughter, sister

in her aunt's face every stage of her life

this scattering of purple all along

the wet gray pavement in this sister city of Chengdu

 

                                                          5

 

moon showing us the path   the students write

in their group poem in a classroom at the international school in Kathmandu

blue butterfly just outside the window   flies into the poem

 

Do you like to sing, Madam  the students ask after the poetry workshop ends

and they offer to sing her a Nepali folk song

      a chorus of girls' voices fills the room

      a silk thread flying in the sky

      the principal enters the room and starts dancing

      his arms the wings of a bird

    

in this city once sometimes called Kantipur

       City of Light

 

moonlight showing us the path    sunlight showing us the path

                             students showing us the path

 

                                                          6

 

On the banks of the Bagmati River   she stands   watching monkeys

dive into the water   climb stone steps   swing from wires

            inhaling smoke from the cremation pyres

            exhaling prayers for the dead and the living

 

Come, Mam, I want to bless you   a woman says

I don't have any money, she says to the woman, I'm sorry

Come, Mam, the woman says again  I want to bless you

I just came from teaching poetry at a school, she says,

and I don't have any money on me   otherwise I would

I don't want money, the woman says  I just want to bless you

Come   Come    the woman motions again    so she walks over

 

the woman blesses her

              with holy water     a red tilaka   red and yellow kalava thread

the woman chants   and she lets herself open  and relax all the way

     to be held in the woman's voice

healerprotector    love of the divine mother   in the woman's voice

 

Thank you, she says to the woman once the blessing is complete

      a wave of peace passes through her body

I'm sorry I don't have any money, she says again

and the woman repeats, I don't want your money

I just wanted to bless you

    I'll write you a poem, she tells the woman

     in the smoky sunlight on the banks of the Bagmati River

 

                                           7

 

on the stone steps she watches from across the river

as family members wash the faces and feet of their loved ones

in preparation for cremation    so many loved ones  living and dead

each individual fire   all the fires   this shared ash

 

she thinks of her step-daughter, her aunts, her father-in-law,

her grandmothers and grandfathers when they were

washed in preparation for cremation or burial

   prayers in four languages, two continents and the present

as the living hold the dead    the dead hold the living

                

                              on and on

 

she remembers carrying her teacher's burned body

to the riverside to soothe the burns with cool mud

trying to help her heal in a dream   her beloved teacher

already having died in a fire lit with her own hands

 

              timedestroyerhealerprotectormother

             

                                           8

 

Shreejana says Kali's love is powerful

She tells her bahini   You are Kali

 

                     your name appears again

 

and all the false words of others fall away       

        all the misunderstandings fall away                 

        all the aggressions and anger fall away    

                      

                             love appears

 

Look, there's another sun right below the sun, D says

                             in this sky, it is so

 

               Om Klim Kalika Yei Namaha

 

*These lines are from Anne Waldman's "Alphabet of Mother Language," from

                  The Iivos Trilogy: Colors in the Mechanism of Concealment.

 

 

Jami Proctor Xu is an award-winning bilingual poet and translator who writes in Chinese and English. She has co-organized international poetry events in China, South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Ethiopia and frequently reads at poetry festivals worldwide.

 

Also Available on Amazon, Flipkart & Daraz

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Distributed in the United States by Itasca Book Distribution: https://itascabooks.com/ Distributed in South Asia by Nirala Publications, India: https://niralapublications.com/product-category/pratik-series/  In Nepal by White Lotus Book Shop, Kathmandu: https://whitelotusbookshop.com/product-category/pratik-series/

 

 

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Pratik's HLF/NYWW Issue Special : JANE HOUNG's "Sleeping Vishnu"

 

JANE HOUNG

Sleeping Vishnu

 


 

Vishnu, at this moment, I hate you, lying in orange-petalled grey-marbled bliss with that serene look on your face.

Because there I was, standing at your feet, water gently lapping, blossoms sweet as milk and honey, jostled by the muttered mantras of worshippers saried in their best. But all I could see is my daughter sleeping in her wicker coffin, in stone stillness, inert, like you!

The gnarled old ladies rubbed your holy feet and threw you rice and nuts and fruit. I did too. But you know what? Then all I could see is that terrible night with my daughter screaming and sputtering and writhing.

While you were just reposing here, I suppose.

Vishnu, I’m not afraid of death. Kill me for my blasphemy, I don’t care. Because aren’t you supposed to be the Protector of Protectors? My deceased daughter served others, selflessly. Her killer killed, shamelessly. When righteousness wanes, shouldn't you rise up, come forth, defend the good?  And there I was at your shrine lowering my head to pay respects (my sentiment genuine at the time), while some tricksters stole my friend’s bag and your boy-monks were rude and abusive. No semblance of sacredness there!

Right now, if you were a tortoise, I’d squash your ugly poking head. If you were a fish, I’d fry you. If you were a swan, or even a dwarf, I’d shoot you.

Okay, let us strike a bargain. First, forgive my shocking disrespect. Next, flick those garlands from your ears and listen, please. I beg you! Wake up, soon, as Kalki! Armed with mace and bow and sword, leap on the back of your white horse and blow your conch with Annapurna majesty. Make us mortals shake. Make the whole world quake.

Then I might believe in you.

 

 

Jane Houng is primarily a children’s author. Commercial Press Hong Kong has published Bloodswell, Cat Soup, Pun Choi, Hong Kong Movers and Shakers, and Under Lion Rock, and she has self-published Asian Elephant Art, Houng’s Lantau Life. She has also written for Oxford University Press, Pearson Education Asia, and Sing Tao Publishing Corporation. Jane recently self-published a memoir, Beirut Is More Beautiful by Bike, and currently runs three charities on behalf of her late daughter, Rebecca Dykes, including Becky’s Button and Rebecca Dykes Writers. She also hosts a podcast called Mending Lives.


Also Available on Amazon, Flipkart & Daraz



Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DWSPT5WP

Amazon India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DWSPT5WP

Distributed in the United States by Itasca Book Distribution: https://itascabooks.com/ Distributed in South Asia by Nirala Publications, India: https://niralapublications.com/product-category/pratik-series/  In Nepal by White Lotus Book Shop, Kathmandu: https://whitelotusbookshop.com/product-category/pratik-series/


Tuesday, February 18, 2025

PRATIK COVER STORY: HLF/NYWW: Kumbh Mela of World Writing BY Amar Aakash


AMAR AAKASH

 

HLF/NYWW

Kumbh Mela of World Writing

Over two dozen poets and writers—Ruth Danon, Nina Kossman, Tom Lutz, Vassilis Manoussakis, Sona Van, Dariusz Lebioda, Ravi Shankar, musician Nancy Parish, among others—sat on the stone steps facing the eastern gate of Pashupatinath. The air was thick with the scent of burning incense and the acrid smoke of funeral pyres. Bedecked corpses lay on the ghats as families performed last rites, honoring the souls of the departed. Monkeys, joggers, and tourists wandered through the sacred grounds, while young children and black-eyed sadhus searched for alms. The murky Bagmati River flowed indifferently, bearing witness to both the scorching sun and the burning bodies on its banks.

Himalayan poet Yuyutsu Sharma recited his long poem, Pashupati, from his new book, The Alchemy of Nine Smiles. American poet Tony Barnstone provided insights into the poem, helping the audience appreciate its intricate themes and imagery. The host Shreejana Bhandari then shared a deeply personal poem about her recently deceased mother, capturing the poignant moment of her cremation at the very same Pashupati Ghat.

Writers from five continents had gathered along the riverbank as part of the New York Writers Workshop. They found themselves overwhelmed by this novel form of creative exchange, each exploring the spiritual and philosophical dimensions of the shrine and tracing its resonance in poetry. It was an immersion into Lord Shiva's cosmos, where creation and destruction intertwined seamlessly.


After the reading, the group rose from the steps. As they walked, American photographer Julie Krishnan Williams suddenly burst into tears. Surprised, I asked, “Are you crying?” She wiped her eyes and replied, “I was trying to grasp the spiritual essence of a lost family member, and somehow, in this place, it all came back to me.”

A Chinese media professional, Xiao Xiao, having witnessed and filmed Hindu funeral traditions, was visibly moved. Though she was not permitted to enter the Pashupatinath Temple, which is open only to Hindus, British writer Maria Heath Beckett engaged in an animated discussion about Mahadev, Parvati, and Ganesh, passionately exploring the incarnations of deities and their cosmic roles through a series of probing questions.

The New York Writers Workshop in Kathmandu was not just about literary craft; it delved into cultural studies, spiritual explorations, and creative dialogue. It emerged as a groundbreaking event in Nepal’s literary history—a form of literary tourism that allowed thirty-five writers and artists from five continents to experience the country beyond its famed Mount Everest and Gurkha heritage. Whether it was Indian writer Pankaj Bista, celebrated Malayalam poet K. Satchidanandan, Panamanian poet Gorka Lasa, who carried a Nepali name and temperament, or the exuberant South African poet JahRose Jafta, who danced wholeheartedly to Nepali folk tunes, this gathering felt like a modern-day Kumbh Mela of creative souls seeking wisdom, connection, and artistic evolution.


Over a short period, through literary workshops and field visits to Kathmandu, Changunarayan, Pokhara, and Chitwan, the visiting writers absorbed fragments of Nepal, carrying them back to their homelands. The journey exposed them to Nepal's perilous highways, heart-stopping boat rides, and breathtaking natural diversity, offering moments of awe and surprise.

Nepali literature, which often remains confined within its linguistic boundaries, found a rare opportunity to introduce itself to an international audience. Beyond the sessions featuring Nepali-language poets, there were also discussions with contemporary Nepali poets writing in English. Writers like Anand Vijay Gurung and Bhuwan Thapaliya, who are steadfastly crafting Nepali poetry in English, spoke about the challenges and rewards of bridging cultural and linguistic gaps. This exchange made it easier to identify themes that could resonate globally, reinforcing the idea that Nepali poetry has the potential to reach and move readers beyond its native borders.

Personally, I witnessed how non-Nepali audiences perceived our myths, customs, and culture. Many of these traditions, which we take for granted in our daily lives, held profound symbolic significance for those encountering them for the first time. This realization prompted me to reexamine and appreciate the deeper meanings embedded in our cultural practices.


A particularly significant and unique aspect of the workshop was the recognition of Gopal Prasad Rimal, the father of Nepali prose poetry. Discussions on Rimal’s life and work helped clarify his importance as a legendary poet. His son, Madan Rimal, expressed gratitude, stating that this was the first time Rimal’s poetry had been honored on an international platform. Yuyutsu Sharma, who arranged this tribute, has also translated Rimal’s poems into English in a bilingual book, a step that will undoubtedly expand appreciation for his work beyond Nepal. I am hopeful that in the future, another poetic titan, Lekhnath Paudyal, will receive similar recognition.

Yuyutsu envisioned and structured the New York Writers Workshop and the Himalayan Literature Festival to run parallel to each other. Alongside the international panel, a separate panel of Nepali writers made the workshop even more fascinating. From renowned fiction writers like Narayan Wagle and Narayan Dhakal to critics like Sharad Pradhan, essayist and journalist Deepak Sapkota, and foremost journalist Yubaraj Ghimire, each contributed their own impact and insights. The sessions included Nepali poetry readings, Nepal Bhasa poetry readings, English poetry by Nepali poets, and a discussion on contemporary Nepali writing featuring critic Rajkumar Baniya, poet Avaya Shrestha, and Bimala Tumkhewa.

Poets from previous generations, such as Dwarika Shrestha, Shailendra Sakar, Kishore Pahadi and Sita Pandey shared the stage with contemporary authors of the younger generation, including Avaya Shrestha, Ramesh Kshitiz, Tanka Upreti, Shakuntala Joshi, and Laxmi Rumba. Voices of different generations came face to face, fostering a rich exchange of ideas and styles.

With its long and rich literary history, Nepal Bhasa’s poetry session was another major achievement of the festival. From esteemed ambassadors of Nepal Bhasa poetry—Durga Lal Shrestha, Pratisara Sayami, Anand Raj Joshi—to today’s prominent poets like Suresh Kiran, Sudheer Khwabi, Triratna Shakya, Rajnimila, and Sanjay Raj Sharma, each contributed to the diverse dimensions and voices of this poetic tradition. The contribution of TV journalist and poet Mohraj Sharma to the festival cannot be overlooked.


For me, a writers' workshop is more than a structured seminar; it is an opportunity to connect deeply with fellow creators. Beyond the formal sessions, we engaged in informal discussions about language, culture, music, and personal interests. Conversations ranged from Miles Davis to Chinua Achebe, from film noir to pulp magazines.

One particularly memorable encounter was with the affable poet Tim Tomlinson, who, like me, is a film noir enthusiast. I still smile when I recall his disbelief upon learning that Nepal no longer has CD or DVD stores. His book title, This Is Not Happening to You, and its striking cover remain etched in my mind, reminding me of The Woman in the Window.

Despite the joy and inspiration of the event, I couldn’t shake a lingering sadness. Kathmandu, with its undisciplined traffic, choking dust, and urban chaos, risks overshadowing its rich history and vibrant culture. I wonder if my fellow writers also felt this duality—awed by the city’s spiritual depth yet disheartened by its infrastructural neglect.

Nevertheless, our visitors chose to embrace Nepal in its entirety. They overlooked the chaos, relished dal-bhaat with delight, and participated in Nepali folk dances with unrestrained joy. It felt as though the world had gathered in a single village, celebrating the harvest of artistic and cultural exchange.

 













Amar Aakash
is a young Nepalese poet and film critic. He has recently published Tungana, his debut collection of poems. Currently, he is working on his first novel and resides in Kathmandu.



                                     Also Available on Amazon, Flipkart & Daraz

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Distributed in the United States by Itasca Book Distribution: https://itascabooks.com/ 

Distributed in South Asia by Nirala Publications, India: https://niralapublications.com/product-category/pratik-series/  

In Nepal by White Lotus Book Shop, Kathmandu: https://whitelotusbookshop.com/product-category/pratik-series/

 

 

 

 

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Pratik's upcoming HLF/NYWW Issue Highlight: Robert Scotto on his Favorite Five 2024 Novels in English

My Favorite Five 2024 Novels in English

I hope you find my selections as quirky, penetrating, and unsettling as I did. These five writers have all had highly praised careers, but they are very different from one another, and their works are always full of surprises. D. H. Lawrence called the novel "the bright book of life" because he believed it to be the only literary genre capable of capturing the complexities of the modern world in its fullness and concrete particularity. Some novels can appear shapeless—what Henry James called "loose, baggy monsters"—but if crafted by masters, they are shaped from within, moving at their own pace and guided by their own ends.

The five works of fiction below are technically innovative, propulsively readable, and taut yet open-ended—none of them suitable for a Hollywood adaptation. Be warned, however: they are as challenging as they are captivating, intended for serious readers with open, flexible minds.



1. Orbital by Samantha Harvey



Leading the list is this year’s Booker Prize winner, Orbital, a lyrical evocation of life aboard the International Space Station over the course of a 16-orbit, 24-hour day. The six characters and plot details are fictional, but the experience of living in weightlessness is portrayed with such tender yet fierce commitment to realism that the novel borders on prose poetry. There is little narrative and only sketchy backstories for the four men and two women circling Earth.

In one sense, little happens on this “day” that differs from any other of their endlessly repetitive days in space. Yes, there are experiments with mice and plants in zero gravity, the monitoring of a monster typhoon in South Asia, and a U.S.-crewed voyage to the moon in progress, but neither characters nor events dominate. Instead, the precise yet suggestive prose of a master storyteller redefines what it means to tell a story.




2. Playground by Richard Powers


Where Orbital is concise, Playground is expansive. I have long admired Powers’ ambitious novels, always compulsively readable but also devoted to exploring subjects often confined to science textbooks. Here, several interwoven plots touch on oceanography (and the plight of endangered oceanic ecosystems), artificial intelligence, and the neo-colonialism these technologies might enable.

At its core are two honors high school friends—one, a privileged white coder who creates the AI threat, and the other, a Black inner-city writer-to-be. After stormy years of intellectual gamesmanship, they part ways, only to reunite in a surprising conclusion I won’t spoil for you. Two women shape the other strands of the story: a Polynesian sculptor who marries the writer and an elderly Canadian scuba diver and scientist leading the fight to protect a pristine Pacific island from foreign capital. These storylines converge in an unforgettable finale.


3. Parade by Rachel Cusk

By contrast, Parade is enigmatic, even gnomic, compared to Price’s larger canvas. Cusk seems to eschew many traditional fictional techniques, including plot. All her major characters—male or female, white or Black—are artists named “G.”

If the theme is how the worlds of art and life interact, the overlapping stories are narrated in a stark, sometimes unliterary voice that suggests hidden complexities beneath apparent simplicities. Events unfold, but few are dramatic, and none are conclusive. Cusk has built her career on indirection, suggestion, and rapture, and this novel is her latest exploration of these hallmarks.






4. Polostan by Neal Stephenson


Polostan is the first segment of another epic adventure by one of America’s most ambitious and imaginative novelists. Stephenson’s previous works span futuristic hard science fiction and alternative histories populated with historical figures.

This time, we follow Aurora (or Dawn, depending on the country she is in), a Russian-American spy and/or counterspy entangled in a pre-Cold War ideological struggle partly played out on the polo pitch. Aurora seeks to aid the USSR’s revolution while escaping the Great Depression in the U.S. The novel leaves us dangling with no clear resolution—but promises more in future volumes.





5. Every Arc Bends Its Radian by Sergio de la Pava

On a very different note is Sergio de la Pava’s strange and unsettling Every Arc Bends Its Radian. Written in English but steeped in Spanish, this work both sends up and celebrates the noir detective procedural, adding uncanny twists.

Set in Colombia, the narrator’s homeland, the story involves cousins, an aunt, the world’s largest drug cartel, its sadistic boss, and a young cousin who is both a mathematical genius and a prisoner (or recruit) of the cartel. She has discovered a method to achieve something akin to immortality. If this sounds improbable, the last third of the novel—with its submersible journey to the ocean’s depths—will leave you breathless. If the novel is “the bright book of life,” this one bursts with it.






Final Thoughts

These five novels push the boundaries of what fiction can do. They challenge and enthrall, offering serious readers the chance to experience the modern world through new lenses. Which of these will you pick up first?



Former professor of English at Baruch College, CUNY, until his retirement, Robert Scotto’s previous publications include a Critical Edition of Catch-22, a book on the contemporary American novel and essays on Walter Pater, James Joyce and other major and minor nineteenth and twentieth century writers. The first edition of his biography, Moondog, won the 2008 ARSC Award for Best Research in Recorded Classical Music and the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2008 bronze medal for biography. He has published two poetry collections,  most recent being, Imagined Secrets (Nirala, 2019).




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Distributed in the United States by Itasca Book Distribution: https://itascabooks.com/ Distributed in South Asia by Nirala Publications, India: https://niralapublications.com/product-category/pratik-series/  In Nepal by White Lotus Book Shop, Kathmandu: https://whitelotusbookshop.com/product-category/pratik-series/