Book review: 'The Harper Collins Book Of English Poetry'

The Harper Collins Book Of English Poetry
Sudeep Sen
Harper Collins
541 pages
Rs599

When we see the word English next to poetry, most of us assume that the phrase refers to poets from England. However, as editor Sudeep Sen points out in the foreword to The Harper Collins Book Of English Poetry, English is officially an Indian language and the poets in this anthology show how the language isn’t foreign to us at all.

Both in India and elsewhere, poetry is not the favourite of publishers. It’s usually a loss-making venture because those willing to shell out money for volumes of poetry seem to be a miniscule number. Additionally, it’s one genre that can’t be churned out. There’s no poetic equivalent of a pulpy, paperback novel. Still, there are boutique publishers abroad who fight the good fight and keep poetry on the shelves of bookshops, both real and virtual. India hasn’t seen too many of these literary gladiators. With the novel becoming growing in popularity and stature, few publishers have wanted to sink resources into contemporary Indian poetry.

This is what makes The Harper Collins Book Of English Poetry such a welcome addition. It’s an assertion that India hasn’t lost its bards.

Sen has compiled poems by names you may recognise and many that are entirely unfamiliar. To read the likes of Amit Chaudhuri, Amitava Kumar, Arundhathi Subramaniam, David Dabydeen, Jerry Pinto, Jeet Thayil, Rukmini Bhaya Nair, Sujata Bhatt and Vikram Seth is always a joy, but Sen has also made space for upcoming poets, like Sridala Swami and Siddhartha Bose. There are poems about mundane activities like finding a house in Mumbai as well as more obscure and challenging pieces. You won’t love every contribution, but take your time and meander through these pages, and you will find at least one poet who seems to have written a poem especially for you.

The works you see in this volume are mostly unpublished, which makes it particularly precious. Unless you’ve made a concerted effort to be in touch with the Indian poetry ‘scene’, each poem is a discovery.