Acrobat

(Paperback)

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A deeply humane new collection by a luminary of Bengali literature A deeply humane new collection by a luminary of Bengali literature A radiant collection of poetry about womanhood, intimacy, and the body politic that together evokes the arc of an ordinary life. Nabaneeta Dev Sen's rhythmic lines explore the joys and agonies of first love, childbirth, and decay with a restless, tactile imagination, both picking apart and celebrating the rituals that make us human. When she warns, "know that blood can be easily drawn by lips," her words tune to the fierce and biting depths of language, to the "treachery that lingers on tongue tips." At once compassionate and unsparing, conversational and symphonic, these poems tell of a rope shivering beneath an acrobat's nimble feet or of a twisted, blood-soaked umbilical cord -- they pluck the invisible threads that bind us together.

Reviews

"A prolific, peerless writer who made worlds and words come alive." -Raja Sen "Her pen unfolds a rare fluidity, an insight into human nature, a gift for satire capped with feather-light touches of humour." -Times of India "Deep, sparse and yet moving in poetry, Nabaneeta Dev Sen is gorgeous in her immaculate prose. Equally comfortable as a citizen of the world, as a woman exploring her own courtyard, Dev Sen's literary existence contains several apparently irreconcilable facets." --Anita Agnihotri "It was through her creative writing that Dev Sen gave herself a sovereign presence in the Bengali literary sphere . . . She was not afraid of baring her pain in the early poetry she wrote, nor did she ever compromise on questions of freedom." -Dipesh Chakrabarty "[In her poetry], words are not symbols, not individualised characters, but sentinels that represent hopes, dreams, fears, and inner instincts." -Uma Nair, Times of India "Nabaneeta Dev Sen was one of the most beloved, versatile and prolific writers in Bengali literature. Equally expressive in poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction." -Bookseller at McNally Jackson "An extraordinary talent, author, poet, and novelist." -Trisha De Niyogi, Bengaluru Review "Her spontaneity, unique style of expression, vast and varied experience of life are evident in her poems, short stories, novels, features, and essays. Her wit and humor, sense of detachment together with heart-to-heart sensibility give her writings a personal touch that is hard to ignore." -Indian Library of Congress "In prose, Dev Sen radiated warmth and joy, enlivened by her trademark self-deprecating humour and a robust sense of hope and compassion even in the direst of circumstances." -Somak Ghoshal, Livemint "One of the doyens of Bengali Literature... I got to read whatever little I could of what was translated in English. But I hope more is translated. I hope more people read her. Quite a prolific writer." -Vivek Tejuja "In everything Nabaneeta Dev Sen was, writer-teacher-feminist, etc, her luminous poetic legacy is this: she (and her words) embraced life with critical exhilaration, anticipated and experienced its short-changes, and came back to life again with one more pirouette after the lights dimmed." -Brinda Bose, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Author Bio

Nabaneeta Dev Sen was a renowned Bengali writer who published her first book of poems at the age of 18, and grew to be immensely popular through her fiction, literary criticism, travelogues, plays, political humour columns, and children's literature. She was also an acclaimed international scholar and feminist, and professor of comparative literature. Her many literary honors include the Padmashri, Sahitya Akademi Award, Bangla Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Publishers' and Booksellers' Guild. Dev Sen was a mentor to innumerable students and young writers, and she was the Founder and President of the Women Writers' Association, Soi. She died in November of 2019. Nandana Dev Sen is a writer, actor and child-rights activist. She has authored six children's books and starred in 20 feature films. As an ambassador, Nandana has worked with RAHI, Operation Smile, UNICEF, and Apne Aap International, to fight against child abuse. Nandana has served on the jury of numerous child-protection committees, international film festivals, and literary awards, including the DSC Prize for Literature in 2019. After studying literature at Harvard and filmmaking at U.S.C., Nandana worked as a book editor, a screenwriter, and a translator.