On the occasion of its 19th publishing anniversary, Poetrywala has published a collection of poems titled Stray Poems by Bihari poet and diplomat Abhay K.
Written between 2010-2022, Stray Poems takes one on a poetic ride across the world, and to the moon and the planets in our solar system and to the far reaches of the Universe, then back to the glorious Earth!
The book includes sixty-six poems on a wide array of topics ranging from the ruins of Nalanda University to the anthems on the planets of our solar system.
Speaking on the occasion the publisher of Poetrywala, Hemant Diwate, who is himself a well-known poet and translator, said — “Poetrywala has published earlier works of acclaimed Indian poets such as Jayanta Mahapatra, Dilip Chitre, Eunice D’Souza, Adil Jussawalla, Gieve Patel, Vijay Nambisan, K. Satchidanandan among others.”
Commenting on the book Irish poet Gabriel Rosenstock says- “Abhay K. strikes such a cheerful, sensual and sunny note in so many of his individual poems…with a pure, ringing sound and rhythm all of his own.”
Srilankan-American poet Indran Amirthanayagam says- “Abhay K. is a trusted guide to modern poetry, to the journey in which we are seeking truth, peace and justice…feel the spirit of God coursing through his lines.”
Abhay K. is the author of a dozen poetry books including Monsoon (Sahitya Akademi, 2022), The Magic of Madagascar (L’Harmattan Paris, 2021), The Alphabets of Latin America (Bloomsbury India, 2020), and the editor of The Book of Bihari Literature (HarperCollins India 2022), The Bloomsbury Book of Great Indian Love Poems, CAPITALS, New Brazilian Poems and The Bloomsbury Anthology of Great Indian Poems.
His poems have appeared in over 100 literary magazines including Poetry Salzburg Review and Asia Literary Review among others. His ‘Earth Anthem’ has been translated into over 150 languages. He received the SAARC Literary Award in 2013 and was invited to record his poems at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. in 2018. His translations of Kalidasa’s Meghaduta (Bloomsbury India, 2021) and Ritusamhara (Bloomsbury India, 2021) from Sanskrit won him the KLF Poetry Book of the Year Award 2020-21. His translation of the first Magahi novel Fool Bahadur is forthcoming.
– global bihari bureau
