Essential Readings & Study Guide - K. V. Dominic
5 Stars!
ABOUT THE BOOK -
“K. V. Dominic Essential Readings” gathers for the first time the three most important works of poetry from this shining new light of contemporary Indian verse in English: “Winged Reason,” “Write Son, Write” and “Multicultural Symphony.” A fourth collection of 22 previously unpublished poems round out a complete look at the first 12 years of Dominic’s prolific and profound verse. Each poem includes unique Study Guide questions suitable for South Asian studies curricula.
Written in free verse, each of his poems makes the reader contemplate on intellectual, philosophical, spiritual, political, and social issues of the present world. Themes range from multiculturalism, environmental issues, social mafia, caste-ism, exploitation of women and children, poverty, and corruption to purely introspective matters. From the observation of neighborhood life to international events, and everyday forgotten tragedies of India, nothing escapes the grasp of Dominic’s keen sense of the fragility of life and morality in the modern world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (Poet) -
Internationally acclaimed poet Prof. K. V. Dominic (Kerala, India) is the author of three major volumes of poetry about the natural world as well as social and political commentary: Winged Reason, Multicultural Symphony, and Write, Son, Write.
MY THOUGHTS -
Very impressive. These poems were amazing. Honestly it kind of blew me away. I was not expecting for them to have this much emotion. They were raw, honest, edgy, thought provoking and sometimes controversial. But if you know me, that's the part I love!
These were poems about real people. Some were sad, some joyous and celebratory. There were poems about death and dying. Political poems and poems about nature and cats! Poems of equality and inequality. These are the kind of poems that make you go Hmmmm.. then go back and read it again.
This book is divided into four sections - Winged Reason, Write Son, Write, Multicultural Symphony, and A Collection of New Poems. I think Multicultural Symphony was my favorite section but I really loved them all.
Here are a couple of my favorite parts -
Multicultural Harmony, Part Two
Dear my fellow beings
why are we crazy of labels?
Western people, eastern people
white men, black men
Europeans, Asians
American, Africans
Indians, Chinese, Japanese
Germans, French, English
Australians, Canadians, Egyptians
Christians, Muslims
Hindus, Buddhists
Bengalese, Punjabis
Malayalees, Tamilans
Brahmins, Kshatriyas
Vaisyas, Sudras.
The Creator made no divisions
except man and woman
He made the division
to continue creation
In truth they are one
two sides of the flow.
And this part from -
Cohabitance on The Planet
My neighbour believes
his wife is his own
his sons are his own
the mansion and compounds
are his own
all birds and animals on compounds
are his own
the earth and the air
are his own
He fails to learn
and millions fail to learn
that God is the sole owner
Empty handed we come
empty handed we go
This is definitely a collection I will read over and over. It is writing that will make you think and re-think something different every time you read it. Parts of it are graphic and very sad, but it is all real! This is what is going on in the world. There is a lot of sadness. K. V. Dominic just dared to write it all down for us to read.
I voluntarily posted this review after receiving an audio copy of this book from Poetic Book Tours. Thank you!
Order your copy from amazon - HERE
Thank you so much for being on the blog tour! I'm so glad that this one resonated with you!
ReplyDeleteGreat selection there, we could all use a little Multicultural Harmony in 2017, methinks
ReplyDeleteYES! I totally agree!
DeleteThanks a lot dear wall-to-wall books for the sweet and marvelous review of my poetry book. My deep gratitude to dear publisher Victor R. Volkman
ReplyDelete