Converse. Contemporary English Poetry by Indians

$34.99

Edited by SUDEEP SEN

Intended to be the authorative anthology of contemporary Indian poetry in English, Converse has been especially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of Indian independence in 2022.

Chosen from 15,000 pages of submissions, the work of 117 notable poets is represented in the 615-pages here, including:

  • Well known poets such as Jayanta Mahapatra and Adil Jussawalla,
  • Established ones such as C. P. Surendran, Arundhathi Subramaniam, and Ranjit Hoskote,
  • Emerging voices such as Rohan Chhetri, Jhilam Chattaraj,
    and Jennifer Robertson.
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SUDEEP SEN Translated into 25 languages, Sudeep Sen’s own works include Postmarked India: New & Selected Poems, Fractals: New & Selected Poems/ Translations 1980–2015, EroText (Global Literary Festival Award for “Literary Excellence & Best Book
of the Year” 2017; Rabindranath Tagore Literature Prize shortlist 2020); Rain (“Best Books of the Year”, The Statesman), Aria (A. K. Ramanujan Translation Award 2009, “Best Books of the Year”, Outlook magazine), and Kaifi Azmi: Poems | Nazms (Bloomsbury 2019).

Influential anthologies edited by him include The HarperCollins Book of English Poetry, World English Poetry, and Modern English Poetry by Younger Indians, and his work has appeared in The TLS, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Observer, and Telegraph, and Newsweek, and been broadcast on the BBC, PBS, CNN, IBN, NDTV, All India Radio, and Doordarshan.

Sen is the only Asian who has been honoured by being asked to deliver the Derek Walcott Lecture and to read at the Nobel Laureate Festival (in 2013).

Interview in India’s ‘The Hans’ newspaper Sept the 25th, 2022 – https://www.thehansindia.com/featured/sunday-hans/poetry-is-a-lifelong-quest-763011

www.sudeepsen.org

 


Reviews, Interviews & Mentions

“One is so grateful for the chance to read this sweeping, yet precise, generous yet definite collection, a compilation that both surprises and balms us, educates and consoles, shows a new path and re-affirms. My special thanks to the editor Sudeep Sen, a terrific poet in his own right, for this lucid and important introduction which deepened my understanding of contemporary poetics. Some anthologies of poetry can both redefine one’s understanding of what is possible and strengthen one’s knowledge of tradition. This is such a book.” ~ Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic and Dancing in Odessa


Converse, published to celebrate 75 years of Indian independence, compiles a wide selection of English poetry by some of the most talented contemporary Indian poets. Edited and ably introduced by the renowned Sudeep Sen, this collection provides a comprehensive overview of Indian-English poetry, by established and emerging writers alike. While one may quibble over some of the omissions, the selected poems are well worth reading! A treasure.” ~ Shashi Tharoor

Here are links to reviews and other notices of Converse:

‘Contemporary Indian Poetry – Like an Abhang, Unfinished’, in BigBridge

‘The Poetic Cosmos of Sudeep Sen’: A treat for Poetry lovers in Hyderabad – The Hindu

‘An evening of words and reflections’ – New Indian Express 

Converse(ing) Anthropocene with Sudeep Sen: A treat for poetry lovers at Times Litfest 2023 – Times of India (indiatimes.com)

In Conversation with Sudeep Sen, editor of Converse: Contemporary English Poetry by Indians (thewiseowl.art)

Confluently Conversant: Sudeep Sen’s Converse, by Somudranil Sarkar | World Literature Today

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