Solace in Poems of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson's poems found way into my to-read list when I watched the movie Sophie's Choice, one of the earliest career-defining (and oscar-winning) performances of Meryl Streep as a holocaust survivor who has to endure the outcomes of the choices she made in life. It is hard to recall what made me note the name of the poet then, about three years ago. Perhaps it was the effect of recital of one of her poems in the movie.

Although her entire collection of poems are available in the public domain, I bought this Barnes and Noble edition (cover in the pic) with about 175 of her poems just for its cover. Isn't it lovely?!

This collection and the series on Project Gutenberg page begins with her poem:

This is my letter to the world,
That never wrote to me, —
The simple news that Nature told,
With tender majesty.

Her message is committed
To hands I cannot see;
For love of her, sweet countrymen,
Judge tenderly of me!

ED remained a recluse for most of her life. But when reading her poems she comes across as the friend who discusses everything under the sky with you. She finds solace in nature: the mountains, stars, sky, birds, frogs, bees, grass, nectar and uses them as metaphors when mulling over pain and joy, freedom and bondage, grief and hope, death and immortality. Her words are reassuring of how views and beliefs can be put across without being offensive. More often, her words had a calming effect on me.

Sometimes, if it feels that the world is more chaotic than one can handle, her words would be a sure safe haven.

The series Dickinson is a modern take on the life of this 19th century poet. Starring the amazing Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit, Hawkeye), I think young-adult literature buffs would find it interesting.

Do you add literary works to your to-reads when you see them being referenced in a movie or TV show ? Which ones? I have a list :)

Sea of Poppies - book review of an Indian historical fiction

"She looked at the seed as if she had never seen one before, and suddenly she knew that it was not the planet above that governed her life: it was this minuscule orb - at once bountiful and all-devouring, merciful and destructive, sustaining and vengeful. This was her Shani, her Saturn."

Sea of Poppies by Jnanpith awardee Amitav Ghosh is a fictionalized account of that part of history involving the opium trade, as seen through the eyes of those at the bottom end of the trade: the farmers, zamindars and the crew on the trading ship. In essence, this novel encapsulates the far-reaching ramifications of human actions motivated by the lure of power, the desire to dominate the hold over precious resources on earth. These resources were different at different points in time. History repeats.

While a few incidents could be triggering, on the whole I feel happy and proud that this came from India. Set in the early 19th century colonial India, a story woven into such scale and grandeur involving migration - propelled by desperate circumstances for some while imposed on others by authority, a story portraying some of the vast cultural milieu of those times, replete with traditions, myths, superstitions and discrimination deserves all the praise and accolades. The depth-and-breadth of research that can go into a work of fiction is fascinating. Mr Ghosh has not only produced a rollercoaster of events but also presented the power dynamics that reflect through the colorful languages and myriad expressions (bodily and verbal) of the diverse characters - American sailors, British masters, Indian royalty, North Indian farmers, sailors from across the Indian Ocean among several others from unexpected quarters.

I recommend the book even for beginners. Inspite of the 500 odd pages, it's an easy read if one has a desire to learn the ways of life of people across different walks. I appreciate that most of the humor lies in the irony of the situations to justify the intense plotline and yet a very small part is superbly comedic, rendered through the character Baboo Nob Kissin Pander.

Interestingly, this book being shortlisted, lost the Man Booker Prize in 2008 to The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. The Longlist also had Salman Rushdie's Enchantress of Florence. (I'm yet to read both) It was a year for Indians at the Booker's 🏆🙂

This saga is for the traveler in us 🎒 🛳  With a balanced blend of themes and an immersive story-reading experience, the only disappointment is that it is only a part of the Ibis trilogy and ends before the voyage is complete.

What other books of Amitav Ghosh do you recommend and why ?