An Indie Next Selection for December 2021 A Ms. Magazine Recommended Read for Fall 2021 In March 2020, France declared a full lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Shortly thereafter, poets and friends Marilyn Hacker and Karthika Naïr--living mere miles from each other but separated by circumstance, and spurred by this extraordinary time--began a correspondence in verse. Renga, an ancient Japanese form of collaborative poetry, is comprised of alternating tanka beginning with the themes of t&#333;ki and t&#333;za: this season, this session. Here, from the "plague spring," through a year in which seasons are marked by the waxing and waning of the virus, Hacker and Naïr's renga charts the "differents and sames" of a now-shared experience. Their poems witness a time of suspension in which some things, somehow, press on relentlessly, in which solidarity persists--even thrives--in the face of a strange new kind of isolation. Between "ten thousand, yes, minutes of Bones," there's cancer and chemotherapy and the aches of an aging body. There is grief for the loss of friends nearby and concern for loved ones in the United States, Lebanon, and India. And there is a deep sense of shared humanity, where we all are "mere atoms of water, / each captained by protons of hydrogen, hurtling earthward." At turns poignant and playful, the seasons and sessions of A Different Distance display the compassionate, collective wisdom of two women witnessing a singular moment in history.

A Different Distance: A Renga

Literature & Fiction

HACKER, MARILYN

Naïr, Karthika

Essays & Correspondence

MILKWEED EDITIONS *

A dazzling and eloquent reworking of the Mahabharata, one of South Asia's best-loved epics, through nineteen peripheral voices. With daring poetic forms, Karthika Naïr breathes new life into this ancient epic.\nKarthika Naïr refracts the epic Mahabharata through the voices of nameless soldiers, outcast warriors and handmaidens as well as abducted princesses, tribal queens, and a gender-shifting god. As peripheral figures and silent catalysts take center stage, we get a glimpse of lives and stories buried beneath the dramas of god and nation, heroics and victory - of the lives obscured by myth and history, all too often interchangeable. Until the Lions is a kaleidoscopic, poetic tour de force. It reveals the most intimate threads of desire, greed, and sacrifice in this foundational epic.

Until the Lions (ARC International Poets)

Arc Publications

A dazzling and eloquent reworking of the Mahabharata, one of South Asia's best-loved epics, through nineteen peripheral voices. With daring poetic forms, Karthika Naïr breathes new life into this ancient epic. Karthika Naïr refracts the epic Mahabharata through the voices of nameless soldiers, outcast warriors and handmaidens as well as abducted princesses, tribal queens, and a gender-shifting god. As peripheral figures and silent catalysts take center stage, we get a glimpse of lives and stories buried beneath the dramas of god and nation, heroics and victory - of the lives obscured by myth and history, all too often interchangeable. Until the Lions is a kaleidoscopic, poetic tour de force. It reveals the most intimate threads of desire, greed, and sacrifice in this foundational epic.

Until the Lions: Echoes from the Mahabharata

Poetry

Archipelago

Featuring exotic images and empathetic language, this modern day Indian fairy tale teaches children to respect and appreciate nature. The story of the honey hunter beings in Sundarban, a land of eighteen tides and six seasons, where three rivers meet in a huge mangrove forest. At first, everything is peacefulfor the thousands and thousands of honey-bees that live there not far from the Bay of Bengal. They fly from flower to flower, collecct nectar, and supply both people and animals with their sweet, liquid gold. Everyone who lives in Sundarban loves honey, but one most of all: a small, black-haired boy named Shonu. One year, the seasons in Sundarban get mixed up and the region is plagued by powerful cyclones followed by drought and hunger. Shonu becomes so unbelievably hungry that he sneaks into the mangrove forest and breaks the golden rule: he takes honey from the hives even though it is not yet harvest time. Shonu doesn't quite realize that what he has done could get him into deep trouble with the almighty demon tiger...This modern day fairy tale reveals what can happen when someone interferes with nature's rhythm. It teaches children to respect and appreciate the environment. Inspired by Muslim and Hindu myths, author Karthika Nair and illustrator Joelle Jolivet have created a compelling narrative style and visual language to tell their tale.

The Honey Hunter

Children's Books

Jolivet, Joëlle

Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths

Little Gestalten

In Until the Lions, Karthika Nair retells the Mahabharata through multiple voices. Her poems capture the epic through the lenses of nameless soldiers, outcast warriors and handmaidens but also abducted princesses, tribal queens and a gender-shifting god. As peripheral figures and silent catalysts take centre stage, we get a glimpse of lives and stories buried beneath the edifices of god and nation, heroes and victory; a glimpse of the price paid for myth and history--all too often interchangeable.

HarperCollins India

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Naïr, Karthika. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Naïr, Karthika

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Naïr, Karthika. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Different Distance: A Renga

Until the Lions (ARC International Poets)

Until the Lions: Echoes from the Mahabharata

The Honey Hunter

Until the Lions: Echoes from the Mahabharata