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FROM THE EDITORS' DESK
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To
be asked to be the editor of a first issue is a great honour. A few words on
poetry may not be amiss on such an august occasion. I understand The Kolkata Review is not only limited to poetry but as poetry is one of its sections I
would like to talk of the definition of modern poetry in our times or for our
times.
After
print, the main change seems to be that in print or online in text poetry no
longer has to rely on metre or rhyme or sound and musical devices while these
continue to have their favour in spoken word and poetry slam performances as
well as survive in rap and other similar forms like mash ups. The poets writing
here are thus all, except for Santosh Bakaya, modernists, as she is the only
one who tries to veer towards metre or rhyme consistently, meaning the poets
eschew music for other stark effects based on imagery and figures of speech and
write in free verse or rather, to put it more accurately, prose cut up into
lines or lines made verse more by the use of anaphora, lists and parallelism of
ideas or contrasts and comparisons. That despite their being driven by the need
to always keep writing and always keep appearing in publications they still
produce poetry that is worth reading is a commendable feat as shown in many of
the poems that appear in the issue. The poems become worth reading because of
their themes and some of them do touch us, universally. But at the same time it
also leads sometimes to a sameness, a fatigue, a staleness and a predictability
in their writing which would not be there if they spaced out their creating
poetry more, I feel. How these poems stand in the larger realm of poetry or
Indian Poetry in English is a debatable matter, as nowadays people foolishly
judge poetry by awards got or sales or who published it or reviews which are
all things that are not always dependent on quality, as they can be manipulated. We need to take them as they are, without
bringing in too much comparison which has its plus and minus points, to enjoy
them. The poems by themselves speak to us or don't, to our hearts, and finer
sensibilities and sensitivities, and if they do so enough to make us return to
reading them more than once you can consider them a success.
So. A handful of poets. This being the first time of
their appearance in this journal that will hopefully touch great heights by
being around forever and making its mark by offering always quality and
seasoned poetry and literature. Nothing more delectable than reading a few
poets carefully, made possible by the fact that there are only a few here. Amit
Dahiyabadshah, Santosh Bakaya, Amit Shankar Saha, Madhu Jaiswal, Lopa Banerjee,
Glory Sasikala, Jyoritmaya Thakur, Shyamal Mukhopadhyay, Aditya Shankar
and Francisco Muñoz Soler. At the end, myself. Although all the poems are good, some do
stand out for their imagery and mellifluousness. Amit Dahiyabadshah’s poems are both equally
powerful but I liked the first one better. Santosh Bakaya’s poems are all witty
and rhyme and are worth reading but picking out one as better than another is
slightly tricky as they all exhibit the same qualities and show an even
consistency. Amit Shankar Saha has good imagery and uses repetition and list-like
tendencies to make his poems score along with metaphors and images while Lopa
Banerjee’s are powerful in their raging emotions and vocabulary and carry us
along on these. Jyotirmaya Thakur’s poems are didactic. Glory Sasikala has two
poems of which the second one is striking. Madhu Jaiswal has only one poem, a
romantic one, and so has Aditya Shankar which intrigues us with its brevity
which he uses to good effect. But two poems that really stood out for me are
the first one which is called an Elegy of Rice and Wheat which seemed symbolic
of all the poems in this magazine this time, and the first poem by Francisco
Muñoz Soler called Hatred Seduces. We live in times when everyone is a poet,
and writes poems and has collections and awards so poetry has come to be seen
again to matter as a necessity in our daily life, a democratic need, but the
task of picking out ones that matter or not is now left to the reader. So I
want to say that this editorial is only my opinion and the reader may arrive at
an entirely different appraisal of the poems. In fact, he or she should.
For
instance, being already familiar with
Santosh Bakaya’s, Lopa Banerjee’s, Jyotirmaya Thakur’s and Amit Shankar Saha’s work,
I have left choosing their best poem on offer to the readers as I want the
readers to enjoy it with a fresh eye, which is denied to me. This kind of
participatory reading and co-creation in the matter of enjoyment is a must if
we are to make poetry worth our while and adjudge who to encourage more.
Dr. A.V Koshy,
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Fiction comprises short stories, novellas , novels and plays.
Short stories have always enthralled us, so have novels , novellas and plays .
The plot, the setting , the theme , characters and ,of course the writing style all go into the making of a good story ,
which can center around any hue of life – the ordinary, the extraordinary , the quotidian, the sad , the somber , and the funny .
In order to be a good prose writer, one has to keep one’s eyes and ears open; in fact, all the senses alert.
There are stories strewn all around us, and it is an observant mind that can sniff an extraordinary story in the ordinary hues of life.
The writers of short- fiction have very few words in which they are expected to create a whole new world ,
hence they have to be very precise and to- the- point .
Short stories have always enthralled us, so have novels , novellas and plays .
The plot, the setting , the theme , characters and ,of course the writing style all go into the making of a good story ,
which can center around any hue of life – the ordinary, the extraordinary , the quotidian, the sad , the somber , and the funny .
In order to be a good prose writer, one has to keep one’s eyes and ears open; in fact, all the senses alert.
There are stories strewn all around us, and it is an observant mind that can sniff an extraordinary story in the ordinary hues of life.
The writers of short- fiction have very few words in which they are expected to create a whole new world ,
hence they have to be very precise and to- the- point .
All lovers of short stories have grown reading the classical short stories of O’ Henry, Ernest Hemingway, Chekhov , Maxim Gorky, Sherlock Holmes,
Vladimir Nabokov, and so many more .
Be it science fiction, adventure , fantasy , gothic , magic realism , all short stories , novels , novellas ,plays have appealed to us ,
either because of the thematic content , the characterization , the way the inherent conflict in the story has been dealt with or the writing style .
Vladimir Nabokov, and so many more .
Be it science fiction, adventure , fantasy , gothic , magic realism , all short stories , novels , novellas ,plays have appealed to us ,
either because of the thematic content , the characterization , the way the inherent conflict in the story has been dealt with or the writing style .
O’ Henry’ s stories The Last Leaf and The Gift of the Magi , are indeed never to be forgotten stories .
Vladimir Nabokov’s Signs and Symbols , an intensely gripping, immensely poignant story of an old couple
and their suicidal son in the asylum , is one story which refuses to leave me , and my mind and heart keep going back
to a particular scene in the story where the old woman's eyes are riveted on the old man's hand holding an umbrella ,
where the veins are standing out in an agony of apprehension.
To Build a Fire , by Jack London is another short story which has left an everlasting impact on me .
This tale about a stubborn man , who, despite the warnings of knowledgeable folks not to venture out all alone into
the brutal and bone- crushing cold of the Canadian Yukon, does so . Now follows his struggle for survival.
A conflict between man and nature and finally his "losing in his battle with the frost."
The imagery that he has used in the story is so strong , that i still burst out in a cold sweat recalling the severe and punishing cold ,
the protagonist is facing, and always remember how his spit freezes in mid -air .
All stories of Ruskin Bond ,with lush nature peeping out through his words , are tales to be cherished for all times ,
by the young and the old, both.
I can go on and on , because there is no dearth of good stories which need to be read by all of us .
In any fiction - short or long - Characterization is very important, and characters need to be well- fleshed out,in order to make an impact on us.
Dickens has been my favorite writer, and his characters, with all their fads, foibles and quirks can never be forgotten.
Be it the hypocritical Pecksniff , the miserly Scrooge, the forever willin' Barkis, the scheming Mrs. Haversham [ to name just a few]
are well - fleshed out characters .
Amongst contemporary short stories , one story that I happened to read recently just refuses to leave me .
Written by the Orange Prize- winning author Chimamanda Ngozi
,' Private experience' is about two women caught in a violent street riot , taking shelter in an abandoned shop.
Ever since i read that story , it nestles close to my heart .
Another contemporary short fiction that left a never ending smile on my face was 'Girl' by Jamaica Kincaid ,
a very short , witty , crisp piece of absolutely delectable lyrical prose.
It definitely goes without saying that In order to write well, one also needs to read well ,and read a lot .
When I say, a lot, I really mean a lot. The good, the bad and the ugly. We have a pathetically short attention span these days,
consequently, we just don’t want to read.
In my interaction with the youth, I have been asked many a time, “Why do we need to read?
The story that I am writing is mine, the characters that I am delineating are mine, the plot, the theme,
the dialogues are mine; so what exactly do we get by reading?”
Another had the cheek to tell me,” madam, I go to all book fairs, buy a lot of books, and read the first and the last page of all books .
Where is the time to read the entire book?”
One of my students had the temerity to write a Facebook status to the effect, I just finished writing a novel,
and can you believe it, I have never read a novel in my life!
Let me reiterate ,copious reading of fiction is absolutely essential. Through it , one not only gets to understand other peoples' perspectives,
it helps in deepening one's understanding , and broadens one's world view. Every work of fiction- long or short , has a narrative arc- a beginning ,
a middle and the final denouement, and through it all , one can see the characters evolving before us , and in the process the reader evolves too,
and emerges enriched .
I strongly feel that the more one reads , the better fiction writer one is going to be .
I have been writing since the time i was a schoolkid , but I am still apprehensive about sending off a story for publication
before I have gone through it at least a dozen times.
Editing, revision, honing is very important in any writing, be it prose or poetry,
and i am relentlessly doing it till the time , I have eventually pushed it off to the publisher and everytime , i edit ,
i invariably gasp at some editorial gaffe . How could i have overlooked this ?
So , friends , let us be very immaculate in our editing ; a crisp , well- edited piece is always a delight to go through .
Vladimir Nabokov’s Signs and Symbols , an intensely gripping, immensely poignant story of an old couple
and their suicidal son in the asylum , is one story which refuses to leave me , and my mind and heart keep going back
to a particular scene in the story where the old woman's eyes are riveted on the old man's hand holding an umbrella ,
where the veins are standing out in an agony of apprehension.
To Build a Fire , by Jack London is another short story which has left an everlasting impact on me .
This tale about a stubborn man , who, despite the warnings of knowledgeable folks not to venture out all alone into
the brutal and bone- crushing cold of the Canadian Yukon, does so . Now follows his struggle for survival.
A conflict between man and nature and finally his "losing in his battle with the frost."
The imagery that he has used in the story is so strong , that i still burst out in a cold sweat recalling the severe and punishing cold ,
the protagonist is facing, and always remember how his spit freezes in mid -air .
All stories of Ruskin Bond ,with lush nature peeping out through his words , are tales to be cherished for all times ,
by the young and the old, both.
I can go on and on , because there is no dearth of good stories which need to be read by all of us .
In any fiction - short or long - Characterization is very important, and characters need to be well- fleshed out,in order to make an impact on us.
Dickens has been my favorite writer, and his characters, with all their fads, foibles and quirks can never be forgotten.
Be it the hypocritical Pecksniff , the miserly Scrooge, the forever willin' Barkis, the scheming Mrs. Haversham [ to name just a few]
are well - fleshed out characters .
Amongst contemporary short stories , one story that I happened to read recently just refuses to leave me .
Written by the Orange Prize- winning author Chimamanda Ngozi
,' Private experience' is about two women caught in a violent street riot , taking shelter in an abandoned shop.
Ever since i read that story , it nestles close to my heart .
Another contemporary short fiction that left a never ending smile on my face was 'Girl' by Jamaica Kincaid ,
a very short , witty , crisp piece of absolutely delectable lyrical prose.
It definitely goes without saying that In order to write well, one also needs to read well ,and read a lot .
When I say, a lot, I really mean a lot. The good, the bad and the ugly. We have a pathetically short attention span these days,
consequently, we just don’t want to read.
In my interaction with the youth, I have been asked many a time, “Why do we need to read?
The story that I am writing is mine, the characters that I am delineating are mine, the plot, the theme,
the dialogues are mine; so what exactly do we get by reading?”
Another had the cheek to tell me,” madam, I go to all book fairs, buy a lot of books, and read the first and the last page of all books .
Where is the time to read the entire book?”
One of my students had the temerity to write a Facebook status to the effect, I just finished writing a novel,
and can you believe it, I have never read a novel in my life!
Let me reiterate ,copious reading of fiction is absolutely essential. Through it , one not only gets to understand other peoples' perspectives,
it helps in deepening one's understanding , and broadens one's world view. Every work of fiction- long or short , has a narrative arc- a beginning ,
a middle and the final denouement, and through it all , one can see the characters evolving before us , and in the process the reader evolves too,
and emerges enriched .
I strongly feel that the more one reads , the better fiction writer one is going to be .
I have been writing since the time i was a schoolkid , but I am still apprehensive about sending off a story for publication
before I have gone through it at least a dozen times.
Editing, revision, honing is very important in any writing, be it prose or poetry,
and i am relentlessly doing it till the time , I have eventually pushed it off to the publisher and everytime , i edit ,
i invariably gasp at some editorial gaffe . How could i have overlooked this ?
So , friends , let us be very immaculate in our editing ; a crisp , well- edited piece is always a delight to go through .
Dr Santosh Bakaya
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It is undoubtedly a matter of great pride and challenge to work as executive editor of The Kolkata Review.
We are really amazed by the number of submissions we received from different parts of Bengal as well as India and even abroad. It had been a really difficult process to work on so many poems and stories. Our Editors, Sujan Bhattacharya, Santosh Bakaya, Ampat Koshy , had been extraordinarily generous in deputing their valuable time for the germination of this magazine and they did it voluntarily, perhaps because they all have an inherent love for literature and also that for our city of kolkata.
As someone closely associated with production and design aspect of this magazine, I can only say, it had been really exhilarating a journey to work with so many gifted poets and writers, most of whom are well known in English poetry and literature world.
Our Bengali section , which is gradually being opened up, has also started receiving attention, like the other sections, book and film reviews, which, I hope will bloom further in near future.
We expect more of your participation in making The Kolkata Review, one of the most read e-mags brought out from this part of the globe.
all the best,
Moinak Dutta
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