At the crossroads of science, mathematics, and art lives Quiver, a stunning collection of poems that seeks to reconcile the empirical truths of science with the emotional truths of human experience. Through an ambitious set of poetic series and sequences, Somers-Willett reinvents the love poem, rendering an exquisite world where the graph of a mathematical equation can become the image of "love's witness / running with its arms open all the way home." With a deft, meditative sense of music, Quiver reveals a relationship between science and human sentiment that is as surprising as it is profound.

Javed Akhtar's poetry speaks of the urban milieu that envelops him. Helplessness, hunger and homelessness, crowds and solitude, f ilth and crime, fame and obscurity, rock-strewn footpaths and glass-studded skyscrapers: this cosmopolitan world he inhabits seeps into the tone and tenor of his writing. Akhtar's sharply observed poems stretch across time and space, articulate the extremities of hot and cold seasons, of walking barefoot on live-hot embers and the tenderness of kissing f lowers drenched in dew. These are bit tersweet verses from a man who has felt f irsthand the sharpness of sensation. The themes he speaks of are universal, yet the timbre of Akhtar's poetry is unique; it is not the echo of other voices. - Dr. Gopi Chand Narang

Birds have significant roles in the Ramayana. The epic progresses because of birds at crucial moments, such as the abduction of Sita by Ravana. Jatayu, Sampati and Garuda are vital for our receiving the Ramayana as it is now available to us. Were the two vulture-brothers, Sampati and Jatayu indeed vultures? Or, were they a superior race of warriors who had vultures as their totems? Krauncha, the crane in distress at the death of its beloved companion, provides the reason for the Ramayana being written. What is regarded as the first Ramayana is the rendition of the Ramayana by Kakabhushundi the sage-crow.The natural history of these five birds, Kakabhushundi, Krauncha, Jatayu, Sampati and Garuda is enlarged by their presence and roles within the Ramayana. Discover their stories anew with this collection of essays about the Birds of the Ramayan

Gulzar, one of India’s finest film-makers and lyricists and has always been a poet at heart. His oeuvre is steeped in a poetic sensibility, marked by a lyricism rare in the world of Hindi cinema. Today, Gulzar is regarded as one of India’s foremost Urdu poets, unparalleled in his exploration of human relationships and the insight and sensitivity with which he addresses the many facets of daily life. The sophistication and cadences of Gulzar’s work come alive in this bilingual edition of some of his best poetry, sensitively translated by Pavan K. Varma.

Her voice had the seductiveness of mellow wine. When Begum Akhtar sang, she could make her audience sway to every emotion in the lyrics of a ghazal.

Amir Khusrau, one of the greatest poets of medieval India, helped forge a distinctive synthesis of Muslim and Hindu cultures. Written in Persian and Hindavi, his poems and ghazals were appreciated across a cosmopolitan Persianate world that stretched from Turkey to Bengal. Having thrived for centuries, Khusrau’s poetry continues to be read and recited to this day. In the Bazaar of Love is the first comprehensive selection of Khusrau’s work, offering new translations of mystical and romantic poems and fresh renditions of old favourites. Covering a wide range of genres and forms, it evokes the magic of one of the best-loved poets of the Indian subcontinent.

In The Yak Dilemma, Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal ventures out of the mountain ranges of Palampur and across vast distances of land and sea. From scenes playing out through Dublin windows to ruminating on wearing a Sadri in the West, these innovative mediations are as much about personal identity as they are a testament to the human spirit’s drive to cross territory and forge a ‘map’ of our own. Kaur Dhaliwal’s map, if she has one, is without architecture or foundations; ‘Four walls don’t make a home or a house—it takes some doing’, she writes in Ghazal on Living in a Hotel in Downtown Cairo. She is part of a dynamic new generation of poets pushing the medium into exciting new areas by questioning the notion of ‘place’ and its effect on our bodies—including the human spirit and memory. Uprooted and unsettled, her lyrical voice generously outlines ‘home’ as something other than a physical place. The Yak Dilemma is a remarkable poetic journey, its words create new territories by carefully revealing the fragile spaces that fall in between. ‘Dhaliwal writes with a rich fluency of tongues, evoking pathos and pleasure in equal measure.’ — Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, author of Auguries of a Minor God ‘Dhaliwal is an important and vibrantly exciting new voice in poetry.’ — Rebecca Tamás, author of WITCH and Strangers ‘These are songs of belonging and of movement, of fluid identity, carefully crafted and always graceful.’ — Seán Hewitt, author of Tongues of Fire ‘Dhaliwal’s writing is evocative, thrilling, and magnificent.’ — Zeba Talkhani, author of My Past is a Foreign Country ‘A heartfelt, entertaining debut’ — André Naffis-Sahely, author of The Promised Land: Poems from Itinerant Life 'Kaur Dhaliwal travels through time and space and the self; I wanted to go wherever she was heading.’ — Jen Calleja, author of Goblins ‘The Yak Dilemma is beautiful, transportative and so deeply felt.’ – Lucia Osborne-Crowley, author of I Choose Elena ‘The Yak Dilemma asks: why risk myopia, when we can move forward—and unfold?’ — Sana Goyal, Poetry London ‘a collection which inspires a complex mix of pathos, longing, curiosity and joy.’ — Rober Greer, Idler ‘an illuminating exercise about the self and our surroundings’ — Nidhi Verma, Platform

Poetry expressing criticism of social, political and cultural life is a vital integral part of Persian literary history. Its principal genres - invective, satire and burlesque - have been very popular with authors in every age. Despite the rich uninterrupted tradition, such texts have been little studied and rarely translated. Their irreverent tones range from subtle irony to crude direct insults, at times involving the use of outrageous and obscene terms. This anthology includes both major and minor poets from the origins of Persian poetry (10th century) up to the age of Jâmi (15th century), traditionally considered the last great classical Persian poet. In addition to their historical and linguistic interest, many of these poems deserve to be read for their technical and aesthetic accomplishments, setting them among the masterpieces of Persian literature.

Gulzar is regarded as one of India’s foremost Urdu poets today, renowned for his unusual perspectives on life, his keen understanding of the complexities of human relationships, and his striking imagery. After Selected Poems, a collection of some of his best poetry translated by Pavan K. Varma was extremely well received, Gulzar has chosen to present his next sixty poems in an inimitable way: labelling them Neglected Poems. ‘Neglected’ only in name, these poems represent Gulzar at his creative and imaginative best, as he meditates on nature (the mountains, the monsoon, a sparrow), delves into human psychology (when a relationship ends one is amazed to notice that ‘everything goes on exactly as it used to’), explores great cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and New York (‘In your town, my friend, how is it that there are no homes for ants?’), and confronts the most telling moments of everyday life.