A Note on Literary Translation Women’s Movements are myriad and the more recent Feminist Movement is an offshoot of Women’s Liberation fighting for liberation and equality. These movements not always go to the root of the problems of women-kind at the basic life of women as fair sex but with the problems starting with the…
Before and After the Pulitzer: An Interview with Vijay Seshadri, by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis
Vijay Seshadri is the first Asian-American to win a Pulitzer Prize for poetry. In his interview with Life and Legends, he mentions that he was a source of pride for India and among the Indians, and other Asians in America when he won the 2014 poetry Pulitzer for his book, 3 Sections. This interview of Vijay…
The Light and Fire of a Lantern: An Interview with Mangalesh Dabral, by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis
Life and Legends pays tribute to internationally famed Hindi Poet Manglaesh Dabral, who lost his battle with COVID-19 on December 9th, 2020 in New Delhi, India. We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends. A memorable interview with Magalesh Dabral for conducted by editor-in-chief Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, first published in Life and Legends on…
Tera Kuch Samaan (Some of Your Things) : The Presence and Absence of Gulzar
What is written on the folios of our hearts, whether it is literature or not, can be debated. But we all have written stories and songs like this, not to be told or shared with anyone. They are only for us to read and sing alone. But if they are the fond memories of those…
Kalam Haidri: Phoopajaan, by Tabish Khair
Kalam Haidri, married to my oldest aunt, was unusual in my family, which was basically a family of doctors and engineers. Sometime in the 1870s, my great-grandfather had obtained a degree from a British-run Medical School (which became the Prince of Wales Medical College and is now Patna Medical College) in Patna – after…
Remembering Agha Shahid Ali, by Christopher Merrill
Agha Shahid Ali was my closest friend for nearly twenty years, and we spoke on the phone nearly every day, sometimes several times in a day, especially if one of us was writing a new poem, which we would read successive drafts of to each other. Once, when I was house-sitting for the poet W….
The Wish of a Leaf : Remembering Kunwar Narain, by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis
The Wish of a Leaf “Sitting in a park I felt at peace in the comfort of a tree’s shade I felt at peace a leaf fell from a branch; the wish of a leaf : “now let us go…” contemplating this, I felt at peace.” (a poem by Kunwar Narain, translated by Apurva Narain)…
Let’s Bring the Elephant
Contrary to the metaphorical idiom “The Elephant in the Room,” the presence of an elephant in Indian culture is considered auspicious, and it is welcomed everywhere in the country. An Elephant, in Indian culture symbolizes power, strength and good fortune, as well as wisdom and intellect. From this perspective, Indian literature can be metaphorically compared…
Lalrinkima
BIO Lalrinkima writes under the pseudonym of Seiji which he accidentally picked up from a typo. He is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Economics at the University of Mizoram. He also works as a part-time content writer for Excelsoft company. Besides reading and writing, he loves playing basketball and cooking. He lives in Aizawl, Mizoram,…
Mohamed Elramady
BIO Mohamed Elramady is an Egyptian poet who lives in Alexandria. He has published five collections of poetry: أتَوضأُ بِنُورِ عَينيكِ [I Wash in the Light of Your Eyes], 2011; العشق بعد المداولة [Love after Deliberation], 2010; رَمَادِيَّاتٌ وأَلْوَانٌ أُخْرَىٰ عَام [Ramadyat and Other Colors], 2009;حينَ يَتَكَلَّمُ النَّبْضُ [When the Pulse Speaks], 2009; and أَغَانِي…
From the Cradle of Civilization
Dear Readers, The fifth edition of Life and Legends “From the Cradle of Civilization: Contemporary Arabic Poetry” is now before you. We are thrilled to bring the original and translated work of thirty eight Arabic poets from fourteen Arab nations and the work of several other international writers. A very special thanks to our guest…
Peter O’ Neill
BIO Peter O’ Neill was born in Cork in 1967. He is the author of six collections of poetry, his most recent Sker (Lapwing, Belfast, 2016) and Divertimento The Muse is a Dominatrix (mgv2>publishing, France, 2016). He edited And Agamemnon Dead, an anthology of early twenty first century Irish poetry with Walter Ruhlmann, also for…