Acharya’s eighth book of poetry is a transcendent blueprint for healing in a ruptured world, drawing on the poet’s experiences with marginalization as an Indian-English woman and the scars of colonization, police brutality, racism, war, the pandemic, and more. In Acharya’s poems, presence is a pillar of that healing; for example, in taking notice of bees, “the peace of wild things descends like a mantle woven with blessings.” Yet this presence also makes space for grief, despair, and uncertainty. “Are there journeys without destinations, // pilgrimages that don’t lead to self-discovery?” Acharya writes. Facing these questions, the poet looks to faith as her guide.
Spirituality appears as both a solitary venture and one of communion in Acharya’s collection. In the heartening “This Is What It Means to Be Human,” the speaker recalls “the warmth of the rasoi” and the congregation of the family kitchen as the spiritual and cultural binding agents that allow humanity to transcend base impulses and strive for the best versions of itself. Some poems, like “Song of Praise,” “If,” and “Grant Us,” invoke the style of prayer and affirmation, addressing the spiritual needs of the present day, including those relating to the existential woes of the climate crisis.
In this vibrant collection that touches on so many fragments of global society, one illuminating thread throughout explores the poet’s identity. An awareness of the self, along with spiritual presence, is essential on the quest for healing that Acharya so touchingly describes: “when I reconcile myself to the randomness // of the universe, everything falls into place.” Acharya’s collection is the light in the darkness, a note of hope in the symphony of the world’s sorrow, and it shows readers how to pull themselves from the depths of despair while asking them to “think of what you can do in the face of calamity, // not be overwhelmed by its immensity.”
Takeaway: Rich collection exploring spirituality, oppression, and a path for healing.
Comparable Titles: Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese,” Joy Harjo.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
