121 Pages
Publisher: Brown Critique- Sampark Books
Language: English
ISBN: 978-81-926842-2-2
Review by: g emil reutter.
Poet Vinita Agrawal is a realist who writes with passion about her life and those around her. Agrawal is excellent in her use of metaphor and writing poetic narratives such as the opening stanza of the title poem Words not Spoken:
.
After mother passed away, the house shrunk,
silence expanded. Father and I heard pins of
emptiness drop. We discussed the sooty sun
behind the clouds, the salty rain. We mumbled
about what to have for lunch and dinner but
did not parley on what to do with mother’s saris.
We did not talk about the aroma that was missing
from the kitchen, or the flock of indigent mynahs
twittering hungrily in the balcony, their beaks
agape with personal loss.
.
In this one stanza Agrawal communicates the loss of a loved one with metaphors: the house shrunk, silence expanded, pins of emptiness drop, aroma that was missing from the kitchen, mynahs with beaks agape with personal loss. It is simply a beautiful stanza.
.
From the fourth stanza of Draconian:
.
It is a very bright moon tonight
that presses heavily on our parting
turns tears to silver, silence to gold.
It does the right thing always.
Let us prepare for the distance.
.
The contrast of the bright moon pressing heavily on parting is a wonderful image. Tears to silver, silence to gold reveals the value Agrawal places on emotion but even a higher value on silence and endurance not only in this relationship but for life. This collection of poetry covers a period of 1997 to present. These poems of life and faith unfold before the reader revealing a life well lived in all the lows and highs we suffer and enjoy. Words Not Spoken is a valuable collection of poetry by Vinita Agrawal
.
At present the book can be ordered by contacting
Gayatri Majumdar at browncritique@gmail.com
.
–
-g emil reutter lives and writes in the Fox Chase neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pa. (USA)
Fox Chase Review 
I am deeply touched by your review of my book. You have captured in brief words, the core of my poetic sensibilities and style.
I am very grateful for your kind appreciative comments and humbled by your humanitarian insights into my mind.
Thank you very much for this invaluable review! I will treasure it always.
Warm regards,
Vinita