English

by Jeet Thayil

The narrator in these poems abandons the sectarian histories of 1990s's Bombay for the relative calm of New York, only to find himself a witness to September 11, 2001. Jeet Thayil'ss second collection links images of water, addiction and forgiveness; poems that evoke multiple outsider perspectives are set in landscapes as various as Hong Kong, Bombay, and New York City.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2003

About the author

Jeet Thayil (born 1959 in Kerala) is an Indian poet, novelist, librettist and musician. He is best known as a poet and is the author of four collections: These Errors Are Correct (Tranquebar, 2008), English (2004, Penguin India, Rattapallax Press, New York, 2004), Apocalypso (Ark, 1997) and Gemini (Viking Penguin, 1992). His first novel, Narcopolis, (Faber & Faber, 2012), was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize and the Hindu Literary Prize 2013.

Reviews

[Tuhin Bhowal · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You, I am beginning to suspect, are not here."

[Sayantan Ghosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haunting, profound, historically rich, and often deeply moving; much like a beautiful pause between two perfect sounding words.

[Shishir Chaudhary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeet Thayil has a unique approach at composing poetry which is quite evident in this book which so deliberately is a digression from the usual expectations he is bound with. Be it the structure of the book, the free-verse (which personally is my favorite) and occasional play with meters and rhyming schemes, he displays the full flavor of what genuine contemporary poetry is meant to be. Traveling across world and time and memory, the poems playfully traverses in all directions, finally converging to bring out a very serious and successful attempt at portraying a very personal take on life (which by the way made me wonder the truth and sanctity of it all and thereby forcing me to finally settle at 3 stars for an otherwise brilliant work).

Recommended to those who are keen to explore and invest time and attention in novel forms of literary art.

[Philip Nikolayev · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book by one of my favorite current poets, who lives in Bangalore, India, and writes in English. His relationship with this language is very intense and personal; hense the title. A must read for all who care about the current state of poetry.

[Trishangni Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 4- English by Jeet Thayil
A collection of historically rich, profound, & intensely moving poetry by my absolute favourite poet- Jeet Thayil.
This anthology is something that refuses to live merely on the pages.
I sipped its’ words slowly at a snail’s pace, taking all the love & loss in.
It would be difficult to review it wall-to-wall.
So, I’ll leave it to this:
The seven parts in which the poetry is divided takes us to a place which holds hard-won tenderness for all things he has lived.
Clan talks,
Secrets of Bombay(not Mumbai ;)),
Figure of water,
Unauthorised biography on rain,
prophecies of addiction & forgiveness,
English,
And of-course his beloved wife.
Every poem evokes multiple outsider perspectives that are set in not just landscapes of the earth, but of his own mind.
To sheath this beauty, I will quote Dom Moraes( who also happens to be Jeet’s friend & for whom there is a poem in it too)
Jeet us best at it, it is splendidly structured, both skilful & forceful.
Mr. Jeet Thayil, your poetry is an orison to me ♥️

[Hitesh Goenka · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Narcopolis by the author and listening to him read his poetry on YouTube videos, I couldn't help getting a collection of poems by the author. And I am not disappointed. 
The poems seem to be based on his experiences in US and India. They infuse a whiff of fresh air into the world of poetry I am acquainted with. I highly recommend this to all poetry lovers. 
As usual, I found it difficult to follow most of the poems. I guess one day I will make sense of many poems I read when my brain fog symptom is not there at all. 
4/5 

[Prem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeet Thayil's poetry is sublime, lifted out of the terrestrial by a powerful undercurrent of loss, dislocation, melancholy - but not cynicism. Even at his most unmoored, there is the mild dawn. Besides the unfortunate inconsistency of the Ache chapter, this is a collection of poetry that refuses to live merely on the page

[mika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked it up just to finish it expecting it to be a 2 star, ended up being one of the best poetry books I'd ever read.
beautiful words and such an unique way of expressing memories and feelings.
" the whole world's high except for me. I alone do my job; maintain and be the last refuge of sobriety"
Personal favorite (poem) is ' vinanelle with a line from baudelarie'

[Adithya Sasikala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel my smell change---spicy,
mysterious, so sweet I gag for fear.

His poems are beautiful.

[Aadya Dubey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty different :)

I am in awe of this man's writing.

[Saksham · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story behind the title is quite fascinating and it does set the book up with high expectations. Unfortunately, those expectations were never met for me and I'm always sad giving any book 1 star but poetry is something that falls well in the realms of heart and my heart didn't like this book.

[Dhabiya khamis]

great poet-one of my favioretes