Miracle Marks

by Purvi Shah

In her second full-length poetry collection, Miracle Marks, activist Purvi Shah charts women’s status through pointed explorations of Hindu iconography and philosophy and powerful critiques of American racism. In these searing, revelatory poems, Shah reminds us that surviving birth as an infant girl and living as a woman is miraculous—as such, every girl is a miracle mark. And because education is often denied to girls, writing by women is a miracle.



In Miracle Marks, Shah probes belonging, devotion, and social inequity, delving into what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be. Through sound energy and white space, these poems chart multiple realities, including the miracles of women’s labors and survivals. This collection spurs dialogue across audiences and communities and lights a way for brown girls and women who relish in spirit, intellect, politics, and justice.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 15, 2019

About the author

Purvi Shah nurtures art and social justice advocacy as portals for healing and transformation.

Purvi is the winner of a South Asian Social Service Excellence Award for her leadership fighting violence against women. Her most recent poetry book, Miracle Marks (Northwestern UP, 2019), investigates gender violence and sacred survivals.

Purvi’s prize-winning debut, Terrain Tracks (New Rivers Press, 2006), plumbs migration and loss. During the 10th anniversary of 9/11, with Kundiman, Purvi directed Together We Are New York, a community-based poetry project amplifying Asian American voices.

With Anjali Deshmukh, she creates interactive public art like Missed Fortunes, a community archive which documented pandemic rituals through poetry & visual art prints. Her recent participatory art project, Green Card, explored the impact of a lack of green space on birds and people while inviting climate solutions from community members.

Purvi relishes sparkly eyeshadow, raucous laughter, and seeking justice.

Reviews

[Zora Satchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this work! It's hard to describe just how much this work has brought up I've been reading it for the last three days for the #sealeychallenge. I value the way Shah writes about divinity through Hinduism, heritage and the violence against women.

[Anatoly Molotkov · Rating 5 out of 5]

"When you speak, a start tremors. It remembers/ its own light. It seeks/ to send you a signal, vary its cadence - ask you." Beautiful, mysterious and socially important feminist poems.