Acrobat

by Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Nandana Dev Sen (Translator)

A radiant collection of poetry about womanhood, intimacy, and the body politic that together evokes the arc of an ordinary life. Nabaneeta Dev Sen's rhythmic lines explore the joys and agonies of first love, childbirth, and decay with a restless, tactile imagination, both picking apart and celebrating the rituals that make us human. When she warns, "know that blood can be easily drawn by lips," her words tune to the fierce and biting depths of language, to the "treachery that lingers on tongue tips." At once compassionate and unsparing, conversational and symphonic, these poems tell of a rope shivering beneath an acrobat's nimble feet or of a twisted, blood-soaked umbilical cord -- they pluck the invisible threads that bind us together.

Genres: Poetry, India, Indian Literature, Asia

137 pages, Paperback

First published May 11, 2021

About the author

Nabaneeta Dev Sen is an award-winning Indian poet, novelist and academic. Sen has published more than 80 books in Bengali: poetry, novels, short stories, plays, literary criticism, personal essays, travelogues, humour writing, translations and children’s literature. Her short stories and travelogues are a rare combination of fine humour, deep human concern, and high intellect, which has made her a unique figure in the Bangla literary scene.

She is a well-known children's author in Bengali for her fairy tales and adventure stories, with girls as protagonist. She has also written prize-winning one-act plays.

Reviews

[Bhavsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Translated into English from Bengali, Acrobat is a collection of poems written by the celebrated Bengali poet Nabaneeta Dev Sen. The book’s translation is a collaborative effort by the poet herself and her daughter Nandana Dev Sen.

Acrobat contemplates themes of nature, destruction, existence, grief, desire and motherhood.

Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s poetry is evocative and equivocal. The beauty of most of her poems is captured so well in translation that I can only imagine what they must sound like in their mother tongue of Bengali to eyes and ears that understand the language.

In my interpretation of the poems, the pieces about nature painted a colourful picture of Bengal and its defining characteristics. The poems about men and women reminded me of how men see the world, full of opportunity for them and how women view the world because it terrorizes them.

Reading this collection helps to bridge the gap between oceans as the aforementioned themes are prevalent worldwide and art is the way in which we realize this.

I am not an avid poetry reader simply because I am not patient enough to interpret it. But I liked this collection. At times I found it difficult to understand the meaning behind a piece and re-read it, even reading some pages out loud. Overall, I surmise that some of poems’ nuance is lost in translation however it is still a memorable collection.

Nabaneeta Dev Sen passed away in 2019 and her daughter has written a must-read tribute at the end of this book that will bring you to tears.

Acrobat is out on April 27th, 2021. Thank you to NetGalley, Archipelago Books, Nandana Dev Sen and the late Nabaneeta Dev Sen for this advance review copy.

[mohini☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved everything about this small gem! It was everything I wanted to restore my faith in the genre after continuously having slightly bitter experiences with "modern" poetry.

There were so many pieces that sung to my heart, honestly, it took me off guard with how good and raw they were. Nandita's translations of her mother's poetries are really good and even though I can't compare them with originals, they are evocative and stirring on their own. However, the eloquence of some pieces, I feel, was lost in translation.

It's easily one of the collections I'd love to revisit in the future!💖

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acrobat is the “Dream Project” of the mother/daughter team, Nabaneeta and Nandana Dev Sen. It is a collection of Nabaneeta’s (mother’s) poems, most of which have been translated from the Bengali into English by Nandana (daughter). Rich imagery defines the best poems in the book. There are some brief, powerful metaphors that cut deeply into the human heart. Other poems seem to get a bit lost in translation. They have the feel of a puzzle or an inside allusion which results in a distancing effect on the reader.

The collection ends with a letter from daughter to mother which shows Nandana’s poetic aptitude. We learn a bit of the backstory of the mother’s biography and the germination of the project itself. The letter serves as a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you to Nabaneeta and Nandana Dev Sen, Archiplelago Books, and NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Joseph Schreiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fine collection of poetry by the late Bengali poet Nabaneeta Dev Sen, edited and translated primarily by her daughter Nandana Dev Sen, was joint project and the shared energy comes through. Unlike many selected works the presentation here is thematic rather than chronological and the book is framed by a detailed introduction and a loving letter to the poet, both by her daughter/collaborator.
Longer review can found here: https://roughghosts.com/2021/08/20/as...

[Ashwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acrobat is not only concerned with the larger scope of history, but also with the delicate, shimmering experience of the poet's immediate world. Nabaneeta Dev Sen picks up these glinting fragments of her experience, then turns them over in her hand to see how they reflect the light of a world. Time is a recurring leitmotif, and a number of poems allude to the existential exploration of what it means to be a woman in this world. At times, Dev Sen's poems hover over the tumultuous trail of motherhood. Death and ageing tussle in between the internal rhythms, in the hope that some understanding can be achieved.

The translations, done by Nandana Dev Sen, speak of an intimacy with the language and an understanding of the landscape that shaped her mother's existence. Nandana's skill with rhyme, internal and end-rhymes, is apparent throughout the collection, as it sifts through the myriad details and emotions.

It always hurts when such a brilliant legend passes away. Her words will continue to inspire our world.

Thank you Netgalley and Archipelago Books for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

[Soula Kosti · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Acrobat by Nabaneeta Dev Sen is a poetry collection on life's joys and pains, including poems on love, loss, uncertainty, memory, and wonder. These earthy poems calm the soul and warm the heart, bring back memories and prompt the imagination.

A few of my favorite poems were:

- Friend
- Unspoken
- That Girl
- Grief: Rainy-Day Rhymes
- Too Much
- And Yet
- In Marriage

Grateful for the translator who worked carefully on each of her mother's poems and made it possible for readers like me to learn and be touched by this Bengali poet in English. Thank you to NetGalley and archipelago books for providing an ARC in exchange to my honest review.

[Callum McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This posthumous collection, sensitively translated by the poet’s own daughter, was the last project Dev Sen completed before her death in 2019. The pieces are wide-reaching in theme, with some particularly evocative lines throughout that reflect the landscape of India, and the differing worldview of men and women due to cultural roles. Beyond this, there’s a strong focus on womanhood in general, and Dev Sen’s experiences as a mother, as well as pieces on love, loss, language, memory, and so on.

With that said, I felt the collection would have benefitted from a more coherent thematic focus. There are several very short poems peppered throughout that felt stylistically jarring when held up against the flair of the other pieces. Take for example this lovely line from one of my favourites in the collection, which talks about the elusive nature of language, and the contrasting beauty and frustration felt throughout the writing process: “Words stand aloof / like the false modesty, many hued, of a setting sun that leans against the sky – / unattached, unreachable, alone / yet gently touching the earth’s tamed mane with caressing fingers.” Compare that to the piece entitled, “Unspoken”, which in its entirety simply reads: “Each time you say, ‘Forever, forever,’ / I only hear, / ‘Today, today!’” These strangely youthful sounding, angsty pieces read more like Instagram captions, and without wishing to sound flippant, the cutting of these “filler” pieces would have allowed the strongest poems the breathing space they needed to shine.

All-in-all, I admired this collection for its intent, but ultimately found the poetic voice too inconsistent, and thus failed to connect emotionally.

Thank you to the publisher for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry of Nabaneeta Dev Sen translated into English. The introduction (Poetry and Nabaneeta Dev Sen) and the "A letter to ma" are wonderfully written of course the poetry, is well translated.

[S P · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Drinking water in the dark
From a bowl of pickled chilies
The thirst is quenched
But the lips keep burning'

—'A Night Drink'

[Stef · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aku suka bagian surat untuk Ma nya, penggambaran hubungan Ibu dan anaknya kerasa banget. Keseluruhan puisi nya cukup lumayan menyenangkan untuk di nikmati.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Acrobat’

‘There is nothing left for me to buy
From your Great Fair anymore.
I am going to get up from my steps now.’

*** I received a free Advanced Review Copy from NetGalley. This review is entirely my own and reflects my honest opinion.

What more can I add to this beautiful collection? Nothing.

Nabaneeta Dev Sen is a master of her craft, with her poems striking a chord with even the most inexperienced poetry reader. I won’t pretend to have much knowledge of poetry. I’ve read a few collections here-and-there but I’m more of a fiction reader, however, Nabaneeta Dev Sen's writing is absolutely spell-binding and her poetry managed to grab my attention within the first couple of lines.

This collection delves into a range of evocative topics from womanhood to decay, simultaneously decrying and celebrating the art of humanity. Nabaneeta Dev Sen takes select morsels of ordinary life and transforms them into something magical.

The lines I have included at the start of this review, taken from ‘The Great Fair’, have haunted me ever since I first laid eyes on them. Out of context, they may lack their signature lustre, but they had me feeling as though I had been punched in the gut when I first read over them! The depth of emotion conveyed over a few short lines really is breath-taking, and something that is exercised throughout ‘Acrobat’.

There is something so relatable about Nabaneeta Dev Sen's work, something that makes me feel connected to the author and her experiences almost as if they were my own.

I am bewitched.
I am consumed.

Do not waste any more time reading my review, go and pre-order a copy of ‘Acrobat’ from your local bookstore right now. I guarantee you won’t regret it.

[Anna Tsagkari · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to thank the publisher of Acrobat for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy through NetGalley.
I enjoyed reading these heart warming poems about what it means to be a woman. The love in the relationship between the mother and the daughter was evident and touching. I found them a bit too lyrical for my taste but I would recommend this poetry for its sweet way of representing girlhood, womanhood and love.

[Hafsa | حفصہ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading The World: India

[Deepan Maitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

(5 stars for the original poems in Bengali, 3 stars for their translation)

In all its glory, ‘Acrobat’ is deeply intimate, as you would expect from an endearing daughter translating her mother’s work, that too poetry. There’s intimacy in all sorts of poetry, but more so when you are secluded within that intimacy, nestled in that warm haven. In the preface to the book: ‘A letter to Ma’, Nandana transforms her offering to her mother into something beyond what is familial. Soon it rises as a wave of art and how art moves the people around, including them in some strange belonging of shared commodities, trespassed spaces and colliding ideals.

Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s poetry in Bengali is evocative in all the ways that can be thought of. With weight in the words and bounce in the verses, the colloquialism is fresh and breezy like the first waft in the face of dawn. The punctuations are pauses and the paragraphs are digressions, and the poem as a whole is a peek into the texture of the mind’s wanderings. Dev Sen’s poems have a feminist vision attributed to them; they often erupt in generalization and then culminate into some essence deeply ingrained within the feminine foundation. There is a lot of bravery of course, her voice is rarely timid, hardly carries any sense of docility. On the contrary, the poems are fiery and volcanic—oozing and trembling in their wordplay and ‘thought-play’.

The poetry of Dev Sen harbours a pleasant minimalistic approach, in a way it is measured but not contained within boundaries. The choice of terminologies is intellectually valid, but the juxtaposition of them is charmingly vivid. There is a lot of association going on in her verses, how various elements around us make us remind of things unrelated to the core, thereby verifying the strange connectedness that we are wrapped around. Detachment and recluse do not seem to be her primary thematic choice, whereas containment and the sense of ‘being’ plays at the forefront. All of these are in fact epitomes of an evolved poetic aptitude. I say all of this as to how I experienced reading the poems in this collection, in their original Bengali.

When brooded over collectively, Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s poems appear nostalgically next-door, rooting in numerous aspects of familiarity for an audience who feels connected to Bengal. Nandana Dev Sen’s approach to let her mother’s poetry breathe in translation is definitely commendable. Through her able English, the poet’s poetry takes a new universal form, often shaking off that charm of colloquialism and clothing itself in new gleam. Universality is a bewildering concept, as truly certain things are purely perspectival and never absolute. But what remains as an underlying truth is the validity of that perspectivism, no matter how bizarre it might appear from the other side. Saying that Nandana’s translation has done full justice to the wordplay of the poems would be something far-fetched, but she has very affectionately given the poems newer spaces and agencies to live on, and fresher contexts to sprout from. For an audience who had the risk to miss out on the poetic agility that Nabaneeta Dev Sen has gifted us, ‘Acrobat’ descends almost as a beautiful consolation.

Thanks to Juggernaut books for the Indian edition of the book. The Bengali counterparts to the poems were read by me from a separate anthology.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a proviso – I am not qualified to discuss this book with the eyes of an expert in poetry. I come to this from the POV of an average browser, who may just by chance click in this direction wondering if this is the one book of verse she or he is to read this year. So there will be a blunt impression, more or less, and much less than you might wish when it comes to discussing the author's vocab, technique or themes.

Except here and there themes leap out at you. There are "childhood mists" here, where people have obviously dispersed and lost connection with their origins. Some people are so far removed, they hear phantom phone calls – is it that they have never had an actual home and therefore never a home phone? But there are also people hanging on to the past – one woman adamant she will only now, finally, vacate the steps in front of her house, giving up hope of a gentleman caller taking her to the Great Fair. Either way, there is always a chance "memory becomes your enemy" - if it's not one that's too "fleeting". One specific memory, at the end of a four-paged piece dedicated to a real-life elderly lady, really did 'clunk' on to the page in an unfortunate manner, though.

And so, then, technique? This is the blankest of blank verse to me, only tending to give rhyme and meter to the shortest poems. When we first get something both looking more substantial and deliberately rhyming, it's a dialogue that is still almost haiku in brevity, and is most distinctive. Not terribly appealing, but distinctive. However a different rhyming scheme faces that, and this one does work, showing for every downer here there is an impressive little nugget. One female's whole emotional history comes across as if in an old Baba Yaga story – that's a positive. Several rhymes must have been concisely and snappily translated, but read as very naive – that's obviously not. But I found this whole 'selected works' a quite readable choice, touching as it seemed to on the emigrant story, and how a young woman in love can find a much more sour outlook after childbirth. I can't see it as being a populist success, but (unlike many modern poetry books) nothing here was objectionably counter to my tastes. Three stars might not look like much, but rest assured they are. People here for academic interest, more knowledgable about the Indian author and her career, will relish every page turn.

[Poptart19 (the name’s ren) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

Poems on motherhood, friendship, loss, & identity, translated by the daughter of the writer (a few were originally written in English). Some of the poems have striking turns of phrase & imagery, & have a heartfelt depth to them; some of the poems are vague or clichéd, thus the mediocre rating.

[What I liked:]

•There is nice variety represented in this collection: long poems & short ones, many different themes, some rhyme while others are in free verse.

•In the poems I liked, such as “Acrobat” & “The Shell”, there is both vivid use of language & creative metaphor.

•I really appreciated in particular the poems on the theme of aging, “The Lamp” & “These Beloved Faces”. They hold so much poignancy & yearning.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Several of the poems are very short, rather trite, & without much to say. I’m not sure why they were included alongside the other poems that demonstrate more depth & skill.

•Some of the poems, especially the shorter-medium length ones, I’m not really sure what they were about. For example, “Poison”: it gives me two vivid images, a pillow & the moon, & speaks of poison going to attack the speaker. I’m not sure how the concepts are related though. Perhaps it’s a metaphor or allusion that would make more sense in the original language? If that’s the case, I think footnotes would really help. I feel like something important is lost in translation/my cultural ignorance for some of these poems that I really want to understand.

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again my subscription to Archipelago Books has given me a wondrous reading experience. This is a poetry collection assembled and translated into English by the poet’s daughter. Nabaneeta Dev Sen was a Bengali woman, highly educated in India and the United States, who wrote poetry, as well as in many other genres, who taught, and who was a feminist in her life from 1938-2019. She was the daughter of two poets and was named by Rabindranath Tagore!

My usual practice when reading poetry is to take a poem and read it every day for a week. This works to bring the poem’s meaning and structure into a clear understanding in my mind. Since the poems here are usually quite short, I would take three or four poems for the week’s reading. I was rewarded with a connection to this woman from a land so far away who seemed to understand women in general and me in particular.

The poems are arranged not by the dates they were written but into named categories: The Unseen Pendulum, I Cage Language, Sapling of a Heart, Do I Know This Face, and Sacred Face. Since these poems were written between 1957 and 2019, yet collected into the categories, I felt I got a look at how the poet returned to various ideas again and again in her poems.

Truly wondrous! Truly a work of love and devotion by the daughter.

[BOOK BOOK BOOKA]

NOTE: Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Archipelago Books, for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was extremely excited to pick this one up as there is a special place in my heart for Indian and Indian origin poets, seeing as I am an Indian who likes writing poetry myself. I enjoyed reading the poems in this book; I think the ones that stood out for me were the pieces originally written in English and the ones translated by or with the poet herself. There were some shorter poems that I wasn't particularly a fan of, but that is fair enough considering that shortform is usually not for me.

My favourites were: The Lamp, A Birthday Voodoo, That Girl, Antara, Full Moon Nightscape and December 1992.

Rating: N/A because poetry is intensely personal :)

[Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Only once in your life will the rope shiver."

I don't think the brilliance of these poems is completely there in translation, but I nonetheless enjoyed them and loved the introduction and afterword by Nandana Dev Sen, the poet's daughter and the book's translator. I think involving people too close to the writer can be risky, but Nandana Dev Sen did an excellent job of contextualizing her mother's work, as well as discussing their personal relationship.

[Lillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

First book of the year. Unfortunately quite mid. I wanted to love this, really, but the translations read like Instagram poetry most of the time. Improved 3x towards the end.
Was genuinely touched by the poems either translated by Nabaneeta herself or translated with her daughter.

Translating poetry is inherently difficult. The ones done by her daughter, although with heartfelt intention, have less impact. Translating these poems require the author’s involvement precisely because they hold the creative authority to prioritize meaning/rhyme scheme/synonyms at the expense of other elements.. and most importantly, are focused on *creation*. creating a presentable poem by the end of the work is more important than preserving whatever is left of the poems original intention, which unfortunately remain lost to Nabaneeta’s Bengali. And as a reader.. I’d rather read something interesting, and prefer a reworked poem to a poem that feels 75% of itself, if u kno what i mean

Without that spark, that artistic license to create, the poems lose themselves, they read as unmoored ships without intention, and the reader loses any reason to read them …

Would have loved to read her other work. She’s fascinating as a woman poet and public figure

Will return to this as thoughts develop

[Nicole Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hidden gem of a book, picked up at my local used bookstore. I had never heard of Nabaneeta Dev Sen before and selected the book on a whim, read two poems standing in front of the shelves in the store, and knew it needed to come home with me. Her words are music.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fine. The last piece of writing was the best one.

[Kaveri Sarkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some poems held deep resonance!!

[Majestativa]

Poetry, I suspect, was ruling my stars from the very first moment of my being. I had no way of avoiding its grips.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enthralling ethereal poetry about womanhood, love and life.

[Abi Mott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book

[Alexander Asay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Acrobat is a collection of poetry that aims to explore the nuances of womanhood, intimacy, and the broader human experience in the context of Indian life. The title suggests a poetic agility, attempting to navigate through personal and societal themes with elegance and depth.

Sen's poems are diverse, ranging from reflections on love and motherhood to contemplation on decay and the body politic. She employs a rhythmic and tactile imagination to dissect and celebrate human rituals. The collection's structure attempts a poetic acrobatics, with some pieces resonating with emotional clarity while others might not fully engage due to pacing or less impactful conclusions. There are moments of insight, but these are interspersed with poems that might not delve as deeply into their subject matter as readers might hope.

Acrobat tackles significant themes like identity, gender, and the passage of time, but the exploration can sometimes feel at the surface level. The imagery is vivid, yet the characters or personas in the poetry might occasionally seem archetypal rather than uniquely realized.