Brown Girl Chromatography

by Anuradha Bhowmik

Anuradha Bhowmik’s life as a Bangladeshi-born American girl growing up as a first-generation immigrant in the United States gives shape to this debut collection. Brown Girl Chromatography interrogates issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality in a post-9/11 America while navigating the poet’s millennial childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The poems follow Bhowmik as she learns about the cruelties in both American and Bangladeshi worlds without any guidance or instruction on how to survive these conflicting spheres. Any visible traces of her Bangladeshi life result in racial ridicule from her peers, while participating and assimilating into American culture is met with violence and abuse at home. As language and memory intersect, Bhowmik draws on pop culture and free association to examine her displacement from many angles and make meaning out of hurt.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2022

Reviews

[Brown Girl Bookshelf]

Anuradha Bhowmik boldly steps onto the scene as a frank and unapologetic queer Bangladeshi writer with her poetry collection “Brown Girl Chromatography.”

The poems span her childhood in the 90s to womanhood in the present day, detailing the complexity of life in America as a first-generation brown female. The collection ruminates on the passage and infliction of familial trauma, the irreconcilable differences between generations, and the difficulty of breaking cultural chains. She seamlessly weaves references to the 90s that made me nostalgic, and demonstrates versatility by including free verse, elegies, acrostics, and lists.

Bhowmik’s work is not only about displacement and discrimination but also about finding acceptance and pride in non-compliance. By using tongue-in-cheek humor to question the line between genders, she captures the complexity and nuances of queer youth in the 90s. Makeup serves as a complementary theme to the writing, acting as a means of self-expression and a way of piecing together the protagonist's identity. The motifs of Marionette strings, chromatography, and geometry
are cleverly woven throughout the collection, adding depth and meaning to the imagery.

Bhowmik's irony, purposeful diction, and thought-provoking themes elevate this already beautiful work of self-reflection into a powerful statement of fortitude and reclamation.

[Christina Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fucking masterpiece. I loved every poem. I cried at times. I laughed at her wit. I wanted to hug the little girl that went through a lot but you end up cheering for the young woman who took language and made it into this beautiful, aching thing. It was wonderful. This book needs to be everywhere and brown girls of all ages need to add it to their shelves.

[Preetha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this anthology dedicated to representing her experience growing up as a South Asian child of immigrants in an American post 9-11 society. this is a book that I felt like I could relate to myself in some aspects, and I think girls of similar backgrounds would really appreciate this

Im not well-versed in poetry so I feel like I wasn't able to appreciate this book in totality bc of some nuances I would have missed, but some things I appreciate about it:
- how the author weaved in the motif of color throughout the poems
- the dynamic and creative formats of her poetry (i.e some poems were formatted as IM messages)
- her honesty with speaking about her struggles with sexuality, mental health
- I loved how she would interweave in some medical terminology and concepts lol

[Bookish_Aly_Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fantastic read! I don’t usually read poetry, but I thoroughly enjoyed every poem in this book. I loved how honest and vulnerable it was and I read it in one sitting. It was eye opening to see what it is like for the author to grow up as a brown girl in this country. It was enlightening to see how different someone else’s experience can be from your own. A wide range of topics were covered and it was done so well. I highly recommend adding this poetry collection to your shelf.

[Tara Cignarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this poetry. Parts were extremely real and raw
Recommended For: Those who like poetry

[Brittany]

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

• collection of poetry
• the work is an examination of the author’s childhood, pre-pubescent, teenage and recent years
• Anuradha shares her lived (idk why autocorrect always changes this to loved😖) experience with xenophobia, racism, sexism, homophobia, assimilation, puberty, sexuality & child abuse
• beautifully and powerfully written
• generously authentic as she shares trauma
• clever way of formatting poems, with AOL Instant Messenger away messages & fieldnotes
• highly recommend — a poignant, devastating & empowering read for queer brown girls everywhere

Thank you so much to Anuradha for sending me a copy of her book, along with a gorgeous bookmark and sticker.

This was a bravely honest and powerful collection of prose and I’m so glad I read it — it brought up such visceral feelings, not only me feeling for the young girl who had so many questions, dreams and desires, but also for me, who could deeply relate to many of the situations.I sometimes felt like ‘uhhhh, who gave this woman my diary from the 90’s & early 00s? 😅

Navigating your sexuality and mental health in a family and community that didn’t have those conversations front & center for a brown teenage girl was no easy feat for Anuradha. She did the best she could with the situation she was in & the limited tools she had to use for survival.

I highly recommend this collection of poetry & I can’t wait to read more from Anuradha in the future 🙌🏽🫶🏽

[Chelsie Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not normally read poetry, but this collection may change my mind about that. I really loved this book. I found it to be incredibly fascinating and I read it in one sitting.

I learned a lot from this collection, both serious and more light-hearted things. But my jaw literally dropped during a passage about loving Ashlee Simpson’s song “La La” and later learning it was a song about personal seggsy time. I was today years old when I learned that… and definitely spent a lot of time in my teenage years singing “you make me want to la la” without knowing what it meant.

Some of this book felt like a mirror, growing up in the ‘90s and early oughts. Being a kid was hard and trying to be a girl and figure out life and boys was harder. Some of the poems in this book are set up as AOL instant messenger profiles and away messages. These poems were absolutely some of my favorites in the whole collection.

This collection of poems was also a window into a world that I do not experience. The perspective of the author, growing up as a brown person, in a post 9-11 world was beautifully written and described. The hurt caused by the people around her was palpable.

These poems also deal with some other tough topics: body image, abuse, family dynamics.

Thank you to the author, Anuradha Bhowmik, for this gifted review copy.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow… WOW! This collection of poetry was so beautifully written. From 𝓔𝓵𝓮𝓰𝔂, 1998 to 𝓛𝓾𝓷𝓬𝓱𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓐𝓽𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓬 𝓒𝓲𝓽𝔂 and continuing to 𝓕𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓟𝓸𝓮𝓽𝓻𝔂, 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓜𝓪𝓴𝓮; chef’s kiss 💋 Reading this collection brought me back to childhood days and girlhood chants. I’m smiling just remembering. And let’s not forget Thong Song by Sisqo😂

On a more somber note, she also did a fantastic job at describing what it’s like to grow up as a brown person in this country. Though I didn’t hear those same jabs, there were others my ears caught. 𝓕𝓲𝓮𝓵𝓭𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓮𝓼 {𝓥}: what is it about being first gen or being raised in this country that automatically puts you in the space in which you don’t belong here or where your roots are?

Full review:

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was gifted this beautiful poetry collection by the author and I absolutely loved. I do not read much poetry, in fact I do not think that this year I read another collection. However, like nonfiction I want to read more of poetry.

This collection is beautiful written and extremely powerful. As you are reading the poems the imagery is beautifully donel and I could picture what the author was feeling and experiencing. The poems are heat wrenching and honest as she talks about not looking like her classmates, speaking the language, and what it means to be a girl growing up.

As an ESOL teacher in an elementary school her experiences having to acclimate in school and learning English were the ones I connected with the most. I can see myself reading bits to the students that I work with. Poems that I especially loved were titled: Elegy, 1998; Elegy for the Surgeon; America, 1997; and October 2001

I highly recommend this poetry collection and I again thank Anuradha Bhowmik @bhowmikky for the copy. It has a spot on my bookshelf now to be displayed.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for this lovely signed copy of powerful poems!

This collection of poems captures the essence of growing up in the US as a brown girl, not a Latina, but a Bengali brown girl. Never quite fitting in with the white kids. Stuck between her Bengali immigrant parents and yearning to be accepted by her American peers. Wishing for a body other than what she was born with, a skin tone that matched make-up, trying hard to remove the unwanted hairs that are pervasive to brown bodies and faces.

These poems resonated deeply with me. I’m a brown girl too, not Latina, not Bengali but so much of what she experienced, I could relate to. There is so much ignorance and lack of understanding towards Indians in this country. We are referred to as the model minority, but not accepted by the white majority. There is only one type of brown Indian in the eyes of most Americans. But those whose ancestors hail from the Indian subcontinent are so varied, in their rich cultures, diverse languages, distinct cuisines, unique religions and differing skin tones and features.

This collection is a must read for an insightful peek into the life of one Brown girl, deeply misunderstood, just trying to find her true self.

[maisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry collections like these are so essential. The representation Brown Girl Chromatography provides for first generation/immigrant South Asians in the United States is so necessary. Anuradha Bhowmik does a spectacular job at inviting us in to her life and her experience as a brown girl growing up in the 90s and early 2000s — when diet culture was at its worst and whiteness was the norm and unattainable desire for the rest of us. She paints a relatable picture of what it’s like growing up with immigrant parents and shaky self-esteem and self-image. I loved the way she used poetry and prose to dig into the harrowing parts of childhood and adolescence as a brown girl desperately wanting to love and accept herself but not being in the right environment to do so. Brown Girl Chromatography made me feel seen and validated. I am inspired by this collection to reflect upon my own experiences growing up and to write about them!

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anuradha Bhowmik and I share a beloved undergrad alma mater, from where the Tar Heel in my username is derived.

Bhowmik’s poetry is raw and deeply personal. Her entire heart is laid bare; her childhood as a young Bangladeshi-born American navigating a post 9/11 United States is at the forefront. The poems address racism, gender, sexuality, cultural assimilation, and abuse.

Bhowmik is both talented and skilled in the writing of her journey. I soaked up the insights, ached for the little girl who traveled through those confusing, traumatic, tragic years, smiled at the pop culture imagery (dancing along with The Thong Song), and celebrated the formidable, eloquent woman whose voice I already know we’ll be, fortunately, hearing from again and again. ♥️

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

Thank you, author @bhomikky, for the gifted copy of Brown Girl Chromatography, now available.

[Olivia E]

Thanks to the author for sending this my way! A beautiful collection of poems - although some worked for me more than others (as in any collection), the ones that did resonate really worked for me! I think this is the style and subject of poetry that is good for someone like me who wants to get more into poetry. Very much about what it means to exist in contemporary America as a brown girl, as a daughter of immigrants.

[Manuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a brilliant and witty collection of poems. I adored the pop culture references of the 90s/00s, but more than anything the author’s ability to depict universal topics like belonging, race/ethnicity, sexuality, etc. in such a deeply personal way. This book made me laugh, smile, ache, and grieve all at the same time.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw and honest and lovely and heartbreaking and vulnerable.

[AnaLuz Sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

this collection has an insightful POV from the author as a first gen, many are painful, and I appreciate the authors vulnerability when writing them. I like reading experiences from others different than my own and her struggles growing up resonate on a deep level.