Trespassing My Ancestral Lands
(Finishing Line Press)
Trespassing My Ancestral Lands captures the poet’s eye roving the landscapes to see and discover the many layers of self in a multi-layered world of family, nature, and cycles of life. Kalpna Singh-Chitnis’ voice is a hypnotic opera of cautionary tales. These heart-wrenching poems burn and sing to understand the primordial codes and rituals we depend on to give our lives meaning: “Mothers fold sorrows like laundry. An astute observer of the smallest details, she grips us with the travails of having feet firmly planted on both sides of the worlds and cultures: “School desks were chipped/into kindling.” This brave poet walks the precipice and captures the testimonials of human grief, and the dangers of love, loss, and war. Singh-Chitnis creates a voluminous experience of color and imagery rendering the mystical traditions and the hope in chaos. Kalpna-Singh Chitnis blows the shofar and shows how the power of language and story can lift us from despair, to reclaim our passions and our ghosts, the only way poetry can. This collection is indelible, you will come back again and again to a Motherland of wisdom—a talisman and guide to living with the fullest of fire and breath. –Cynthia Atkins, author of “Still-Life with God.”
Reader, if what you seek is an illusion, phantoms, and figments of imagination written in fleeting, figurative language, then move on. Seeker, if what you wish to read is real, fleshed-out through direct, honorable verses that linger without pretentiousness, then don’t pass by this book. “If you are a woman,” Ms. Singh-Chitnis sings, “tell my story to your sons. If you are a man, tell it to your daughters. If you are a preacher, teach it as a sermon to the believers.” Here is a Human Being speaking equally to all other Human Beings, one who “trespasses,” too, across limitations of gender, ethnicity, and nationality; whose story thus becomes a story worth telling, and retelling, and retelling again. For in the poem, “The Salt of a Woman,” as she writes so sublimely, “Her story is much older than her civilization…” The story found in “Trespassing My Ancestral Lands,” is in fact as old as Creation itself. –Jennifer Reeser, author of “Indigenous” and “Strong Feather.”
I would like to stand on street corners asking people to read Trespassing My Ancestral Lands. The enduring necessity of this collection of poetry far exceeds the ordinary every day and as such, I would wish it to be widely shared. Very infrequently, in my role as editor, I come across a collection that blows me away. Figuratively, literally, and spiritually. Singh-Chitnis is a deeply modern writer, who dips her pen in ancient history and acknowledgment of what came before us. She blends these disparate worlds together in such a way we learn and grow with each insight. This is the sheer essence of a poet, to be both translator and third-eye for the reader. When we are unable to articulate our feelings, the poet can. Singh-Chitnis has an uncanny canary-in-a-coalmine prescience that feels at times like she’s reading our minds. If a poet cannot speak for her readers, she’s stuck in a confessional style that grows dusty with time. To stay alive long after her physical form has passed, she must transcend time and space and be the mouthpiece for our deepest fears and joys. I would go as far as saying if you don’t like poetry, you might well be converted by this poetry because it’s poetry, and it’s more than poetry. She will be a poet we talk about in two hundred years. Her name won’t simply be synonymous with good writing, it will be a legacy. –Candice Louisa Daquin, Senior Editor / Indie Blu(e) Publishing and author of “Tainted by the Same Counterfeit” among others.
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis writes poems with quiet urgency, poems highlighting and condemning violence and social persecution perpetrated against women, against immigrants, and against anyone who has lost a homeland. But don’t expect rhetoric and abstraction here; rather, find intimate poems addressed to all of us, like letters hand-written with the language of loss: “What have I lost to deserve the beauty around me,” Singh-Chitnis asks, and there is no answer outright, but glimpses of one whose broken wings will stretch for a lifetime. –Octavio Quintanilla, author of the poetry collection, “If I Go Missing” (Slough Press) and “The Book of Wounded Sparrows” (Texas Review Press).
An unforgettable poetry collection for the soul it seeks and lays bare, and one that embraces and urges the reader to rise and perceive life in distinctive and myriad ways. As a true poet, Kalpna Singh-Chitnis finds poetry in everything, particularly in vocalizing immigrant experiences, loss of native identity, and the duality of the diasporic scaffold. She further fuses these vividly within the framework of the past, present, and future, thereby creating breathtaking edifices of life and memorializing our existence. Nostradamus-like, her poetry in turn signals our future as well. Singh-Chitnis’s historical, cultural, confessional, and observational views and words leave us probing, enriched, and satiated.” –Anita Nahal, writer, and professor; author of Drenched Thoughts (novel) and poetry collections, “Kisses at the Espresso Bar” & “What’s Wrong with Us Kali Women?” among others.
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is not looking for bystanders or onlookers to her powerful poems of personal journey. What she is looking for is a companion and to that end she uses her skill as a poet to draw the reader ever closer, so close at times that we hear her heart beating within these compelling narrative poems. Her fine writing holds a clarity that shows both how some distances can bring us near and how only words sometimes keep us apart. I think any reader who joins Kalpna Singh-Chitnis on her journey of memory and self-reflection will find themselves inwardly rewarded without measure. —Beau Beausoleil, author of “Concealed in Language” and “Another Way Home.”
Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava
Finalist, 14th Annual “International Book Awards” Presented by American Book Fest
This is a book of love, pure and overwhelming as love should be. This is a book of spirit, strong and willing, as spirit should be. ~ Lyudmyla Khersonska (Людмила Херсонська), Author of “Vse svoi,” and “Tyl’naia-litsevaia,” reflections on Russian aggression in Ukraine.
A common spiritual child, a representative of the Indian and Ukrainian people, will bring us all closer to purification by a drop, a spark, and a metaphor…~ Ihor Pavliuk (Ігор Павлюк) People’s Poet of Ukraine, Winner of the British PEN Prize and Swiss Literary Prize 2021
These are poems meant to bridge the divide between one world and another, between a lover and those fighting on the front lines of Ukraine. Throughout these poems, this book implores us: “Let’s not close our eyes or look away!”~ Brian Turner, Author of “Here, Bullet.”
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis’ patriotic poems are her original interpretation of love poetry, which grows from nostalgic listening to the voices of Ukraine, attempting to go beyond the pathos and rhetorics of textbook ideas, expanding horizons with visions, overcoming fears and deep wounds with one word—LOVE.~ Marianna Cheletska (Маріанна Челецька) Literary Critic
An artist always asks questions. And they are much more important than answers. Especially when these questions are in letters with boundless love for Ukraine. With indescribable longing and hope. With faith and confidence in victory. Especially when it is talented! Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, the universe in letters. Travel through her universe. Enjoy her words. Look for answers. ~ Anatoliy Anatoliy (Анатолій Анатолій), Poet, Philologist, and Colonel, participating in the Russian-Ukrainian war
Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava” is among the most important books of American, Ukrainian, and Indian literary societies with a cultural mission.~ Volodymyr Tymchuk (Володимир Тимчук) (Poet, Translator, and Lieutenant Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine)
For the Bilingual Edition of “Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava” in English and Ukrainian, please click below.
Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava: Любовні листи до України від Уяви
Bare Soul
Bare Soul
“Bare Soul. Whose soul? Ever since “Leaves of Grass” first appeared in 1855, we find Walt Whitman simultaneously falsely imitated and truly manifesting in America. Who would have thought that his latest local incarnation would be in the body and the soul of an exceptional woman born in Gaya, Bihar, India, where the Buddha experienced Enlightenment? Yet here he is. Kalpna Singh-Chitnis’s “Bare Soul” is a rapturous ‘Song of Herself’ erupting in a time/space she calls “The Jungle.” Her always accessible words touch deep chords of emotion in readers looking for something more than intellectual play.” ~ Jack Foley, Poet, Critic, Author of Visions & Affiliations: California Poetry from 1940 to 2005 and Eyes: Selected Poems – (USA)
“Covering the contradictory pain and immensity of love, the temptation and torture of sin, and the turmoil of the creative process, the poet searches for self-realization in baring her soul in poems of rich imagery and metaphor connecting her to nature and the whole world.” ~ World Literature Today
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“Francis Bacon once said, ” Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested‟. Bare Soul certainly belongs to the third category of the books.” ~ Literary Quest
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“The poems of this collection are incarnations of spirituality, faith, love, pain, belief, truth, mystery, fantasy and much more. However, it becomes essential to rectify and mention, that more than anything, the verses of Chitnis are living beings, not just one, but numerous. One may never bind them in a single time-frame, as these incarnations are gracefully timeless because of their temperament and nature.” ~Reviews India
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“Bare Soul” is a kaleidoscopic vision of perennial significance through which Kalpna Singh-Chitnis has expressed her intimate engagement with nature, love, humanity and longing for something beyond” – Boloji
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” Kalpna’s poetry is a saga of struggle between the two parts of the dual principle of male-female creation as one. It is the first ever attempt in English to understand, debate and resolve this issue in poetry.” – Satyapal Anand – Poet and Author – The Enchanting Verses.
“Her poetry is like mystic figures drawn on fogged window panes with fingers that readers enter into a never-ending world of perception and touch of feelings. After reading Kalpna’s poetry, it is apparent that her creative being will gain immortality from the fire of her self-nurturing creativity like the Phoenix. Kalpna’s poetry is not a nine-day wonder because her poetic quest is towards an ultimate infinity.” – Naseer Ahmed Nasir – Poet and Author – (Pakistan)
“To me, Kalpna’s poetry emerges from the huge waves of an ocean, after which a reader chases to trace the voice of an unspoken song that surrounds the universe.” ~ Khursheed Hayat, Urdu Writer and Poet – (India)
“This wonderful soulful poetry sparkles like the poet herself, expressing a profound intensity of feeling, empathy, and wisdom. Kalpna’s poems enchant her being to explode like fire in-depth, leaving you wanting more of her insight to bathe your soul. Capture the experienced journey of suffering melted with love in the mature verses of wisdom in clarity straight from the heart. I highly recommend the limitless gem “Bare Soul.” It will transfer you to the world of the sweet favorable unknown in abundance.” – Ghadeer Soudani – Poet and Author (USA)
“Kalpna’s engagement is with life. In her poetry, she displays a deep understanding that our journey in this world is riddled with challenges, which cause great suffering. She writes in a state of Zen and deep contemplation.” ~ Mamta Agarwal – Poet and Writer (India)
“Bare Soul by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is by far the most extraordinary dramatic love poetry collection I’ve ever read.” ~Tamara Galiulina – Poet and Photographer (Russia)
Sunflowers: Ukrainian Poetry on War, Resistance, Hope and Peace
.A National Indie Excellence Award Finalist
This anthology is a moving and powerful testament to what poetry can do to both report from times of crisis and uplift us in such times. Herein American audiences will find both legendary poets, already known here, and new voices whose work inspires and pays tribute to their country as it is invaded while the rest of the world watches on. What moves me most is the details, nuances, memorable phrases, that show the momentary flashes of clarity are possible, despite all the odds. I am grateful to all who did the translation and editorial work to make this volume possible, and I hope it finds many readers. These moving voices from a war-zone deserve to be heard. ~ Ilya Kaminsky
Admirably diverse in the approaches and styles, as well in the backgrounds of poets and translators participating, this anthology gathers voices of poets in Ukraine and globally speaking up about the resilience of Ukrainians resisting Russia’s brutal invasion and sharing deep emotional truth about the horrors of war. Moving and essential reading. ~ Vitaly Chernetsky
This remarkable anthology brings together voices of poets responding to the war against Ukraine from across the globe and languages. Poems by Ukrainian poets in Ukraine and abroad-present in their Cyrillic originals and translations- along with those by their anglophone allies from around the world, form a chorus of endurance, resistance, and hope. In the face of atrocity, Sunflowers reminds us how poetry remains an unwavering home for both writer and reader, capable of building community, bridging divides of oceans and languages, and taking much-needed action in a fracturing world. ~ Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach
Sunflowers: Ukrainian Poems on War, Resistance, Hope and Peace (River Paw Press) 2022
But a copy HERE
Request a review copy HERE
Oxygen: Parables of the Pandemic
Oxygen: Parables of the Pandemic (River Paw Press) 2022
Request a review copy HERE
Paws Healing The Earth (River Paw Press) 2021
.Paws Healing The Earth (River Paw Press, 2021) poetry anthology is an effort to raise awareness about environmental concerns and animal rights. The contributing poets discover the sacredness of our natural environment and honor the animals who share the planet with us. This anthology is a celebration of animals and wildlife healing the earth with their presence. Request a review copy HERE
तफ़्तीश जारी है (Tafteesh Jari Hai, The Investigation Continues)
“यह धरती के जीवन को नीला बनाने वाले ज़हर के व्यापारियों की निर्भय मुख़बिरी है। निर्मल वर्मा के शब्द उधार लें, तो -‘रात का रिपोर्टर’ और गजानन माधव मुक्तिबोध के शब्द लें, तो -‘आत्मा का गुप्तचर’।” – उदय प्रकाश
“कल्पना की जुबान सादा है, आम, बिलकुल आम बोलचाल जैसी, लेकिन भावनाएं बहुत गहरीं। वह सामाजिक मसलों की तह पकड़ने के लिए हालत को छीलने लगती हैं। तह तो किसी के हाथ नहीं आती। इंसान बड़ी उलझी हुई गुत्थी में है। लेकिन उस गुत्थी को छीलते रहना, उसकी परतें उतारते रहना, और तहों में छुपे हुए बीज को तलाश करते रहना ही शायर का काम है। कल्पना यह काम बखूबी करती हैं।” – गुलज़ार
25th anniversary edition of Tafteesh Jari Hai (Hindi) is available on major online stores.
Hindi Poetry Collections
कवि परिचय
कल्पना सिंह के हिंदी काव्य-संग्रहों में बिहार राजभाषा परिषद से पुरस्कृत “चाँद का पैवंद”, “तफ़्तीश जारी है” और “निशांत” के नाम उल्लेखनीय हैं। कल्पना सिंह की कविताओं का प्रकाशन भारत और विश्व की प्रमुख साहित्यिक पत्रिकाओं में हुआ है, तथा उनकी रचनाओं का अनुवाद देश-विदेश की कई भाषाओं में किया गया है। अस्सी के दशक से लिख रही कल्पना सिंह की कविताओं, कहानियों और अनुवाद का प्रकाशन “हंस,” “पहल,” “धर्मयुग,” “कादम्बिनी,” “साक्षात्कार,” “वर्तमान साहित्य,” “दस्तावेज़,” “बहुमत” आदि प्रमुख हिंदी पत्रिकाओं में हुआ है। बुद्ध की धरती गया में जन्मी कल्पना सिंह ने मगध विश्वविद्यालय से राजनीति शास्त्र में एम. ए. की शिक्षा प्राप्त की, और कुछ समय के लिए गया कॉलेज, गया, में अध्यापन कार्य भी किया। १९९४ में अमेरिका आने के बाद इन्होंने “न्यूयॉर्क फिल्म अकादमी” से फिल्म निर्देशन की शिक्षा हासिल की, और हार्वर्ड यूनिवर्सिटी (HarvardX) से, “Buddhism Through Its Scriptures” का भी अध्ययन किया। अंग्रेजी में कल्पना सिंह-चिटनिस के नाम से ख्यात इनके काव्य संग्रह “बेयर सोल” को २०१७ में लेबनॉन के “नाजी नामन लिटरेरी प्राइज फॉर क्रिएटिविटी” से सम्मानित किया गया। कल्पना सिंह अंतर्राष्ट्रीय साहित्य पत्रिका “लाइफ एंड लेजेंड्स” तथा “हिंदी लिटरेचर टुडे” की प्रवर्तिका और संपादिका भी हैं। यह बोधगया तथा लॉस एंजेलिस के बीच अपना समय बांटती हैं और वर्तमान समय में अपने अगले काव्य संग्रह “जो तुम हो वही हूँ मैं” तथा केदारनाथ सिंह की कविताओं पर अनुवाद कार्य कर रही हैं।
