White Elephants

One of the best books of poetry I've read in a long time! It's no wonder the poet has won so many awards since this book was first published!

These poems strike me as being, above all, extremely honest. They are about the experience of living between cultures, and all of the difficulties and rewards that go along with it. The book forms a tapestry of experience to such an extent that it forms a complete impression upon the reader as a whole -- not from the consideration of any one verse. So at first the verse are not impressive, but with repeated readings, the individual parts come together to form a cohesive whole in such a way that a single poem couldn't express, so it is understandable why Ms. Vazirani egards it as her first novel -- it conveys much the same impression as a well-written story would. Most of all, there is little or no feeling of regret or loss or a "feel sorry for me" ethic (something of a rarity in modern poetry) in being a part of two widely differing cultures -- a feeling of enrichment is conveyed instead -- a type of enrichment that cannot be gathered by living in a narrow little corner of one's own. These verses, by the way, will not only be understood by travellers, but also by "outsiders" of all ilks, to use Colin Wilson's phrase. A most impressive collection. With any luck, Vazirani will be publishing more of her poetry in the very near future.