Sharp Blue Search of Flame is an exploration in poetry of a complex network of nuanced journeys into a variety of worlds. The searingly rich poems reflect Zilka Joseph's own history of living in Eastern and Western cultures, as well as the influences of her Jewish Indian roots. Joseph's free verse and forms shift scenes from the real to the imagined landscapes of the mind, and search for fulfillment and solace amidst the terrifying beauty and chaos of the human condition.Joseph's poems, while dark and brooding in subject matter-bride burnings and infanticide in her native country, the loss of Eden, mourning for a beloved mother-offer a tactile insight into life in India and the United States. Through a flurry of sounds and smells, the reader learns an interpretation of the history of the sari, witnesses the horror of attacks on women, and wrestles with death, whether it be that of an elephant, an extinct frog, honey bees, humans, or goddesses. Her poems dig deep and aspire for something beyond. Colored by fire, blood, ash, and rain, these poems present images of great joy and deep loss in a complex harmony.Sharp Blue Search of Flame embraces worlds within worlds and worlds between worlds, which is not only intrinsic to the fabric of the poems but to the life of the poet as well. Readers of poetry will savor this sensory collection.

Sharp Blue Search of Flame (Made in Michigan Writer Series)

Literature & Fiction

Joseph, Zilka

Poetry

Wayne State University Press

Poetry. In richly detailed, exuberant poems, Zilka Joseph embraces the vivid passions of her childhood home in Calcutta and the complex hopes and fears implicit in her move to the Midwest. Zilka Joseph was born in Bombay, India, She grew up and was educated in Calcutta. She moved to Chicago with her husband in 1997 and currently lives in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Lands I Live In

Mayapple Press

Sweet Malida: Memories of a Bene Israel Woman

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Books by Joseph, Zilka