Poet of the Month

May's Featured Poet
Vikram Seth (1952-) : While working on a Ph.D. in economics at Stanford University, Seth happened to visit the English Department out of a desire “to have some contact with the writing program.” A verse novel, The Golden Gate, sprang from that, as did five collections of poetry and two prose novels. He is one of the most perceptive, compassionate, and wit-filled poets writing today.

1.35 [From The Golden Gate]

Janet picks up her fortune cookie,
Then puts it down, turns to her friend:
“Don’t bank too much on youth. Your rookie
Season is drawing to an end.
John, things we would—when young—not think of,
Start to make sense when, on the brink of
Thirtydom, we pause to scan
What salves and salads cannot ban,
The earliest furrows on our faces,
The loneliness within our souls,
Our febrile clawing for mean goals,
Our programmed cockfights and rat races,
Our dreary dignity, false pride,
And hearts stored in formaldehyde . . . .

Further Reading : Try the prose novel Equal Music; the poetry collection, Three Chinese Poets, or Vikram's literary biography, Two Lives.

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson