Sweta Srivastava Vikram stopped by Page Readers to discuss her latest poetry book, "Kaleidoscope: An Asian Journey of Colors."
First a little about the author. Sweta Srivastava Vikram is a multi-genre writer and marketing professional. She is the author of two chapbooks of poetry from Modern History Press: “Kaleidoscope: An Asian Journey of Colors” and "Because all is not lost: Verse on Grief”. She is also the co-author of a forthcoming book of poetry titled “Whispering Woes of Ganges & Zambezi” (Cyberwit 2010). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in literary journals, online publications, and anthologies across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, New Zealand, and Philippines. Sweta has attended workshops, received scholarships, and held artist residencies in Europe and USA, and worked on collaborative projects with artists from Zimbabwe and Australia. She is a graduate of Columbia University.
Born in India, Sweta spent her formative years between the steel city of Rourkela, the blue waters of North Africa, and the green hills of Mussoorie before arriving in bustling New York.
She now lives in New York City with her husband, too many Apple products, dreams, wine, books, and lots of friends. Aside from writing and reading, she loves dancing, taking yoga classes, playing the piano, traveling, debating with her father, cooking, talking to her two nieces, and entertaining guests.
Sweta was gracious enough to send me a copy of her book Kaleidoscope, which I througouhly enjoyed. And to have the opportunity to discuss her work and how the poems came about was equally intertaining and interesting. As a young woman Sweta was emersed in color as they releated to milestones in her life.
Her favorite poem in the book is "The Talisman." It discusses her mothers connection to a tea set that Sweta didn't want to take with her as she traveled from her home in India to America. Sweta knew that she could only take so much of her personal things, and felt the tea set wasn't important enough to take. As her mother explains the importance of the history of the tea set, Sweta begins to understand the traditions of her people.
Visit Sweta on the web and follow her on twitter @ssvik
Book Information: BOOK INFORMATION: We have all lost a dear one at some point in our lives. Grief, depending on the relationship with the one deceased, affects us differently. The two people whose death has affected the most are my Dada (paternal grandfather) and my Mausi (my mother’s elder sister).
When I was five years old, Dada died of throat cancer. He suffered a lot and towards the end, he had lost all will to live. For the longest time I was scared that I would forget him. But even after two decades, his words have stayed with me. And I still refuse to touch a cigarette. In August 2009, my Mausi passed away, rather suddenly. Until she was alive, she was as interested in my writing as my immediate family and close friends. With her gone, the writer in me feels abandoned. But her encouragement lingers on.
I feel my Dada and Mausi’s absence every single day for disparate reasons. But these two losses have taught me that their time had come. And that life is about celebrating those alive and not just mourning those who have moved on. Optimism and faith are the keys to overcoming the roadblocks life puts in our way.
This book tries to state that there is always hope for anyone coping with grief. No one can tell us exactly how; the voyage has to be undertaken by each of us individually.
On the Web: Website: www.swetavikram.com http://www.vaani.org/2010/07/hot-news-coming-up-sweta-vikrams-book.html
Twitter (@ssvik)
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