|
Left-Hand-Speak
Hima Raza |
||||
Hima Raza has experimented with language and rhythm, to build up a series of disciplined poems with a sparse and powerful imagery which endows every word its own unique space, and its own resonance. Muneeza Shamsie , Dawn
Hima Raza’s collection of poems certainly represents an original voice in the literature of alienation and nostalgia. The subjects vary from the impact of colonialism to issues of gender and race but Raza is not out to make blatant political statements. In some poems there is a certain playfulness in the structure…often, these reiterate the themes and the technique does not detract from the haunting images the verses evoke. Judging by her debut collection, Hima Raza is a name we should be hearing more from. Zohra Yusuf, The Herald
This is a powerful collection of poetry, which is likely to appeal to an audience of poetry lovers not only in Britain and Pakistan, but elsewhere in the English speaking world. Her poems reflect an age and a generation in which she has grown up, which is both cross-cultural and international. Victoria Schofield ,The Nation, London
Memory Stains adds to the growing list of writers whose eyes and ears are open to hitherto unheard voices from the past. History as narrative is a fundamental concept in Raza’s poetry. Dulled rather than obliterated, the stain remains – the memory, the echo, the aroma which betrays the presence of its origin. The appearance of her poetry forces the reader to consider the rupture between optical vision and representation. Nisha Jones , The SOAS Literary Review, Left-Hand-Speak Left-hand-speak moves in menacing tones, Left-hand ways don't have to make sense, you see. Sam Cooke sang about change It takes so little to hate. The real story is here: Left-hand-speak springs to a strange rescue This not quite
sure, The Pretence of Cool imperial designs (plus)
|