Khas Pidgin: A Nepali-English Poetry Collection

by Salik Shah

Poetry is the language of the soul. In translation, what does it become? Khas Pidgin is a poetic memoir of an alien non-native speaker in both Nepali and English.
"Most of the Khas-Nepali poems collected here were written in Kathmandu before 2005. These early poems possess a kind of raw intensity and emotional authenticity that do not come easily to a poet focused solely on style, excellence in craft. The attempt to translate these proved to be a challenging experience--they fail, obviously, if translated word by word. The earliest works of a poet may not be excellent, but they serve a critical, social or historical function; they help us re/discover the lost, suppressed or forgotten ways and territories of their being in their contemporary society, and the world." (- from the introduction to "Khas Pidgin")

Genres: Poetry

65 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 6, 2017

About the author

Salik Shah is the founding editor of Mithila Review. His poetry, fiction and nonfiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Strange Horizons, Asimov’s Science Fiction and Juggernaut, among other publications.

Reviews

[Niyati Bhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poems in this collection are both fierce and subtle. Through the themes of diaspora and exile, they create vivid imagery which is hard to forget. Although it is difficult to pick favourites, the title poem, Field Notes, Fists of Hope and Love Particles left a strong impression on me. Read it for its raw language that carves out an identity which lies in between India and Nepal with an unafraid digression from the mainstream cultural sensibilities.