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Anarchy and the Sea
This outstanding work of art reveals an impressive poetic power and freshness of highly imaginative style. These arts and poems are full of a remarkable diversity of poetic thought, therefore it will have a wide appeal to all readers of poetry and art books.
80 pages, Paperback
Published January 25, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 26, 2021
The book is beautifully brought out, a combination of poetry and paintings—and it has been my honour and privilege to share in the making of it with Dr. Amitabh Mitra.
The cover is glossy. At the back is the painting of the tranquil blue sea—and in the front cover...is the anarchy of the sea.
The title intrigues me. Anarchy And The Sea? Why anarchy? And The Sea? Not ‘Of The Sea’?
So let’s analyse that for a bit. The dictionary meaning of ‘anarchy’ is ‘lawlessness’—where there’s no control, no government, and no order. Now, apply this to the title, ‘Anarchy And The Sea,’ meaning ‘lawlessness’ and the sea.
Is the sea really lawless? We’re not talking physics here, because if you look at it physics-wise, everything in Nature—and indeed in the Universe—is governed by unbreakable laws based on pin-point accuracy, mathematics, and precision.
We’re talking poetry here. The sea as the poet sees it—the lashing of the waves, no one wave the same, some coming wildly towards you like it would swallow you up, some gently lapping at your feet. No one mood the same…
Anarchy...how do you control the sea?
Souls crashing reefs
Space imbibing souls
These are two-liner poems that are accompanied by paintings of the sea in its myriad hues and moods, both poetry and paintings by Dr. Amitabh Mitra. When you write long poems, there is surely the luxury of having more words at one’s disposal—and what’s more, the luxury of a certain willingness on the part of the reader to patiently hear the poet out. But when it’s just two lines—sometimes even contracted to just two words (maybe of different tones for each line…or maybe the same tone), then it becomes the poet’s responsibility to not just have an impact but to be so profound as to pack in a punch that blows the reader’s mind away.
And time
Catches love too
And by this very need to be impacted by less rather than more, there is the need for the reader to stay on each page for a while—the way you would stay in front of a picture in a gallery of paintings—and let the words and the picture sink in...to allow the poet’s interpretation, the sea’s interpretation—and the reader's own interpretation—to synchronize.
Forgetting takes time
You never grow old
Let’s consider the curious case of this two-liner:
Eternity
Eternity
You, the reader, are now in front of this canvas now that has just these two words—as I mentioned before—either in the same tone and intensity or in different ones. You stand there, gazing at the words...the painting....
The sea in this painting is not calm. It is tumultuous! It rages! Maybe that’s contradictory to your own mind's definition of eternity, and that’s okay. Eternity is forever...time is meaningless...time fades away...time is timelessness... There should be calm, the quiet setting Sun, gentle ripples kissing your feet...
Calm...
But here, eternity is a rage, the crashing of waves against the rocks in cruel mockery of all calm—overflowing and breaking all barriers.
What is it the poet feels? This is a Book of Love. Is this then his interpretation of Eternal Love?
Mind in five dimensions
You in all of them
Admittedly, there is the dissatisfaction that the paintings are in black and white. Someday, maybe, we shall be lucky enough to see the colour version too.
In a book where the poet is the anarchist—he gives in to unbridled passion...where the sea is the anarchist too—even King Canute could not tame the sea...and where you, the readers are the anarchists too—because the book demands they transcend all barriers of space and time...the sea will live on, and so will the poet and his lady love, and so will you the readers. Yes, so will you.
Looking out for you
Summers stand still
The cover is glossy. At the back is the painting of the tranquil blue sea—and in the front cover...is the anarchy of the sea.
The title intrigues me. Anarchy And The Sea? Why anarchy? And The Sea? Not ‘Of The Sea’?
So let’s analyse that for a bit. The dictionary meaning of ‘anarchy’ is ‘lawlessness’—where there’s no control, no government, and no order. Now, apply this to the title, ‘Anarchy And The Sea,’ meaning ‘lawlessness’ and the sea.
Is the sea really lawless? We’re not talking physics here, because if you look at it physics-wise, everything in Nature—and indeed in the Universe—is governed by unbreakable laws based on pin-point accuracy, mathematics, and precision.
We’re talking poetry here. The sea as the poet sees it—the lashing of the waves, no one wave the same, some coming wildly towards you like it would swallow you up, some gently lapping at your feet. No one mood the same…
Anarchy...how do you control the sea?
Souls crashing reefs
Space imbibing souls
These are two-liner poems that are accompanied by paintings of the sea in its myriad hues and moods, both poetry and paintings by Dr. Amitabh Mitra. When you write long poems, there is surely the luxury of having more words at one’s disposal—and what’s more, the luxury of a certain willingness on the part of the reader to patiently hear the poet out. But when it’s just two lines—sometimes even contracted to just two words (maybe of different tones for each line…or maybe the same tone), then it becomes the poet’s responsibility to not just have an impact but to be so profound as to pack in a punch that blows the reader’s mind away.
And time
Catches love too
And by this very need to be impacted by less rather than more, there is the need for the reader to stay on each page for a while—the way you would stay in front of a picture in a gallery of paintings—and let the words and the picture sink in...to allow the poet’s interpretation, the sea’s interpretation—and the reader's own interpretation—to synchronize.
Forgetting takes time
You never grow old
Let’s consider the curious case of this two-liner:
Eternity
Eternity
You, the reader, are now in front of this canvas now that has just these two words—as I mentioned before—either in the same tone and intensity or in different ones. You stand there, gazing at the words...the painting....
The sea in this painting is not calm. It is tumultuous! It rages! Maybe that’s contradictory to your own mind's definition of eternity, and that’s okay. Eternity is forever...time is meaningless...time fades away...time is timelessness... There should be calm, the quiet setting Sun, gentle ripples kissing your feet...
Calm...
But here, eternity is a rage, the crashing of waves against the rocks in cruel mockery of all calm—overflowing and breaking all barriers.
What is it the poet feels? This is a Book of Love. Is this then his interpretation of Eternal Love?
Mind in five dimensions
You in all of them
Admittedly, there is the dissatisfaction that the paintings are in black and white. Someday, maybe, we shall be lucky enough to see the colour version too.
In a book where the poet is the anarchist—he gives in to unbridled passion...where the sea is the anarchist too—even King Canute could not tame the sea...and where you, the readers are the anarchists too—because the book demands they transcend all barriers of space and time...the sea will live on, and so will the poet and his lady love, and so will you the readers. Yes, so will you.
Looking out for you
Summers stand still
June 26, 2021
Mind, time and space is the concept revolving around these two line poems juxtaposed in grey, white and black seascapes. Anarchy inhabits every human mind and so is the sea but behavioral changes letting loose the violence is also not rare. The poems written in isolation during covid infection influenced the mind, moving in time and linking it to an eternal violent space. The words of poem are converted to fonts matching the brutality of the sea and human mind.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews