Dear Reader,

Poetry is about possibility and the power of words. “All things swept sole away/ This – is immensity” wrote Emily Dickinson. A short poem conveys the immensity of being in all its starkness. An inextricable bond is established between the poet and the reader. As a reader you walk into a poem and find solace in words. Kritya is an attempt to bring poets from different parts of the world on one platform. We are delighted to bring new voices in the September issue of Kritya. Poems of Khasi poet Soso Tham have been translated by Kynphan Sing Nongkynrich. Born in 1873, Soso Kham is a visionary poet from Meghalaya and his “Ka Duitara Kshiar” (The Golden harp, 1923) is considered a major landmark in Khasi poetry. Poems by Alicia Partnoy are very close to nature. She weaves a well conceived set of images from nature. Poet Yesim Agaoglu, a prolific poet from Istanbul writes women “are of a different breed”. Poet and painter Ali Al Ameri from Palestine/ Jordan writes with emotional sensitivity “darkness remained in the bird’s neck, / like the necklace of a widow…” We have three poems by Ali Al Ameri in this issue. Jagriti Roy, a poet from India is the one to look forward to.
Kritya is an act of love, an offering to those in love with words. May we all continue to listen to each other.

happy reading

Ranu Uniyal