Avinab Datta-Areng’s debut collection of poetry is beguiling. In Annus Horribilis, the concerns of the poems are varied and vivid, from relationships and family, to the breakdown of communication, both inward and outward. However, primarily, the collection is concerned with the violence of thinking, especially alone. Former recipient of the Charles Pick fellowship and the Vijay Nambisan fellowship, Avinab is an impressive new poetic voice.
Get acquainted with him and his book further below:
The Composition
The poems in the book were written in the past decade and, in some instances, earlier. Instinctively, if I had to think of it, when choosing which poems should go into the book…I wanted to make the book as uneven as possible, so the opposite of making it a coherent whole — at least in terms of voice, progression, et cetera, but I may have failed.
The Challenges
Most of the challenges and obstacles were self-induced, which could be true of anyone else. I’m grateful and surprised that I had managed to write a substantial amount of poems through this time. Once I got to a place where I felt ready and capable, putting together the book, finally, in the end was actually the easiest part.
The Pandemic
I’m extremely fortunate in several ways, otherwise there are days where one feels like they can go, and days they can’t, and I suspect I’m not alone in this. As a writer I’ve been struggling to write, although I’m not sure if it’s because of the pandemic, but I’m also strangely hopeful at the same time.
The Future
My second book of poems, which is mostly finished. A book of stories. I also have two failed novels out of which I feel at least one can be salvaged, so I’m going to try and revisit it.
Date 17th March 2022