Avaline (Hardcover)

For a young poet not yet past her teens, writing poems on death, departure, reincarnation and separation might seem a bit unusual, but Anbarin Parisa makes it so movingly simple because of her ability to combine the poetic with the humdrum, the philosophical with the matter of fact, her everyday takes on life and the profundity of her thought. It is to her credit that her poems turn the unusual into usual, in the sense that whatever she writes comes through as honest and true to life. She writes forcefully and eloquently and has the ability to evoke the right emotional responses from the readers. The fifty six poems and a bunch of aphorisms of Avaline : the breath of life are snapshots of an evolving psyche that is opening up to the complexities of life and living and human relationships, often made shocking by entrenched biases and duplicities. Anbarin has zero tolerance for hypocrisy and enforced double standards. But her poems also show her as a caring and compassionate soul. In fact, as the title of the book indicates, Anbarin affirms life against all the negativities our reality generates.
I am sure as she grows Anbarin will become more self-assured about her poetic skills and her language. I’m equally sure that Avaline : the breath of life will be read and appreciated for its inquing spirit and its remarkable narrative range.
Syed Manzoorul Islam
Literary critic, writer
and
Former Professor
(University of Dhaka)