Guest Author: Dr. Vivekanand Jha

The anthology in your hands is the result of my attempt, as editor, to salvage the legacy, tradition and pride of English poetry of India. We have profound national, emotional, natural, spiritual and physical affiliations with the title of the anthology, The Dance of the Peacock. One of the interesting facts about this anthology is that the poets featured herein are from all walks and talks of life. This book showcases a homogenous amalgamation of legendary figures, the established and promising poets. Even though the majority of them now stand on the verge of their literary career they remain ignored despite the large number of qualitative volumes of poetry to their credit. I can only hope that this collection will help to shine light on their work. Besides poets from the milieu of English language and literature, we have the poems of doctors, engineers, diplomats, bureaucrats, politicians, film makers, management professionals, scientists, bank employees, accountants, journalists and many more who carve out some time in their tight schedule crowded with their occupations for livelihood. With their poems they breathe a sigh of relief from the onslaught of day to day drudgery. There has been a tremendous response to the call for submission of this anthology. After cudgeling the brain for six months a list of 151 poets has now come to the surface. As usual the work of some good poets could not be accommodated due to theme and size restrictions of the book. This in itself is a testimonial to the fact that the final selection of poems featured here is accomplished solely on merit and aptitude of the poets. The final decision on the title, subtitle and issues of putting the poets in order has been decided after sharing opinions with all the 151 contributing poets. This collection represents some of the most leading poets of Indian origin right from 15 years old to 92. In the end the decision was to position the poems in alphabetical order by author’s first name, without dividing them under any headings. The support from contributors on these matters was valuable to me. It can’t be claimed that this anthology is all inclusive and showcases all the leading Indian poets writing in English. If one would compare this with those that have been compiled and edited in the past, one would certainly find some of the poets in the limelight are missing their representations in this anthology. This reveals two palpable facts pertaining to Indian English Poetry. On the one hand it authenticates an expanding trajectory of contemporary Indian English Poetry; on the other it tells a tale of previous anthologies embodying the saying, the same wine inside the bottles of different labels.

In the light of these specifics, this anthology is a book that serves as a podium to share, explore and discover hidden talents in the cerebrum of the contemporary Indian English poets and their poetry. Thus this compilation of poems will give a rich variety and freshness to poetry lovers. I don’t know how others will receive this anthology, which is now left to the ravages of time, but to me it is a dream come true though, I admit, am a mere instrument of representing to a galaxy of coveted and legendary poets in the worldwide panorama of Indian English poetry. To be brief, I would like to convey my sincere appreciation and obligation to all the contributors for sending their worthwhile poems for this epoch anthology. I convey my regards and gratitude to Dr Debjani Chatterjee for writing pithy but all pervasive foreword for this anthology. I convey my heartfelt thanks to fellow poets and authors who indefatigably helped in disseminating the call for submissions regarding this anthology. I am, no less, indebted and obliged to the publisher of Hidden Brook Press, Richard M. Grove, whose warranted suggestions and ongoing help made this anthology possible and promising. Finally, let us hope that this anthology would be a new mile stone in the chronicle of Indian English poetry and cater to the expectations of readers and contributors alike.

The Dance of the Peacock: An Anthology of English Poetry from India

by Dr. Vivekanand Jha

Paperback: 538 pages
Publisher: Hidden Brook Press (May 1, 2013)

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