Monsoon on the Fingers of God

Set against the backdrop of the 2014 Scottish referendum, Monsoon on the Fingers of God continues an ongoing exploration of forms and improvisation on styles, rhythm/taal, and raagic moods in an examination of identity, history and human migrations.

AUTHOR

Sasenarine Persaud

Sasenarine Persaud is a Guyana-born Canadian American author of Indian ancestry and originator of the term “Yogic Realism.” He has published essays in Critical Practice (New Delhi), World Literature Today (Oklahoma), and Brick (Toronto) on this subject. His lifelong engagement with Indian philosophies, art, and languages and an awareness of his community’s 184 years domicile in the Americas, clearly distinguishes his craft.

Persaud is the author of 15 books of prose and poetry, including Canada Geese and Apple Chatney (stories), the title story of which is anthologized on both sides of the Atlantic and included in The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories, An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction, and the Journey Prize Anthology: Short Fiction from the Best of Canada’s New Writers; two ground-breaking novels, Dear Death and The Ghost of Bellow’s Man, and his signature, raga-infused poetry collection, A Surf of Sparrows’ Songs, which alternates between Miami, Toronto, Guyana’s Atlantic coast and India. His poetry has appeared in several anthologies including The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse.

Reviews

“The thoughts and insights in the poems are that of a very perceptive, educated, and skilled writer who knows his subjects and who seem to have spent a significant amount of time perfecting his writing. No doubt, this work is a voice of tranquility and unmistakable originality. The writer is applauded for the extraordinary collection…” —Indo-Caribbean Diaspora News

“Reading Sasenarine Persaud’s newest collection, Monsoon on the Fingers of God, is like stepping inside a clock and running a thumb along each gear and dial in order to better understand time. […] Persaud somehow balances righteous anger with grief and heartbreak in each poem, dodging deftly from era to era to demonstrate just how closely history repeats itself. After reading this book, readers will not return to their own cities in their own present moments unchanged.” —World Literature Today