rasāsvāda by Arvinder Kaur

“Arvinder Kaur’s chapbook challenges Jack Kerouac’s oft-cited assertion that haiku should be as simple as porridge. Delving into these profound monoku (which she dubs “rareku”) demands effort, but fear not, as Kaur generously provides a glossary of key terms to unlock their layers. While Kerouac’s advice to aspiring haijin remains sound, Kaur invites us to indulge her poetic diversion. I am blessed, as she had hoped, for having taken a crack at these poems. rasāsvāda is a collection I’ll revisit often for further exploration and inspiration.”

— P. H. Fischer, Co-Editor of Prune Juice

About the Author:

Arvinder Kaur lives in Chandigarh with her family. She is the author of Nimolian (2013), written in her mother tongue Punjabi, dandelion seeds (2015), a bilingual collection, and fireflies in the rubble (Red River Press, 2022). She introduced cherita to Hindi and Punjabi readers when she translated ai li’s cherita from English, entitled under raintrees. Her translated works also include Amrita and Imroz: In the times of Love and Longing (2009) and The Wild Weed (Red River Press, 2022), featuring the selected poems of well-known Punjabi poet Paul Kaur.