Twenty-two years after her first book of poetry was published, award-winning author Indrani Perera is back with her second, much anticipated collection of poems.
Indrani invites us to dance with the rhythm of her words – to sway, twist and twirl through them on a journey deep into the heart of creativity.
” dance in the light between breaths
the space without thought
the moment before talk “
Reviews
‘pas de deux offers a diverse and rich collection of poetry. The simple but beautiful cover-design of the birds in flight is a delightful hint and mirror of the work presented inside. With themes that range from motherhood to the poetic process itself (and more), Indrani questions and observes herself and the world around her with humour, passion, and perspicacity.’
David Munro author of Wearing My Father’s Hat
‘I had a wonderful time last night wrapped up in your words. pas de deux is a tour de force. I love everything about your collection – it’s a gem – from the warm feel of the cover stock used, to the graceful birds in harmony on the cover, to the structure of your poems in sections, to your welcoming poems. I think your collection has one of the most thoughtful frameworks I’ve seen in ages. The sections classified by musical terms from adagio to coda etc is very unique and works well. As for your poems – they range from the touching, to the ironic, to the clever – there is such an honesty in your writing. Congratulations on an excellent collection, Indrani. Hope we don’t have to wait 20 years for your next one!’
Joan Fenney, journalist and editor of The Crow
‘Indrani Perera’s pas de deux takes the reader on a dance from the very first page. Each movement / section sparks with a different aspect of life and each is distinct in rhythm and tone. I loved being tossed through the vivid, impressionistic Entrée poems that evoke a visceral sense of place and the physical world, and then guided through the beautifully wry meditations on motherhood in Adagio. Variation A dissects the poet’s mind and the toil of writing in a voice that is sharp and unflinching, often self-deprecating. Perera turns language over, revealing such startling turns of phrase as this which likens reading a poem to ‘running your fingers along the walls of her womb’. The shorter Variation B directs the poetic offer to the reader, we join the pas de deux, and in the Coda, Perera sings the reader off to our own worlds of desire. This book is taut and generous at once. It evokes so many different kinds of dance, dialogue and relationship; between writer and reader, the individual and the collective, the human and the non-human. It is an intimate invitation to savour the music of our bodies in language and to be immersed in the dance of words.’
Emilie Collyer, poet and playwright
You can read some of the poems from the collection here.
Now available in print and e-book versions from the publisher Ginninderra Press.