French translations from Somewhere else in Dierese

 

Four of my poems from my latest collection Somewhere else that were translated into French by Bruno Sourdin have been published in the French literary journal Dierese.

Thank you, Bruno!

A flurry of presences

 

Goodies received from Kolkata

Proud to have received the latest edition of Graffiti, which is dedicated to the late Kolkata poet and publishr Subhankas Das, and contains my tribute to Sub. Sub had published two collections of mine - Sky dreaming in 2011, and Somewhere else in 2024. It was truly an honour to be published by him. 

I was also delighted to have received my copy of Santanu Roy's new journal Barnaperon, which means Chromatic Abberation in English. The journal contains three poems of mine.

East of the sun

 

Shapes join together

 

Curry and Bread: a taste of South African Indian culture

Great to see the first review/interview about Pravasan Pillay's new book, Curry and Bread, which is published by Dye Hard Press. The piece was published in The Post.

Curry and Bread is availabile from Made in Durban, and will soon be available from other bookstores such as Clarke's in Cape Town and select Exclusive Books branches.  

Chatsworth still available on Exclusive Books Online

 

You can buy a copy of Pravasan Pilay's debut book of short stories, Chatsworth, at Exclusive Books Online.

Curry and Bread with curry, rice, roti and salad

 

Good to see that Niren Toli is enjoying Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread! Curry and Bread is Pillay's latest title and is published by Dye Hard Press.

It is available at Made in Durban and will soon be available from Clarke's in Cape Town and at select Exclusive Books outlets.

Don't disturb my compass

 

Curry and Bread available from Made in Durban

Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread is now available on Made in Durban.

Blending memoir, humour, lists, slices of life, and vignettes into a layered collage, Curry and Bread is Pravasan Pillay’s offbeat exploration of the food and foodways of working-class South African Indians – as well as his own food memories.

The book’s structure is an intriguing interplay between lighter and more melancholic moments. There are tongue-in-cheek guides to eating bunny chows and messy crab curries, an examination of the special relationship between Indian aunties and ice cream containers, an ode to the humble baked beans curry, a ranking of extremely weird sandwiches, a trainspotter’s list of South African Indian tomato chutneys, and much more – a veritable breyani in its construction.

Pillay now lives in Sweden and we are also given glimpses of his culinary adjustment there, ranging from his experimental dhals to his ruminations on frozen curry leaves.

Curry and Bread is a funny, and, at times, bitter-sweet book about food, but it is ultimately about memory, home, nostalgia, migration, and identity.

140 pages.

ISBN: 978-1-0370-6553-8

Sketches of dreams in Johannesburg

Seven poems from my recent collection Somewhere else have been translated into French by poet and collagist Bruno Sourdin, and appear on his blog Syncopes.

Thank you, Bruno Sourdin!

Somewhere else was published in 2024 by Graffiti in Kolkata, the publishing venue of the late Bengali poet Subhankar Das.

The cover art and cover design is by UK artist Paul Warren. 

He Said/ /She Said still available at Clarke's in Cape Town

 

Kobus Moolman's He Said/  /She Said is still available at Clarke's Bookshop in Cape Town. You can order a copy here.

Or, if you are in the area, why not pop into the store at 199 Long Street, Cape Town.

Remember that this is a limited numbered edition of 120 copies, and Dye Hard Press is now out of stock.