Dothead

March 21, 2016
With the ghosts of the motherland, along with the sins of the father, unafraid to cross oceans or centuries, Majmudar (The Abundance: A Novel), a poet, novelist, and radiologist, ponders how much of a person’s identity is influenced by environment and how much is defined by nature. Aided by his unforgiving eye and a seemingly effortless ability to electrify his images, he composes a portrait of humankind that exposes its overreliance on the persuasive strength of fear. For example, the collection’s title poem finds Majmudar exploring early feelings of otherness when thrown against a whitewashed monolith. The white kids tease the young speaker about his Indian background, specifically his mother wearing a bindi. In retaliation, he takes ketchup and applies a makeshift bindi to his forehead: “the red planet entered the house of war/ and on my forehead for the world to see/ my third eye burned those schoolboys in their seats.” He deviates from his usual character sketches to play with forms both common (sonnet, elegy) and unusual (abecedarian), even combining a sonnet and ghazal into a “sonzal.” But throughout Majmudar keeps focused on one task: exposing what he views as the hollow American claims to being a “melting pot,” as only those who appease the fickle identity of an American are guaranteed their own freedom.

May 1, 2016

Majmuder (Heaven and Earth), Ohio's first poet laureate, excels here in presenting crafty poems about living in a challenging world permeated by misconceptions and grant narratives: "Well yes, I said, my mother wears a dot./ I know they said "third eye" in class, but it's not/ an eye eye, not like that." Authenticity doesn't elevate poetry aesthetically unless it's combined with poetic prowess, which the author displays elegantly here. His works explore themes such as culture, identity, uprootedness, and the fractured sense of belonging: "can I be my father's son/ without being my father?" He incorporates myths, religion, his Indian heritage, political cliches, and history to produce fierce pieces rich with pictorial description. Scattered details migrate effortlessly from the margins of daily experiences to be the vibrant components of most of the poems--evidence of the transforming power of the writer. Majmuder pens a layered language that effectively blends the particular with the general, enhancing the relevancy of the form to public imagination. VERDICT Lively with dramatic tension and frankness, this will be a great treat for all poetry lovers.--Sadiq Alkoriji, Broward Cty. Lib. Syst., FL

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