Uncut Poetry presents Red River Sessions

About Uncut Poetry presents Red River Sessions

Poetry is pleasure which reaches the soul. It reveals, disturbs, stirs, revives. Anyone who has read, and lived, a poem is a person who has been touched inside out. But how often have we read a poem and wondered about the poet behind those words. Who wrote those poems which we love so much? What did they go through in their lives to enable them to write the words which  touch us and make us better persons. Welcome to Red River Sessions, India's podcast of poets & their poetry. Presented by Uncut Poetry, the poetry podcast, & Red River, the acclaimed independent poetry publishing house.

Publisher

Sunil Bhandari

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

17 Jun 2021

Latest episode

4 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

16 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Mar 2026

   Shobhana Kumar & K Srilata - Two Voices. One Echo.

   This episode is a conversation about translation — but also about voice, memory, the body, and the extraordinary journey of carrying one poet’s interior world into another language. i, Salma is not simply a translated collection — it is the bringing together of poetry, lived experience, and linguistic transformation. And at the heart of this process are two translators whose own literary sensibilities shape how we encounter Salma in English — K. Srilata and Shobhana Kumar. Salma is the pen name of Tamil writer Rajathi Samsudeen. Overcoming orthodoxy and having been confined within her home, Salma has now become an international literary figure and spokesperson for women’s rights. Her works have received acclaim globally and she is renowned in contemporary Tamil literature. With three volumes of poetry, three novels, two collections of short stories and a travelogue, Salma has made her mark as a distinctive Indian literary voice. She is also a a committed public servant and activist, and represents her constituent Trichy in Rajya Sabha. i, Salma is a collection of her poems, translated into English by poets K. Srilata and Shobhana Kumar. Shobhana Kumar is a poet, translator and chronicler of industrial, corporate andleadership histories. Her book of haibun, A Sky Full of Bucket Lists, won theRabindranath Tagore Literary Prize for 2021-2022, and The Touchstone DistinguishedBooks Award (HM), 2021, instituted by The Haiku Foundation, United States. She is currently working on two collaborative translation projects, which you will hear of in the course of our conversation. Shobhana is also the founder of Small Differences, an NGO that works with  marginalized communities, including transgenders, single women and children, and serves on the board of several renowned NGOs. Srilata Krishnan is a poet, fiction writer, translator and academic. A Fulbright fellow and a recipient of the Charles Wallace Writing Fellowship, her books include seven collections of poetry including the best-selling “Footnotes to the Mahabharata, a novel Table for Four longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2009 and a non-fiction title This Kind of Child: The ‘Disability Story' named by The Better India in their list of Eight Best Bookson Disability. Srilata has also edited several anthologies and published translations. She is currently Distinguished Visiting Professor at Shiv Nadar University, Chennai and co-curator of the CMI Arts Initiative. i, Salma is important not only because it introduces Salma’s poetry to English readers in a sustained way, but because the translations preserve the emotional intensity and political courage of the original work. At its heart, i, Salma is both a literary journey and a human one — a movement through silence, resistance, memory, and becoming. This is a peerless episode from Red River Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry. In Red River Sessions, we  talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and ⁠ (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=de1d0d773b3b4e83)Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=de1d0d773b3b4e83)⁠ (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=de1d0d773b3b4e83), a much-loved poetry podcast. You can find books published by Red River online at  redriverpress.in , on Amazon and in select bookstores.

2. 

   9 Nov 2025

   Sucharita Dutta-Asane - Sculpting Stories, Growing Roots

   Stories have their own quiet revolutions. Some are whispered in small rooms, some are sculpted in solitude — and a few are nurtured into existence by those who believe that words, even when silenced, find their way back to light. My guest in this episode is one such believer — writer, editor, and literary catalyst Sucharita Dutta-Asane. Her stories, from 'Cast Out' to 'These Tongues That Grow Roots', travel through the unmapped territories of memory, exile, and belonging. As an editor at Red River Story, she’s also helping a new generation of writers find their voice — and their courage. In this episode, we talk about sculpting stories rather than butchering them, about the delicate art of editing, and about the quiet wars that shape her fiction.This podcast series is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry and stories, and Uncut Poetry, which is the immensely popular poetry podcast of original poetry. You can hear Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7) on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Gaana, or anywhere you get your podcasts. You can find books published by Red River online at  redriverpress.in (https://redriverpress.in/) , on amazon and in select bookstores. If you enjoyed this episode, talk about it, write about it, and subscribe to Red River Sessions, so you don't miss even a single episode.

3. 

   9 Sept 2025

   Priya Sarukkai Chabria - Between the Story and the Silence

   I spoke to Priya Sarukkai Chabria for more than an hour. Time literally flew. And though my cache of questions was largely over, when do we ever want a good conversation to end. So this is where we ended - we have decided that I will visit her in Pune, with the proviso that I will tell her my favorite drink from before. And we will pick up the thread of the conversation from exactly where we left it and simply carry on.... Priya is brimming with stories and ideas and projects. And her love for cinema and art and environment and poetry and fiction give her the ability to examine things from multiple perspectives. It is sheer joy spending time with her. She is, of course,  a poet, writer, translator and literary curator. Her publications include five poetry collections, two SF novels, translations from Classical Tamil, and literary nonfiction. She founded Poetry at Sangam, an online literary community, and along with poet and novelist Mrinalini Harchandrai, edited the anthology The Dragon’s Heart: World Poetry in Translation. Priya has performed in multidisciplinary collaborations across India. Her engagement with Sanskrit aesthetics and Tamil Sangam poetics has been widely published in literary platforms. Her latest book is EARTHRISE STORIES, published by the inimitable Dibyajyoti Sarma of Red River Story. Catch her reflect, muse and wonder in this brilliant episode of Red River Sessions,. This podcast series is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and ⁠ (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=de1d0d773b3b4e83)Uncut Poetry⁠ (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=8fd9f35a7b8b4d01), a much-loved poetry podcast. You can hear Uncut Poetry on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Gaana, or anywhere you get your podcasts. You can find books published by Red River online at  redriverpress.in (https://redriverpress.in/) , on amazon and in select bookstores. If you enjoyed this episode, talk about it, write about it, share it. And subscribe to  Red River Sessions so you never miss an episode.

4. 

   3 Aug 2025

   Gayatri Majumdar - Remembering by Not Holding On

   How often would you meet a poet who stays in a town steeped in the calm of spirituality but whose shoreline is sprayed with the spume of a restless sea? Well, Gayatri stays in Pondicherry, an absolute favorite place of mine. And I have been wanting to speak to her for ever and more! And when we finally did get to it, the conversation just flowed. For an hour we spoke of cities, books, poets, Sri Aurobindo, Agha Shahid Ali, Auroville - and pretty much everything in-between. Her latest book 'A Warm Place with No Memory', published by Red River is a veritable journey of possibilities. Her poetry remembers not by holding on, but by allowing things to pass through; she chisels the abstract into form, making the ineffable quietly useful in the rhythms of ordinary life. She finds poetry in the practical. As editor, publisher and founder of critically acclaimed Indian literary journal, The Brown Critique, for over two decades, Gayatri has published hundreds of established and emerging poets from India and other countries. She began her career as a journalist in Press Trust of India and The Independent (India) in Mumbai. Her career also encompasses leadership in the publishing industry and work in NGOs. Gayatri’s books include A Song for Bela (a novel); poetry collections Shout, I Know You are Here, The Dream Pod; non-fiction The lotus of the heart, and Brown Critique Home anthology. Her poems and prose have been published in major journals and anthologies. She is currently working on her next non-fiction title. As co-founder of ‘Pondicherry Poets’, Gayatri has been curating the annual Pondicherry/Auroville Poetry Festival.  ‘The Brown Critique-Gayatri Majumdar' YouTube channel features poets and musicians regularly. While Brown Critique Books has published a handful of mostly non-fiction titles over the past few years. Gayatri is associated with Sri Aurobindo Society, specifically handling the publication of books, eBooks and audiobooks through AuroPublications. Catch her reflect and recite in this second episode of the second season of 'Uncut Poetry presents Red River Sessions'. In Red River Sessions, we  talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=de1d0d773b3b4e83), a much-loved poetry podcast. Buy Gayatri's books and those of other fabulous poets at redriverpress.in. (https://redriverpress.in/)

5. 

   16 Feb 2025

   Basudhara Roy - Writing from the Body

   Basudhara and I finished our conversation at 10 pm. One hour forty-three minutes. And my heart was full. We'd started off thinking we should aim for a thirty to forty five minutes talk. I'm just glad it wasn't to be. There is something reassuring about Basudhara. Because she speaks with conviction, of being completely honest to the moment. Thoughts, images, opinions, all, take shape like a building which is linear, with stark lines, but a place you know is warm and welcoming. Her latest book 'A Blur of a Woman' is the one I will be gifting the most this year, and possibly beyond. The poems are tender and hard, heartbreaking and life-affirming, as she bleeds her heart to open our souls. In this fabulous conversation, which I wished hadn't ended, she talks, amongst a million other things, of her provincial life, of how poetry improves on marination, how a poem can be obstinate to change, how illnesses define trajectories, and how Keki Daruwalla showed her why greatness is nothing but grace in ordinary things. Basudhara says writing is "a struggle to keep affirming life's movement, its open-endedness, its journey of becoming as well as its right and necessity to become". Basudhara teaches English at Karim City College in Jamshedpur. Creatively and academically drawn to themes of gender, mythology and ecology, her five published books include a monograph and three collections of poems - Moon in My Teacup, Stitching a Home and Inhabiting. Her work has featured widely in anthologies and magazines, including Chandrabhaga, The Punch MAgazine, Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English, Helter Skelter Anthology of New Writing, The Dhaka Tribune, EPW, and Madras Courier, among others. Co-editor of two poetry anthologies and a firm believer in the therapeutic power of verse, she writes, reviews, and sporadically curates adn translates poetry from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. Catch her muse, reflect, recite in this first episode of the second season of 'Uncut Poetry presents Red River Sessions'. In Red River Sessions, we talk to published poets about their poetry, their craft, and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry and curated prose, and Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7), which is a much-loved weekly podcast of original poetry. Buy Basudhara's books and those of other fabulous poets at redriverpress.in (redriverpress.in)

6. 

   22 Apr 2024

   Sophia Naz - The Importance of Transitions (Part 2)

   This is the second part of the conversation with Sophia Naz. Sophia Naz is a bilingual poet, artist, author, editor and translator. She has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize; in 2016 for creative nonfiction and in 2018 for poetry. Her work features in numerous literary journals and anthologies, including The Penguin Book of Modern Indian Poets, The Night Heron Barks, Singing in the Dark: A Global Anthology of Poetry Under Lockdown, Berfrois, The Bombay Literary Magazine, Rattle, The Punch Magazine, Poetry At Sangam, Poetry International Rotterdam, The Adirondack Review,  The Wire, Chicago Quarterly Review, Blaze Vox, Scroll, The Daily O, Cafe Dissensus, RAIOT, Ideas And Futures, Chapati Mystery, Guftugu, Pratik, Gallerie International, Coldnoon, VAYAVYA, The Bangalore Review, Papercuts, Madras Courier, The Yearbook of Indian Poetry and many others. She has authored the poetry collections — Peripheries (Cyberhex, 2015), Pointillism (Copper Coin, 2017) Date Palms (City Press, 2017) Open Zero (Yoda Press, 2021), and Shehnaz, a biography (Penguin Random House, 2019). Bark Archipelago is her fifth collection of poetry. This is a peerless episode from Red River Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry. In Red River Sessions, we talk to published poets about their poetry, their craft, and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and curated prose, and Uncut Poetry, a much-loved poetry podcast.

7. 

   21 Apr 2024

   Sophia Naz - The Importance of Transitions (Part 1)

   I first met Sophia at the Delhi Poetry Festival last year. We were both in the same session, reading our poetry, and the session got delayed. We had a good time furiously cribbing about the delay. Of course, we finally got to our poetry, and I was completely floored by what she read. Her poetry was cerebral, fun, layered - it was like an intellectual puzzle that needed to be uncovered, layer by layer. So when Dibyajyoti Sarma, the heart and soul of Red River Publications, asked me to have her as my first guest to begin the Second Season of Red River sessions, I was completely delighted. Before we started this conversation, we promised each other that it would be no longer than 20 minutes. You can see where we ended finally. I decided not to edit much of the conversation because it was so delightful and stimulating - and there were so many interesting things which Sophia had to talk about. Sophia Naz is a bilingual poet, artist, author, editor and translator. She has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize; in 2016 for creative nonfiction and in 2018 for poetry. Her work features in numerous literary journals and anthologies, including The Penguin Book of Modern Indian Poets, The Night Heron Barks, Singing in the Dark: A Global Anthology of Poetry Under Lockdown, Berfrois, The Bombay Literary Magazine, Rattle, The Punch Magazine, Poetry At Sangam, Poetry International Rotterdam, The Adirondack Review,  The Wire, Chicago Quarterly Review, Blaze Vox, Scroll, The Daily O, Cafe Dissensus, RAIOT, Ideas And Futures, Chapati Mystery, Guftugu, Pratik, Gallerie International, Coldnoon, VAYAVYA, The Bangalore Review, Papercuts, Madras Courier, The Yearbook of Indian Poetry and many others. She has authored the poetry collections — Peripheries (Cyberhex, 2015), Pointillism (Copper Coin, 2017) Date Palms (City Press, 2017) Open Zero (Yoda Press, 2021), and Shehnaz, a biography (Penguin Random House, 2019). Her latest collection of poetry, Bark Archipelago, published in March 2023 from Red River in India and Weavers Press San Francisco in USA. This is a peerless episode from Red River Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry. In Red River Sessions, we talk to published poets about their poetry, their craft, and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and curated prose, and Uncut Poetry, a much-loved poetry podcast.

8. 

   7 Aug 2022

   Sukrita Paul Kumar - The Meaning of All Things

   Sukrita says - "Literary success lies in the joy I get while in the very process of writing and then the glee in actually being able to finish a poem. The rest of it is rather superficial and temporary." Welcome to Red River Sessions, which is a collaboration between Red River, the premier independent house for poetry and Uncut Poetry, the much loved poetry podcast. I am your host Sunil Bhandari, and in this episode we are speaking to the renowned poet Sukrita Paul Kumar. Sukrita was born in Nairobi, Kenya and emigrated to India when Kenya obtained its freedom from the British. As director of a UNESCO (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO) project on 'The Culture of Peace', she edited Mapping Memories - a volume of Urdu short stories from India and Pakistan. She has published several collections of poetry as well as academic books and critical writing. She's recently edited the The Yearbook of Indian Poetry in English 2020-21 along with Vinita Agarwal. And with Red River she has published the sparkling and incandescent Country Drive, co-written with Yasmin Ladha. Get the book on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Country-Drive-Sukrita-Paul-Kumar/dp/819394030X). So Sukrita and I had discussed the general drift of questions for the interview. Instead what transpired was a completely freewheeling conversation - and what a talk it turned out to be! We talked about Plath, death, influence of talented fathers, the blessing and curse of poetry, the meaning of life, her first book, about maintaining innocence in fractured times, Jiddu Krishnamurthy’s teaching on focus, the criticality of independent publishing houses, the thrill of holding onto a tree, and a hundred other things! This is a peerless episode from Red Rivers Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=K-Hp0INtQUCHZoeTSaokag&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1). In Red River Sessions, we talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=K-Hp0INtQUCHZoeTSaokag&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1), a much-loved poetry podcast. Following are the details of the music used in this episode - Music: 1000 Lichter by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3161-1000-lichter License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://www.sascha-ende.de Music: Adventure by Alexander Nakarada Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6092-adventure License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com/ Music: Sentimental Travel by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6968-sentimental-travel License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

9. 

   13 Feb 2022

   Shobhana Kumar - A Talk Full of Bucket Lists

   To know Shobhana is to know the essence of grace and gratefulness which suffuses her work. I have time and again, on reading her poems, kept the book down and held back my emotions. She gets to the heart of the matter with quick acuity, but an understanding, which is gentle, kind. She holds the reader close to her heart, as she leads him through her hurting poetry. Shobhana Kumar has two collections of poetry: The Voices Never Stop (2012) and *Conditions Apply (2014), from Writers Workshop, Kolkata. Her work has been anthologized in journals and books of poetry and Japanese short forms. Her poem, ‘Just Married’ was selected and translated by Gulzar in his monumental work, A Poem a Day, published by HarperCollins. She has authored six books of non-fiction covering biographies, corporate, industrial, and educational histories. Her short stories have been published or are forthcoming in a few anthologies. Kumar is Poetry Editor of Sonic Boom Journal and its imprint, Yavanika Press. She is also part of The Quarantine Train, a poetry workshop founded by Arjun Rajendran. She works in the spaces of corporate communication, branding and advertising, and education. Along with a group of friends, she runs Small Differences, an NGO working with elderly, abandoned people and the transgender community. Her latest book “A Sky Full of Bucket Lists” is published by the finest independent publisher of poetry Red River. It was chosen by the redoubtable Arundhathi Subramanian as one of the finest books of 2021. It can be purchased on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Full-Bucket-Lists/dp/8194816416) or Papyrus (https://papyrus.catalog.to/s/gallery/papyrus---the-book-store/red-river-poetry/brf/product/-MgKpqKyoQISfNcYtBIb) She spoke to me at length about her poetry, her growing up in Lovedale, the work she does in her NGO and why Mary Oliver is such an inspiration. This is a peerless episode from Red Rivers Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=K-Hp0INtQUCHZoeTSaokag&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1). In Red River Sessions, we talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=K-Hp0INtQUCHZoeTSaokag&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1), a much-loved poetry podcast. Following are the details of the music used in this episode- From my Heart With Love by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6267-from-my-heart-with-love License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Sentimental Travel by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6968-sentimental-travel License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Adventure by Alexander Nakarada Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6092-adventure License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Midnight Tale by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4710-midnight-tale License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

10. 

    31 Oct 2021

    Bina Sarkar Ellias - The Renaissance Rebel

    Bina stole my heart from the time I met her, a few years back, in a poetry extravaganza where I was the Master of Ceremonies and Bina headlined a stellar galaxy of poets. She was there with her husband, the renowned photographer Rafique Ellias, and I knew I was in the presence of two wonderful souls from the first hello. Her poetry had a power which her slender frame and gentle voice belied. And as I came to know the breadth of her interests and the depth of her commitments to causes, I became a lifelong fan. Bina is the very definition of a Renaissance woman, if there ever was one. Bina is a poet, of course, but also an editor, designer and publisher of International Gallerie, a global arts and ideas journal (www.gallerie.net) (http://www.gallerie.net%29/) founded by her in 1997. She is also an art curator, having curated several important exhibits of renowned artists. She taught herself graphic design and has been invited by artists, galleries, photographers, poets to design their books and catalogues. Her books of poetry include The Room, Fuse, When Seeing is Believing and the latest Song of a Rebel and Other Selected Poems brought to you by Red River Publishers. Her poems have been translated into Arabic, Urdu, French, Greek and Chinese. And FUSE has been taught at the Towson University in Maryland, USA. In this engaging and story-filled episode of Red River Sessions, Bina talks how the rebel in her governed her choices as a child, in marriage, in starting her own magazine - and how a life well lived is the one in which you back your own choices. Her latest book, Song of a Rebel and Other Selected Poems, published by Red River, can be purchased at - https://www.amazon.com/Song-Rebel-Other-Selected-Poems/dp/8194816432 https://papyrus.catalog.to/s/gallery/papyrus---the-book-store/red-river-poetry/brf/product/-MgKpqKzd-kWu8aQ2RP2 This is a peerless episode from Red Rivers Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=K-Hp0INtQUCHZoeTSaokag&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1). In Red River Sessions, we talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=K-Hp0INtQUCHZoeTSaokag&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1), a much-loved poetry podcast. Following are the details of the music used in this episode- Sentimental Travel by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6968-sentimental-travel License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Melodic Interlude Two by Alexander Nakarada Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6394-melodic-interlude-two License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Sadness Background Piano And Cello by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/8315-sadness-background-piano-and-cello License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Flucht (Romeos Erbe) by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3146-flucht-romeos-erbe- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Imagefilm 002 by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/46-imagefilm-002 License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Publish by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/25-publish License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

11. 

    14 Sept 2021

    Siddharth Dasgupta - Within the Algorithms of Desire

    "Ishq, the word reverberates Sending ripples of erotic Blue Across the naked promise Of what her body chooses to preserve And what her body chooses to predict Mizaaj, the mood Reciprocates It hovers on the edge of cliffs drawn from breath Each lust left desiring the Intensity of you If desire has a leitmotif Then let in be the mark upon her knee And the exhaled prism of a single word Alfaaz Its two syllables pouring life into nothing The freshwater dramas of ethnic corsage Laila Rukh beckoning waves with a swirl of black And the nude infidelities of a word smothered in mist, Intezaar…" ("One Indian City, Two Indian Lovers" from Siddharth Dasgupta's The Moveable East) When I read Siddharth Dasgupta's latest book of poetry, I had a sense of light bursting out of the pages - even when he delved into darknesses. He writes of places with an intimacy which brings with it an overwhelming sense of desire, loss and loneliness. He says "Poetry is a daily prayer" and every poem of his is a testimony to that. Siddharth Dasgupta is a writer of poetry & fiction. A Moveable East is his fourth book; others include Letters From an Indian Summer (Fingerprint) and The Sacred Sorrow of Sparrows (Niyogi). His words have appeared in literary journals across the world, while he has read in places like Mandalay, Bombay, Galle and Istanbul. Occasionally, Siddharth explores fragments of travel and culture for a smattering of publications. He lives within the swirling nostalgias of the city of Poona. He can be reached at - Instagram - @citizen.bliss (https://instagram.com/citizen.bliss?utm_medium=copy_link) https://citizenbliss.squarespace.com/ (https://citizenbliss.squarespace.com/) His latest book, A Moveable East, published by Red River, can be purchased at - https://www.amazon.in/dp/8194509386 (https://www.amazon.in/dp/8194509386) and https://papyrus.catalog.to/s/papyrus---the-book-store/red-river-poetry/brf (https://papyrus.catalog.to/s/papyrus---the-book-store/red-river-poetry/brf) This is a peerless episode from Red Rivers Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=K-Hp0INtQUCHZoeTSaokag&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1). In Red River Sessions, we talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=K-Hp0INtQUCHZoeTSaokag&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1), a much-loved poetry podcast. Following are the details of the music used in this episode - Melodic Interlude Two by Alexander Nakarada Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6394-melodic-interlude-two License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Flucht (Romeos Erbe) by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3146-flucht-romeos-erbe- License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Tranquil Fields Peaceful by Alexander Nakarada Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5769-tranquil-fields-peaceful License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Cinematic Background Sad by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/8181-cinematic-background-sad License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Sentimental Travel by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6968-sentimental-travel License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

12. 

    15 Aug 2021

    Nabina Das - Of Love, Blood & Dissent

    Nabina Das is an iconoclast and one of the finest poets of our times. She has just released an incredible collection of poems - Witness: the Red River Book of Poetry of Dissent, with poems from 250 of the finest poets of our times. In this episode of Red River Sessions presented by Uncut Poetry, Nabina talks about the genesis of this magnum opus, the struggles of putting together something so huge, as also the sheer ecstasy of discovering poets whose poems completely cut her heart up. She also talks about her childhood in Guwahati, the heady mix of politics and spirituality swirling in her household, and how dissent was infused early into her blood by the strong women in her life. Nabina says - "I write because I feel that living on words and the experiences they generate is an extra nourishment one can have other than just eating, sleeping, and living on. I’m feral that way. I scavenge and brood into the darkness of the heart and the world, looking for words." Nabina is a Sahapedia-UNESCO fellow, a Charles Wallace Creative Writing alumna (Stirling University), and a 2016 Commonwealth Writers Organisation featured Correspondent. Born and brought up in Guwahati, Nabina's poetry collections include Into the Migrant City, Blue Vessel and Sanskarnama, which was mentioned as one of the best poetry books of 2018 by Open Magazine. Her first novel was Footprints in the Bajra (2010) , and her short fiction volume was titled The House of Twining Roses (2014). Nabina writes and translates in English, Assamese and Bengali, while her poetry has been translated into Croatian, French, Bengali, Malayalam, and Urdu. This is a peerless episode from Red Rivers Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry. In Red River Sessions, we talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry (https://linktr.ee/UncutPoetry), a much-loved poetry podcast. Witness: the Red River Book of Poetry of Dissent is available with the following links - Purchase link for INDIA: https://www.amazon.in/dp/8194816475 Purchase link for ELSEWHERE: https://www.amazon.com/dp/8194816475 You can get the book at further discount at the following link: https://papyrus.catalog.to/s/papyrus---the-book-store/red-river-poetry/brf Following are the details of the music used in this episode: Sentimental Travel by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6968-sentimental-travel License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4590-virtutes-instrumenti License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Parting of the Ways - Part 2 by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4196-parting-of-the-ways---part-2 License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Anamalie by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4980-anamalie License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Rustic Ballad by Alexander Nakarada Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4720-rustic-ballad License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Round Drums by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4308-round-drums License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

13. 

    31 Jul 2021

    Robert Wood - From the Thirst of the Earth

    Robert Wood (https://instagram.com/robert.denish.wood?utm_medium=copy_link)'s poetry is sonorous, uplifting and has embedded within it the smells, sounds, textures, bruises and memories of the ancient land he stays in. Robert lives in Boorloo on Noongar Country in the East Indian Ocean in Australia, but has roots in Kerala in India through his mother. His two books Redgate (https://www.amazon.in/dp/8194509327/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_glt_fabc_4Q9RN4N3NC430XJ6SSBC) and A Guide to Field and Woods (https://www.amazon.in/dp/8195090028/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_glt_fabc_94CEKZYJQ7AVD9QEAKK0) are a personal journey into the memory and reality of the indigenous life in Australia and the traces he finds in himself from India. Robert Wood is interested in love, community, and nature. He has been an editor, unionist, and teacher, and volunteered for prisoners, refugees, and student activists. Robert is currently the Creative Director of the Centre for Stories and the Chair of PEN Perth. Robert Wood is interested in enlightenment, dream, and people. He says - The Poet is made | of iron clay bronze rice pearl | but music | but stars | but loam ochre silk and | reef | saltwater woods filled with eels | snakes | beneath a surface seen by gulls who nest on the beach | be sea eagle in branch of tree | by moth red as dawn is rosy | everyday rise | the Poet | is made and made | again | is made This is Red Rivers Sessions presented to you by Uncut Poetry. In Red River Sessions, we talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry (https://linktr.ee/UncutPoetry), a much-loved poetry podcast. Books by Robert Wood are available in Amazon, at www.redriver.co.in (https://www.redriver.co.in) and select bookstores. Details of the music used in this episode are as follows: Sentimental Travel by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6968-sentimental-travel License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license (https://filmmusic.io/standard-license) Sentimental Cinematic Upbeat Trailer by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/8050-sentimental-cinematic-upbeat-trailer License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license (https://filmmusic.io/standard-license) Reaching The Sky [Long Version] by Alexander Nakarada Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6222-reaching-the-sky--long-version License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license (https://filmmusic.io/standard-license)

14. 

    16 Jul 2021

    Soni Somarajan - On The Wings of Imagination

    Soni Somarajan (https://instagram.com/sonifone?utm_medium=copy_link) says he has lived two different lives in a single lifetime. The first part is all memory and the second part is the world today. And he fears he might lose the first due to the enormity of the second. Because for the last 30 years, Soni has borne the brunt of a progressive neuromuscular disorder. Two thirds of the time, he has to make do with a permanent sidekick - a wheelchair. It's almost as if he has accessed a parallel world. In his seminal poem "Dream Selfie", he says - The next morning, all of it comes back to me, as always. I’m running; wish I knew where. The grass is spangled dew, light twitches, ripe lemon. At the far end, the earth nosedives. What’s beyond I can’t see. With these muscles I’m pleased — smooth, speedy. I accelerate at will. No acid build, just the kick of fleeting feet. I almost fly. Wait. I can’t catch up — whispers my wheelchair. Soni Somarajan is a poet, copywriter, editor and content consultant. His poetry and writings have featured in several anthologies, magazines and journals. An alumnus of the University of Iowa's IWP Advanced Poetry Summit 2013, Soni is the Creative Head of The Quarantine Train (https://instagram.com/thequarantinetrain?utm_medium=copy_link), a poetry collective, and he lives in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. His book of peerless poems "First Contact (https://www.amazon.in/First-Contact-Soni-Somarajan-ebook/dp/B08K7PY5FY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3CVBGRJT56DBW&dchild=1&keywords=first+contact+soni+somarajan+book&qid=1626449552&sprefix=first+contact+soni%2Caps%2C597&sr=8-1)" is a continuing bestseller. Welcome to Red River Sessions, which is presented by Uncut Poetry, (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=t6FjGQTqTVyqs5S1e5qhhA) where we talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry, (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=t6FjGQTqTVyqs5S1e5qhhA) a much-loved poetry podcast. This podcast can be heard on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Anchor, Google Podcasts, and anywhere you get your podcasts from! Details of music used in this episode - The Forest and the Trees by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4494-the-forest-and-the-trees License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Touching Story by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4540-touching-story License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Heartbreaking by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3863-heartbreaking License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Imagefilm 031 by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/532-imagefilm-031 License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Imagefilm 043 by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3231-imagefilm-043 License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license The Positive Way Of Hope Piano Solo by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/7522-the-positive-way-of-hope-piano-solo License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Sentimental Travel by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6968-sentimental-travel License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

15. 

    30 Jun 2021

    Madhu Raghavendra - A Life Worthy of Every Breath

    Madhu Raghavendra is nothing short of a magician. A product of many geographies, he is a polyglot, a poet, an activist, known as much for his poetry which shimmers with the aromas, dialects and sighs of the land he loves so much, as he is for his art event curation, and his poetry movement, Poetry Couture, which attempts to create free spaces for poetry. His debut poetry "Make me Some Love to Eat" is now in its fifth edition. His second poetry collection is "Stick No Bills" Welcome to Red River Sessions, which is presented by Uncut Poetry (https://linktr.ee/UncutPoetry), where we talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books and Uncut Poetry, a much-loved poetry podcast. This podcast can be heard on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/6GjsHb89DFnn6qKQcs3Ybu?si=swMZ_-eXQ3mhaH-hp3HX0g&utm_source=whatsapp&dl_branch=1), iTunes (https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/uncut-poetry-presents-red-river-sessions/id1572804012), Pocket Casts, Anchor (https://anchor.fm/redriversessions), Google Podcasts (https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81ZmVjZTJlNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?ep=14), and anywhere you get your podcasts from! Details of music used in this episode - Betonwaldromantik by Sascha Ende® Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/374-betonwaldromantik License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Virtutes Instrumenti by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4590-virtutes-instrumenti License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Midnight Tale by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4710-midnight-tale License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

16. 

    17 Jun 2021

    Inaugural Episode with Dibyajyoti Sarma of Red River

    Today, in the introductory episode of Red River Sessions, we have Dibyajyoti Sarma. Dibyajyoti is a poet and the heart and spirit behind Red River publishing house. In three years, Dibyajyoti has published 50 poetry books and anthologies, each one immaculately edited and gorgeously designed. In this episode, we talk to him about why he decided to start Red River and focus only on poetry, about how he is a publisher, editor, designer rolled into one, and how his being a poet is so providential for the world of poetry. Dibyajyoti has two critically acclaimed poetry books to his name, and has a day job. His books are Pages from an Unfinished Autobiography (https://www.amazon.in/Pages-Unfinished-Autobiography-Dibyajyoti-Sarma/dp/8194272688) and Book of Prayers for the Nonbeliever (https://www.amazon.in/dp/8193613090). These can be purchased here (https://redriver.co.in/purchase/). This podcast is brought to you by Uncut Poetry, the much-loved poetry podcast, which can be heard on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5wbc6h5RGweoAhxDNNDYo7?si=DfM3ZypgRrKagfM3UbWeOg&utm_source=whatsapp), iTunes (https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/uncut-poetry/id1502029856), Gaana (https://gaana.com/season/uncut-poetry-season-1), Pocket Cast (https://pca.st/podcast/d6d494c0-45f2-0138-9763-0acc26574db2)s, Google Podcasts (https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL3VuY3V0cG9ldHJ5L2ZlZWQueG1s?ep=14), and anywhere you get your podcasts. The details of the music used in this episode are as follows Sentimental Travel by MusicLFiles Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/6968-sentimental-travel License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Love Song by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4006-love-song License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 25 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

25

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

60