Guest Editor’s Note: Best of Women Poetry

Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

Dear SETU readers and my poet friends,

Here I am again, invited to guest edit the special March’20 issue of SETU – the ‘Best of Women’s Poetry’! The Editor (English) Dr. Sunil Sharma suggested that I select the 40 best of women’s poetry from across the world! A tough call for me as I know so many women poets who write exceedingly well! Equally, I don’t know many women poets who perhaps write better! Well, within these limitations, I present here the 46 ‘Best of Women’s Poetry’!

As the poems came in, it was as always, pure joy for me to read them! Ah, so much variety and so much learning for me from each of these women poets and their poetry!

I was awe-struck when poet Mallika Chari from Wardha, Maharashtra, India sent me her
senryu (a genre of haiku poetry) on women! Sample this:

space
the orbiting Mangalyaan carried
women power

I believe, this is perhaps, one of the best tributes to the women scientists who helmed the path-breaking Indian Mars Mission (Mangalyaan)! Another interesting one was this:

back and forth
she swings hooked
to the morals

How true! And this one from my friend Magie Faure-Vidot Vijay-Kumar of Seychelles, to which most of us women can relate:

Be patient Magie
I became resilient
But remained a civil guardian
Wore my different caps
To absorb the heavy downpours from
various taps

And another one by my friend Alicja Maria Kuberska of Poland, that resonated with me as I am sure, it will with other women too:

The woman's handbag contains
a few items
and the whole world of the owner

And finally, this by my friend Ambika Ananth of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India:

They are her mind screens
flashing her aspirations and yearnings…
The beautiful secrets in a woman’s eyes
You can perceive only when
you open the sealed eyelids of your mind.

My dear readers, as you read each one of these 46 ‘Best of Women’s Poetry’ in this issue of SETU, I am sure, you will revisit the poems as each one of them speaks beyond what it seeks to communicate, and with each re-read, you will discover something new and something refreshing and unfathomable too…immediately…

These poems have come to soothe you at a time, when we are all indoors under a national lock down by most countries of the world, as our healthcare professionals and respective governments are grappling with the Corona Virus. Let’s all take care, stay safe, stay indoors, and reflect by turning the light inwards and say a silent prayer of gratitude!

I thank Dr. Sunil Sharma, the Editor (English), SETU for once again giving me this great opportunity to be the Guest Editor of this ‘Best of Women’s Poetry’ issue and for the rewarding experience! Last but not the least I thank all the women poets featured here (and also those who mailed their poems but for some reason whose poems couldn’t be featured here), for readily responding to my call, SETU’s call, with their excellent poetry!

Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

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Best of Women Poetry: Featured Authors

Ms. Alicia Minjarez Ramirez Ms. Alicja Maria Kuberska Ms. Amanita Sen Ms. Ambika Anant Ms. Anju Kishore Dr. Anuradha Bhattacharyya Ms. Avril Meallem Dr. Barathi Srinivasan Ms. Brenda Mohammad Ms. Devi Nangrani Ms. Elizabeth Kurian ‘Mona’ Ms. Geeta Varma Ms. Geethanjali Dilip Ms. Hema Ravi Ms. Jyoti Kanetkar ***

Ms. Kalyna Temerty-Canta Dr. Kamala Wijeratne Dr. Ketaki Datta Ms. Lilian Woo Ms. Lilla Latus Ms. Magie Faure-Vidot Vijay-Kumar Ms. Mallika Chari Dr. Margaret Saine Dr. Maria Do Sameiro Barrasso Dr. Maria Miraglia Ms. Marian Eikelhof Ms. Neelam Saxena Chandra Ms. K. Pankajam Dr. Paramita Mukherjee Mullick Ms. Pramila Khadun ***

Ms. Preeta Chandran Ms. Pushmaotee Subrun Dr. Raja Rajeswari Seetha Raman Ms. Roula Pollard Dr. Sangeeta Sharma Dr. Santosh Bakaya Ms. Seena Sreevalson Ms. Shernaz Wadia Dr. Sigma G R Dr. S. Sridevi Ms. Srishti Sharma Ms. Sumita Dutta Shoam Ms. Swapna Behera Dr. Varsha Das Ms. Vidya Shankar Ms. Vinita Agrawal

Setu, March 2020