Guest Editor’s Note: Women Poetry: The Myth of Medusa Deconstructed

Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

Dear Setu readers and my dear poet friends,

Greetings. When a bowler takes a hat trick of wickets, the entire stadium erupts into a frenzy of celebrations and raptures. I experienced the same feelings of celebration and rapture, when Dr. Sunil Sharma, Editor-English, Setu, invited me for the third year in a row, to helm Setu, March, 2021 Women’s Special Edition, as Guest Editor. Needless to add that I readily accepted the assignment!

The theme of Setu, March, 2021 Women’s Special Edition is “The Myth of Medusa Deconstructed”. The entire credit for conceiving of this excellent theme goes to Dr. Sunil Sharma, the Editor-English, Setu.  Think Medusa, and a sense of sadness pervades one for the sheer injustice and unfairness meted out to Medusa by Poseidon and Athena! Sadly, strangely and unfortunately, Medusas still abound all around us – raped, then blamed and shamed, and even killed - the perpetrator often goes scot free and untainted!

I thoroughly enjoyed the learning experience of reading the Medusa-themed poems by 23 talented women poets from 11 countries – Bangladesh, Greece, India, Italy, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago and USA. They have presented different dimensions of Medusa in their poems, especially highlighting the contemporary realities!

My deepest gratitude to the women poets who responded to Setu’s call and have made the valuable and generous contribution of their poems to this Special Women’s Edition of Setu, on the theme of “The Myth of Medusa Deconstructed”.

Come, enjoy the rich fare of poetry themed on “The Myth of Medusa Deconstructed” in this March, 2021 edition of Setu!

Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

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Women Poetry: The Myth of Medusa Deconstructed:
Featured Authors

Ms. Alicia Maria Kuberska, Poland Ms. Brenda Mohammed, Trinidad & Tobago Ms. Chryssa Velissariou, Greece Ms. Claudia Piccino, Italy Ms. Fayeza Hasnat, USA Ms. Hema Ravi, India Dr. Kamala Wijeratne, Sri Lanka Dr. Ketaki Datta, India Dr. Margaret Saine, USA Dr. Maria Do Sameiro Barraso, Portugal Ms. Marian Eikelhof, Netherlands Dr. Meenakshi Mohan, USA

Ms. Neelam Saxena Chandra, India Ms. Pankajam K, India Dr. Paramita Mukherjee Mullick, India Ms. Sangeeta Gupta, India Dr. Sangeeta Sharma, India Ms. Sankalpita Mullick, India Ms. Seena Sreevalson, India Ms. Shafinur Shafin, Bangladesh Dr. Sigma Sathish, India Ms. Sreetanwi Chakraborty, India Ms. Virginia Jasmin Pasalo, Philippines ***

Setu, March 2021