The Country at My Shoulder

by Alvi, Moniza

• ISBN13: 9780192831255
• ISBN10: 0192831259
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-12-02
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This is Moniza Alvi's first full-length poetry collection, and includes a number of poems which won the 1991 Poetry Business Competition. At the heart of the collection is a group of poems called "Presents from Pakistan," which explores the gathering significance to the poet of her birthplace. Many people today have a "country at their shoulder"--a homeland left behind, or a birthplace seldom, perhaps never, visited, but nevertheless a vital part of their imaginary and real lives. Highlighting the uneasy as well as the celebratory, these poems are diverse in both subject and approach. They are written with a light touch, but they are rich in imagery, and the poet's voice, though delicate, is distinct and memorable.

Author Biography

About the Author:
Moniza Alvi is a British poet who was born in Pakistan.

Table of Contents

I Was Raised in a Glove Compartment	p. 9
Pilgrimage	p. 10
Neighbourhood	p. 11
Hydrangeas	p. 12
The Afterworld	p. 13
I Make Pencil Drawings, Scribbles, Bales of Hay	p. 14
I Would Like to be a Dot in a Painting by Miro	p. 15
Hill	p. 16
On Glastonbury Tor	p. 17
Red Ridinghood's Plan	p. 18
The Garden	p. 19
Dream of Uncle	p. 20
Man of Tree and Fern	p. 21
On Dunton Bridge	p. 22
Meeting an Ex-Pupil on a Spring Morning	p. 23
In Newspaper	p. 24
Throwing Out my Father's Dictionary	p. 25
Indian Cooking	p. 29
Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan	p. 30
Arrival 1946	p. 32
Luckbir	p. 33
The Country at my Shoulder	p. 34
The Sari	p. 36
Map of India	p. 37
When Jaswinder Lets Loose her Hair	p. 38
The Asian Fashion Show	p. 39
The Draught	p. 40
Domain	p. 42
Etching	p. 43
The Air Was Full of Starfish	p. 44
The Great Pudding	p. 45
When We Ask to Leave Our City	p. 46
On Finding a Letter to Mrs Vickers on the Pennine Way	p. 47
Housebreaker	p. 48
Afternoon at the Cinema	p. 49
Pink Ear-Plugs	p. 50
You Are Turning Me into a Novel	p. 51
The Fire-Walk	p. 52
The Bees	p. 53
Ladybirds, Icebirds	p. 54
Spring on the Hillside	p. 55
The Bed	p. 56
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