Sneha Bhura

Velvet Grapes Sneha Bhura

Call it a plague art or survival toolkit; this woozy-eyed chapbook was born out of the timely arrival of an ambiguous "date." When a charming young man shows up just a day before lockdown in March 2020, a first-time poet resorts to manic woolgathering to shield herself from a world in turmoil, to numb her own fears and anxieties. Poetry, music, madness, and midnight coalesce in a delicious amber haze as she takes on a heartsick chase through days and months of uncertainty and exhaustion. Played out in domestic corniches and quiet parks, this crisp covid caper has its moments of tenderness and magic. In a year when so much had been taken away from humans, these short, velvety poems cuddle seeds of an emotional unraveling and a strange self-possession.