Title: Mist and Mistletoe
Author: Dr.Suranjana Banik
Genre: Poetry
First Publication: 2020
Language: English
Book Summary: Mist and Mistletoe by Dr.Suranjana Banik
Written out of despair, longings, and boundless love, this book contains collection of verses that has blend of topics from day to day emotional turmoil, tries, self-justifications to their introspection.
The beauty of the book lies in its attempt to bring out the undaunted expressions of human mind. It reflects dissection of desires, conflicts and inconspicuous feelings that are difficult to be envisaged as a poetry but woven into a body of a poem that any human mind can relate to.
It will tingle your nostalgic mind to fantasize beyond reality and probably in midst of a daily hectic life, you will also remember your long-lost love. The pages are hopeful to take you to a journey where you will remember more and regret less, where you will learn to celebrate this voyage called life.
Book Review: Mist and Mistletoe by Dr.Suranjana Banik
Mist and Mistletoe by Dr.Suranjana Banik is so simple, yet so devastating collection of poems. I liked how whimsical it was and how easy it can be to relate to so many of these poems/short pieces.
Divided into four parts – Solstice, Equinox, Andromeda, Callisto – Mist and Mistletoe is quite easy to trace back the journey of the author. Dr.Suranjana Banik has a very distinct voice and message she tries to convey. The first thing I noticed was the style of poet in which this poetry collection is written. The style is very short, free-verse poetry that tends to have one or two very impactful lines within the poem.
The poems in this book are very empowering, even the darkest of them bear hope and a hint of optimism and many are quite feminist too. They deal with so many relevant and painful topics that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the simple style and the truth behind it.
Moving on from the above discussion, I would like to discuss why I enjoyed the content of this collection.
Dr. Suranjana Banik has an innate talent of packing a big punch in very short poems. This is not an easy feat. To find the words, and so very few at that, that will make a person look up from the book and think, is a huge accomplishment. Not only that, but the author tackles subjects that are very relevant to anyone reading it. Her poetry is empowering and puts a lot of thoughts and feelings onto paper for all to read and all to understand.
All of this is not to say that this is a perfect collection of poetry. There were some poems that didn’t hit home as much as they were intended to. There were some that could have been left out of the book. However, that being said, I did still enjoy reading every poem in this collection. Mist and Mistletoe by Dr.Suranjana Banik makes you grateful for your love of reading because it makes you understand how powerful words can be. It fills you with peace, acceptance and joy.
Here is one of my favorite poem from the collection:
I Try: I try to take a piece of paper and scribble you in it. I try to dive into the depths of unresponsiveness. And yet nothing comes out of it. I try to paint you in the canvas of reality. And my colors spill over the brim of futility. And yet nothing comes out of it. I try to grasp your tunes along cords of my cello, and the air fills with hymns of emptiness. And yet nothing comes out of it. I try to erase your existence of my mind. And then they hover around me like birds of paradise that are never lost. I try to give you an embodiment but the only thing I am left with is an eternal image.
