Books by Kalpana Asok

If you've wondered how it must feel to be a stranger in a strange land, Kalpana Asok tells you in these gentle poems. Gentle, but with a hint of irony, as when, in the voice of a new arrival, an Indian woman introduces herself to a new American neighbor, and then, in an almost footnoted last line that lets us know she was never invited into the house: "Dear Ethel, Thank you for the lemonadeand the visits on your porch." The feeling of dislocation surfaces sharply in another, when she asks, "My mother's in my mirror/is she walled in/am I locked out . . . ." Vivid images greet us throughout, as she explores, wide-eyed, this new world, where a "chatty American" wears a "different baseball cap every day" and is "full of information." The gentle voice rises in indignation in strong, tightly crafted poems about social injustice, as in "I Can't Breathe," with a first stanza ending in "Yes, metoo." Remembering or perhaps dreaming, she gives us a "Tiger Preserve," with a "Lurching blind-drunk female /in the middle of the day/Slapping holy ground . . . ." The gentle voice returns in this lovely debut collection, ending with a lullaby, "Tenderly," in hummed syllables: "Umhmm,--Irene Willishmmm hmm hmm . . . ." Read it with delight and continued discovery.

This book of essays takes an informal and, I hope, gentle look into South Asian homes, hearts, and homeland in an attempt to help mental health practitioners have a more complete understanding of their Indian clients. My aim is that these stories, anecdotes, and social and psychological sketches open the door to more pertinent clinical conversations. Just as there is no mother without a child, there is no Indian individual without the family. The focus of western psychotherapy has been on the individual and individuation. My book expands the picture to include the importance of Indian society, family, and culture as an equally, if not more important, path to helping Indian immigrant patients get more clarity from helping professionals.