The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers (Paperback)

by Bhanu Kapil (Author) "1. Who are you and whom do you love?..." (more)
Key Phrases: Red Canna

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This collection of pieces is arranged using a series of 12 repeated questions, such as "How will you begin?" "Describe a morning you woke without feat?" and "Who was responsible for the suffering of your mother?" The manuscript is set in diverse places - Punjab, Afghanistan, Central America, England, Arizona - where the meditations on the 'interrogations' considered by the narrator are described in language that is segmented and seeking.

These short pieces reveal new ways of belonging in the world and possibilities for an art grounded in a 'localized' cosmopolitan culture.

About the Author
Bhanu Kapil is a British citizen of Indian origin.

She lives in Colorado. Her first published work was "Autobiography of a Cyborg" (Leroy Press).

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Kelsey Street Press; 2nd edition (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932716563
• ISBN-13: 978-0932716569
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #464,596 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The fluidity of intelligence, July 21, 2003

By A Customer

I highly recommend this wonderful book. If you enjoy work that challenges and breathes, then pick this book. Amazingly gentle and deliciously tender.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Cycle of Poems, April 18, 2005

By	Poet's Gardener (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This book is a lovely cycle of poetic exchanges between women. It is structured creatively as a type of philosophical dialogic touching upon the intersections of word, flesh, and spirit. A beautiful read, very worthwhile. VERTICAL INTERROGATION OF STRANGERS will make you think about life, womanhood, the world, and language: pretty much everything in one gorgeous collection.

2 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is not love, it's a baby changing itself., May 3, 2004

By	George Clooney - See all my reviews

Unfortunately I can not give this book a positive review. I bought the book based on a recommendation from a friend who knows my tastes in Poetry (Trackl, Jorie Graham, Kinnell). There was a great disparity in the comparisons to say the least. On the surface the language seems poetic. The connections seem deep. It seems as if she has done her homework. However, after the second and third readings it soon becomes apparent that this writer puts on a good front but lacks the depth of a true poet. She begins with an image, a thought, place or concept. By the end she twists it into nothing but a series of words that sound like they might have meaning but in reality they are the words of a writer who couldn't keep it together long enough to finish the connection and insteads just glosses it over with some fruity words. I don't care what anybody says, poetry means and simply because someone strings a few words together this does not make meaning. She writes, "The distances between my body and the bodies of the ones I love: grow. They are limited by coasts. I have a few questions to ask, but I do not know how to break the growing silence. I breathe in the salty mist, walk back along the wild, shifting edge of everything." She does this over and over again. She sets up the reader with something concrete then the flowery language starts with no meaningful connections. She does this over and over again. A true poet holds it together until the very end. She can not.

-George