SEARCHING FOR HOME

Panna Naik
New Academia Publishing/SCARITH, 2022
136 pages
ISBN 978-1-9558353-7-4 Paperback
See an excerpt from the book.

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About the Author

Panna Naik is an established Indian feminist poet writing in Gujarati.  She has published eleven volumes of poetry and a volume of short stories.  She has also published a volume of her verses in English entitled, The Astrologer’s Sparrow (Washington, DC, The New Academia Publishing, 2018). Panna has earned undergraduate degree in Gujarati literature from University of Mumbai.  She also has two graduate degrees: one in Library Science from Drexel University and the other in South Asians studies from University of Pennsylvania.  Panna retired in 2003 after serving as Reference Librarian also at Penn. She presently lives with her husband and divides her time between Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

SEARCHING FOR HOME

These haikus relate to the immigrant experience of first generation Indian immigrants, particularly their dislocation, homesickness and assimilation in a society that is vastly different from the one they left behind. In essence, it is about searching for a lost home. The book also reflects starkly different landscapes, flora and fauna of two countries—India and the United States. The haikus also provide a message that is both cautionary and instructive, difficult yet uplifting. Ultimately, it is an inspiring tale of how to survive as an immigrant woman and succeed in America.

Praise

“Haiku is becoming a long-overdue poetry form, now finally bourgeoning, in the Western Hemisphere. This poetic form began, and continues to be, a tradition of mindfulness—a spiritual practice of noting the moment and making it permanent… In addition to fine poetry, Panna Naik’s tradition from India is a valuable bridge in this country that needs—and benefits from—more vitality from other civilizations.” —Grace Cavalieri, Maryland State Poet Laureate.

 “Panna Naik’s brief, redolent book of Haiku resounds like a “Titanic Opera.” So much is spoken in so few words, which is the mission of the boldest Haiku.” —Pamela Sutton, MSJ, MFA.