SHADOWS OF THE REAL

In the maddening crowd of
Sarojini Nagar market, a small boy plays by himself he begs to steal from his
childhood, his life. Shadows of the Realis K.K. Srivastava’s third volume of
poetry. Rich with meaning and fragmentary in form, the poems depict the confusing
realities and anxieties which characterize contemporary life. The themes are
varied, but an undertone of darkness runs through all the poems, revealing
the deeper hollowness that lies beneath everyday existence. The poems evoke a
plurality of ambivalent images, attempting to explore the relationship
between the real and the ephemeral. The poet has also summed up his art in a
long preface to the book, where he talks about the need to write poetry and
why he ‘loves to talk of darkness’.