ABSTRACT
Jyotsna Sanzgiri writes that she immerses herself in many poetic forms, both Eastern and Western, and hopes to develop a voice that synthesizes these influences. She draws on classical Indian literature, as well as formal Western verse—such as sonnets and sestinas—to work on her poetry and fiction. Living in California, with its many cultures and languages, gives her a unique opportunity to experience the processes of immigration and assimilation that are crucial to her writing. Over time, she hopes to integrate all these influences so that her Indian roots and her American experiences can serve to develop poetic moods that include the comic, tragic, heroic, erotic, and so on. The two poems included in this anthology are from a series of poems titled "On Living in America: In Four Moods—Comic, Tragic, Erotic, Heroic". "Requiem" is from the section titled "Tragic" and "Azalea" from "Erotic".
