Continuum Becomes Calcutta

Book Description - 

This is the English version of my Bengali poetry collection, Kali-Kali-Kalikata, published in 1973, which integrates modern scientific ideas into poetry—a challenging endeavor. While theoretically, poetry can stem from any concept, practice often reveals a narrower focus in celebrated works.

Historical figures like Lucretius (c. 99-55 B.C.) and his didactic poem De Rerum Natura exemplify the fusion of science and poetry, as do Dante (1265-1321 A.D.) with La Divina Commedia, and Goethe (1749-1832), who expressed knowledge beautifully. Other poets, such as John Donne (1572-1631), John Davidson (1857-1909), Jules Laforgue (1860-87), Alfred Noyes (1880-1958), and Conrad Aiken (1889-1973), have also explored scientific themes, blending emotion with intellectual ideas.

However, such integrations have become less common in recent years. In my collection, I aim to illustrate how thought in poetry transforms into experience, ultimately reshaping the poet's sensibility.