Blue Throat Dancers

This is the fifth anthology of original, contemporary poems-in English, Hindi, and Marathi-from the poets who are part of a collective called the Poetry of Diaspora in Silicon Valley. The Blue Throat Dancers is a reference to the Hindu God Shiva, the lord of dance and a part of the holy trinity who is responsible for creative destruction. He is also known as Neelkanth, the one with a blue throat. One of the legends about him is that he once saved the world at the time of great turmoil by dranking poison that came from the churning of the ocean and thus saved the world. He was the only ascetic strong enough to contain the poison in his throat, turning it blue, without being harmed by it. This group of poets love to read poems aloud, giving voice and breath to the power of words, thus liberating silences everywhere, to create a fresh vision for a more just world.

This anthology is the poetic tapestry woven in individual colors, pulled together by the collective love of poetry read out loud in multiple languages. We together embrace the idea of unity in varied expressions of love and self. Beloved reader, we hope you will take this invitation in the form of the book to find your way to a few poems that you might come to cherish as we do. We offer this with the intention to share our joy and hope in your discovery and wonderment, in meeting the poets themselves, through their words.