Kushal Poddar

Edited the online magazine ‘Words Surfacing’. Authored ‘The Circus Came To My Island’ (Spare Change Press, Ohio), A Place For Your Ghost Animals (Ripple Effect Publishing, Colorado Springs), Understanding The Neighborhood (BRP, Australia), Scratches Within (Barbara Maat, Florida), Kleptomaniac's Book of Unoriginal Poems (BRP, Australia) and Eternity Restoration Project- Selected and New Poems (Hawakal Publishers, India) and now Herding My Thoughts To The Slaughterhouse-A Prequel (Alien Buddha Press) The Others On him: "Kushal P. makes the intriguing satisfying. He crystallizes confusion. He comforts the wary by leaving danger open. Kushal is a kindly ambush. He tightens strings into a looser and loftier music. He eliminates filters for a moment, and then what gets it in is mesmerized into a fragile dollhouse of the menacing. Words stand around in Kushal's poetry and then suddenly become precise. He is a journey that already was when it started. You can have tea with Kushal and he will whisper so many things to you which adds to the tea." -Thomas Graves, poet, academics, essayist "From the master of deep a disturbing emotion crackling time warping poetry. He often graces the pages of International Times Magazine and other publications. For most of his work I am driven to illustrate them myself and with a great deal of joy too! Poems that sometimes at a quick or superficial look can seem a little depressing but on deeper, and deserving, perseverance they become poems of lovely feelings and rounded conclusions." -Nick Victor, Editor International Times Magazine, Artist “Kushal Poddar’s poetry astonishes by its natural lyricism—and by how that lyricism is able to convey the raw materials of life like some otherworldly river. A rare talent.” -Salvatore Ala, Poet and Philosopher “In the new and collected poems that comprise Kushal Poddar's latest offering, ETERNITY RESTORATION PROJECT, time moves differently. An hour spent reading these poems left me feeling like I'd had a three-day holiday, holy days, days of contemplation, shifting perspectives, rejuvenation. It is a place out of time to which this reader can retreat. It is a way to, in words borrowed from his poem "Adam and Eve, Now": slice a piece of eternity off the entirety. And from "Halloween": An easy way to / celebrate the fear we nurse for years, / that we shall have no home.” - Laura M Kaminski (Halima Ayuba), author of ANCHORHOLD (2016) “The little I read in Indian English I like Kushal Poddar's poems who apparently wedded his surroundings with a boundary-less philosophy without translating his thoughts. Apparently he has established himself as a considerable figure in this field. I wish him all the success in the path he has chosen.” -Malay Roychoudhury, Poet and Peer of Hungry Generation Poetry “Kushal Poddar's poetic voice is exploratory and revealing of his personal environment and modern India as a whole. His poems reflect acute observation, rumination and a vast range of emotions that turn his world into your world. In verse that is powerful, elegant, and many times surreal, Kushal gets to the heart of the matter, leaving the reader wanting to know more.” –Shikha Malaviya, Poet & Writer “The young Indian talent Kushal Poddar must have been born with the great gift of poetic perceptions and insight, a rare ability attached to a degree of seership. That he brings such things to bear in complex English English- a minefield of subtleties, as opposed to his native language is a chosen challenge that he has almost totally overcome. In someway I hope that he never fully succeeds at this task because, at present, he has crafted a voice that I find unique in the world of poetics. His star is approaching greatness and he has the potential to be a writer that belongs to India as much as to the world at large.” -Chris Madoch, Poet, Artist, Publisher As a reader, you will find yourself transfixed in the fragile beauty of the narratives that Kushal crafts; stories painted from the landscape of his birth that are as understated as they are powerful. As his publisher, I can say that his craft is at a level that escapes most who deign to undertake our craft and sullen art; not a word missing or needed; his brush laid perfectly down when the emotion of the moment he immersed you in has taken you away. His is a powerful voice.” -Larry Kuechlin, Poet and Publisher at Alabaster & Mercury “Kushal Poddar has, for me, been an enlightening experience. He has the gift of luring his reader into traveling with him on an almost mystical journey. The evocative and subtle nuances of his work have an almost opium den quality in that the reader finds his or her thoughts slowly expanding with curiosities piqued and begging for the satisfaction of answers painted in words lush and rich without being over-blown. I’ve always found Kushals work to be immensely thought provoking, bringing me back to his stanzas repeatedly, and finding, with each visit, a new layer to be peeled back in quiet contemplation and merciful comprehension. His visuals are snake charmer enchanting; his readers have no idea how or when the magic overwhelmed them, nor do they care. Kushals readers are happy only that they have found themselves under the spell and magic of his poetry, as this reader has thankfully found herself time and time again. Kushal Poddar is one of a kind.” -Alicia Winski/Editor-In-Chief NightWing Publications, Seattle, Washington “I have been reading Kushal Poddar's poetry for some years now. I find the work refreshing -- crisp, concise, with beautiful imagery and a wonderful use of subtlety, especially where irony is concerned. He shows, versus tells, and, in just an 8 or 10-line poem, evinces a vision of the world that has, as core, an essential quality of wonder, of awe, and of instruction without moralizing. He does what the finest poets do: connects things in new ways, producing, with deft and authoritative (though never overbearing) mastery, poetry that is arresting and multi-layered. Symbolist, imagist at heart, he creates little mysteries which sometimes take a it of unraveling, but are always worth the effort. Poddar finds poetry everywhere; his sensibility is catholic, and his craft is commendable for its keen observations, its wit, its unique turns of phrase, its wisdom, and, not the least, its universality.” -Julie K. Shavin, poet, pianist USA “Kushal Poddar has the ability to connect to the reader with his poetry. His poems cover diverse topics and they are gritty and realistic. In the shallowness of the digital age, Kushal makes a powerful statement with his poems and he is fearless in his writing. His pen is original and he captures the subject matter in his poems without being melodramatic and clichéd. His seamless blend of emotions enlivens his poetry.” -Mamta Madhavan, Poet, Journalist “ Kushal Poddar is indeed one of the most dedicated of The Modern Day Poets out there today. ..Never missing a beat, his work always has Meaning for the Reader to decipher.” -Lisa Dabrowski, Poet, Author Kushal Poddar, the poem, 'Military,' [published in International Times - Newspaper of Resistance] is amazing. I must say, I am still reeling from reading it three times. The words hit me at once, as if some sort of puzzle. I read it again, stunned. It crept into my consciousness as horror does. A third time, sorrow quivered. Then, a sudden silence as I stared at the screen. Bravo! I thought. Well done! I thought. I echoed your wife's sentiment! What on earth did you write? Perhaps let's leave it at: Congratulations you poet, you!!! Best, Gwendolyn Whittaker, Librarian, Reader,