When poetry comes: a selection of poems by contemporary Bengali women poets in English translation/ edited and translated by Marian Maddern.

Ahana Biswas -- The moon's light in my dilapidated room -- Doe -- Game of exile -- When you return, go and look -- Marriage -- Verses about error -- Come, let us be blood-smeared -- Stone-chip -- Seven measures -- A deformed woman speaks -- Anjali Das -- This life -- The djinn's daughters -- Earth --Marriage mantras -- The ship of the dead -- The story of two lives -- Hunger -- News of water -- Flood -- Season's end
Anuradha Mahapatra -- Midnight -- The season's nature -- Household goddess -- The year 1984 -- You -- River landing -- He -- Sleep -- Crow -- Cow and grandmother -- Archana Acharyachaudhuri -- One-horned horse -- Chimera -- Womb -- Narcissus and lion -- An iguana on the path is bad luck -- Male -- Rhyme 1 -- Rhyme 2 -- I in the year 1956 -- Winged dragon and I -- Chaitali Chattopadhyay -- Poem written on behalf of the goddess -- Anger -- Room -- Water -- All this ding-dong, all these flying letters -- Prayer -- You -- Poison -- Kashi Mitra Ghat -- White page, to you -- Debanjali Mukhopadhyay -- Forest woman -- The bamboo flower and all this solitude -- Birds of the ocean of beauty -- A story of a mythical goddess -- Dyke -- My Calcutta -- Women of leaves -- In the year 1402, a new token of identity -- The bird of blue fire -- Rain -- Debarati Mitra -- Young woman in a cable-car -- Waterfalls, thousand-streamed cascades -- The father too is an inevitable lover -- Warm honey
Sun idolater -- The world of numbers -- Food -- Alphabet -- Gita Chattopadhyay -- Poetry -- 'Woman' said Manu -- Cops and Robbers -- Genius -- This life -- The god and the matchgirl -- No more Calcutta -- World penance -- Woman, hell's gatekeeper -- The ant and the grasshopper -- Jyotsna Karmakar -- My mother's face -- To Grandmother, long after -- Daughter -- Plain cloth -- Words have substitutes -- Relationship --
Calcutta -- A dream for former class-mate Lili -- Grasshopper -- Muniya alarm -- Mallika Sengupta -- Tree worship -- Sin -- Deven Thakur's son
Moth -- With birds -- Counsel -- Pandu's desire for sons -- Woman's voice -- Peaks -- In the fathers' world -- Mandira Roy -- Song of departure
-- Or else in rhymes -- After one life -- When someone is killed -- Waybread -- A prohibited day -- Death's countless hands -- Weeping --The stone's mark -- Love-creeper -- Rajlukshmee Debee -- When poetry comes -- Riddles -- Dreams have no reins -- The top -- Tree -- Wooden doll -- Once-boiled love -- Blue jewel of sorrow -- Word-hostility -- Beloved Calcutta -- Rama Ghosh -- Earthenware pitcher -- Listen, young woman --
Thirst for beauty -- At the day's fag-end -- Darkness -- Concubine -- Nature -- Peaceful -- Farewell -- I am not the goddess of poetry -- Rupa Das Gupta -- To you / 30 October '88 -- Raga Bageshri -- Raga Malkosh -- The wheat mill -- To you -- Pall-bearer -- Wedding -- Railway line -- To Mother/25th Baishakh 1401 -- Thirtieth wedding anniversary -- Sanjukta Bandyopadhyay -- A witch's fairytale -- Awakening -- Wife -- Scar -- Being a woman this time -- Obsession -- Medusa's head: one -- Medusa's head: two -- Medusa's head: three -- Magic slate -- Susmita Bhattachaiya -- Mother to daughter -- Daughter to mother -- Khana -- Mask -- Bonsai -- That blameless word -- Sky, ocean, promises, lies -- Krishnachura -- Fairytale -- Creation means -- Sutapa Bhattacharya -- Fear -- Santiniketan -- Sita— to Earth -- Not poetiy -- Adulteress -- Bairagitala -- Mother -- Behula -- Draupadi -- In this alien land -- Sutapa Sengupta -- Field flower -- Grass widow -- About the Babus -- Devadasi
Death -- Desire -- Position -- Negotiation -- Buddha -- Urmila Chakraborty -- Un-immersed -- Load-shedding -- Poetry -- Seeing off -- Three sisters -- Strayed -- Calcutta, Calcutta -- Even so, moonlight -- In Johannesburg, that morning -- In a strange new Ramarajya -- Vijaya Mukhopadhyay -- Forest Officer's diary -- Poet-Priest -- Looking at the leaves -- Of God -- Banyan and pipul -- Crow -- Subjugation -- Bad dream
After a long time, in Calcutta -- What makes poetry -- Notes on the poets and on their poems