Kalpna Singh-Chitnis
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis is an Indian-American poet, filmmaker, and author of seven poetry collections, including Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava (River Paw Press, 2023), a finalist at the 2023 'International Book Awards'; 'Trespassing My Ancestral Lands (2024, Finishing Line Press, 2024); and 'Bare Soul,' the recipient of the 2017 'Naji Naaman Literary Prize.' She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and her poems have been translated into twenty-one languages. Her works have appeared or are forthcoming in notable journals such as World Literature Today, Columbia Journal, The Los Angeles Review, Poetry International, Tupelo Quarterly, Cold Mountain Review, Indian Literature, Vsesvit, Silk Routes (IWP) at the University of Iowa, and Stanford University's Life in Quarantine. Kalpna Singh-Chitnis has been referenced in renowned publications such as The New York Times and The Huffington Post, and featured in The Telegraph, OC Register, Los Angeles Times, and Daily Pilot. She is also the recipient of the 'Bihar Rajbhasha Parishad Award' given by the government of Bihar, India, and her poetry has earned praise from eminent writers such as Dr. Wazir Agha, a nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature; Amrita Pritam, recipient of the Vaptsarov Award and Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; and Gulzar, a poet, Academy Award-winning lyricist, and filmmaker. In 2024, her poetry collection Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava, translated by poet and Lieutenant Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Volodymyr Tymchuk, received the prestigious "Hyrhory Kochur Award," a state award in Ukraine, and her poetry film 'River of Songs,' included in the Lunar Codex, traveled to the Moon's south pole with NASA-SpaceX-Intuitive Machine missions. A former lecturer of Political Science and Editor-in-Chief of Life and Legends, she is also an Advocacy Member at the United Nations Association of the USA. Website: www.kalpnasinghchitnis.com
My Post Office Without a Country
—After Agha Shahid Ali
Every so often, nations fall from the world map,
as leaves and flowers fall from a tree hit by a thunderstorm.
My poetry book cannot travel to the Holy Land.
Palestine isn't in the database of the United States Postal Office.
I verify the address given to me by Mohammad.
How could a country disappear into space?
People standing in the queue look at my face.
The clerk turns the screen toward me and scrolls down.
The State of Palestine wasn't found.
My package was returned. And as I turned, I saw someone smiling at me.
Palestine exists in the twinkles of her eyes.
It exists because Mohammad lives there. He tells us the stories of his land.
It exists because Yasser Arafat came to my homeland in Keffiyeh.
It exists because I hear Palestine sing in Tarana of Rim Banna.
It exists because it burns in the eyes of Ahed Tamimi.
It exists because it lives in the hearts of five million Philistines.
I'll exit the line, but tell me first, how Palestine went missing?
I ask Handala. I ask my friend Mohammad in Ramallah,
Sartawi in Jordan and Ronni in Galilee.
I ask Shahid Ali of The Country Without a Post Office.
I ask this question to myself as I write--
My Post Office Without a Country.
(From “Trespassing My Ancestral Lands” (2024, Finishing Line Press)
—After Agha Shahid Ali
Every so often, nations fall from the world map,
as leaves and flowers fall from a tree hit by a thunderstorm.
My poetry book cannot travel to the Holy Land.
Palestine isn't in the database of the United States Postal Office.
I verify the address given to me by Mohammad.
How could a country disappear into space?
People standing in the queue look at my face.
The clerk turns the screen toward me and scrolls down.
The State of Palestine wasn't found.
My package was returned. And as I turned, I saw someone smiling at me.
Palestine exists in the twinkles of her eyes.
It exists because Mohammad lives there. He tells us the stories of his land.
It exists because Yasser Arafat came to my homeland in Keffiyeh.
It exists because I hear Palestine sing in Tarana of Rim Banna.
It exists because it burns in the eyes of Ahed Tamimi.
It exists because it lives in the hearts of five million Philistines.
I'll exit the line, but tell me first, how Palestine went missing?
I ask Handala. I ask my friend Mohammad in Ramallah,
Sartawi in Jordan and Ronni in Galilee.
I ask Shahid Ali of The Country Without a Post Office.
I ask this question to myself as I write--
My Post Office Without a Country.
(From “Trespassing My Ancestral Lands” (2024, Finishing Line Press)
Poems
“The Tree” in World literature Today
https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/poetry/tree-kalpna-singh-chitnis
“The Daughter of The Hindukush” in SpillWords
https://spillwords.com/the-daughters-of-the-hindu-kush/
“The Best Kept Secret” in Poetry X Hunger
https://www.poetryxhunger.com/hunger-poems/poems-by-kalpna-singh-chitnis
“The Tree” in World literature Today
https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/poetry/tree-kalpna-singh-chitnis
“The Daughter of The Hindukush” in SpillWords
https://spillwords.com/the-daughters-of-the-hindu-kush/
“The Best Kept Secret” in Poetry X Hunger
https://www.poetryxhunger.com/hunger-poems/poems-by-kalpna-singh-chitnis
Reviews
“Trespassing My Ancestral Lands,” a review by Constantin Seveirn in World Literature
https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2024/september/trespassing-my-ancestral-lands-kalpna-singh-chitnis
Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava a review by Nicole Yurcaba in The Los Angeles Review
https://losangelesreview.org/love-letters-to-ukraine-from-uyava-by-kalpna-singh-chitnis-review-by-nicole-yurcaba/
“Trespassing My Ancestral Lands,” a review by Shannon Vare Christine
https://www.tupeloquarterly.com/reviews/a-celebration-of-literary-criticism/trespassing-my-ancestral-lands-by-kalpna-singh-chitnis-a-review-by-shannon-vare-christine/
“Trespassing My Ancestral Lands,” a review by Constantin Seveirn in World Literature
https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2024/september/trespassing-my-ancestral-lands-kalpna-singh-chitnis
Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava a review by Nicole Yurcaba in The Los Angeles Review
https://losangelesreview.org/love-letters-to-ukraine-from-uyava-by-kalpna-singh-chitnis-review-by-nicole-yurcaba/
“Trespassing My Ancestral Lands,” a review by Shannon Vare Christine
https://www.tupeloquarterly.com/reviews/a-celebration-of-literary-criticism/trespassing-my-ancestral-lands-by-kalpna-singh-chitnis-a-review-by-shannon-vare-christine/
Interviews
An Interview of Kalpna Singh-Chitnis in Poetry International
https://poetryinternationalonline.com/a-conversation-with-kalpna-singh-chitnis/
An Interview of Kalpna Singh-Chitnis in Tupelo Quarterly
https://www.tupeloquarterly.com/editors-feature/the-world-is-only-upside-down-when-we-think-we-are-atop-the-sky-a-conversation-with-kalpna-singh-chitnis-about-trespassing-my-ancestral-lands-curated-by-tiffany-tr/
An Interview of Kalpna Singh-Chitnis in Yugen Quest Review
https://weliterarydynamic.wordpress.com/kalpna-singh-chitnis-interviewed-by-smeetha-bhoumik-for-yqr-may22/
An Interview of Kalpna Singh-Chitnis in Poetry International
https://poetryinternationalonline.com/a-conversation-with-kalpna-singh-chitnis/
An Interview of Kalpna Singh-Chitnis in Tupelo Quarterly
https://www.tupeloquarterly.com/editors-feature/the-world-is-only-upside-down-when-we-think-we-are-atop-the-sky-a-conversation-with-kalpna-singh-chitnis-about-trespassing-my-ancestral-lands-curated-by-tiffany-tr/
An Interview of Kalpna Singh-Chitnis in Yugen Quest Review
https://weliterarydynamic.wordpress.com/kalpna-singh-chitnis-interviewed-by-smeetha-bhoumik-for-yqr-may22/
Other Links
2024 Hryhori Kochur Award by the State of Ukraine for the Ukrainian Translation of “Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava” by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, translated into Ukrainian by poet and Lt. Colonel Volodymyr Tymchuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-iN5Khvm90
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis at KPFK Radio Los Angeles/Santa Barbara
https://soundcloud.com/poetscafe/kalpna-singh-chitnis-poets-cafe-kpfk-082323
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis' interview in Worldwide Writers, Albania
https://worldwidewriterweb.wordpress.com/2023/05/22/an-interview-of-kalpna-singh-chitnis-taken-by-irma-kurti/
2024 Hryhori Kochur Award by the State of Ukraine for the Ukrainian Translation of “Love Letters to Ukraine from Uyava” by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, translated into Ukrainian by poet and Lt. Colonel Volodymyr Tymchuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-iN5Khvm90
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis at KPFK Radio Los Angeles/Santa Barbara
https://soundcloud.com/poetscafe/kalpna-singh-chitnis-poets-cafe-kpfk-082323
Kalpna Singh-Chitnis' interview in Worldwide Writers, Albania
https://worldwidewriterweb.wordpress.com/2023/05/22/an-interview-of-kalpna-singh-chitnis-taken-by-irma-kurti/