The Art of Scratching
2015
First Published
4.00
Average Rating
76
Number of Pages
First book-length collection by Pakistan-born, London-based poet featured in Bloodaxe's Ten: new poets from Spread the Word anthology in 2010.
Avg Rating
4.00
Number of Ratings
10
5 STARS
20%
4 STARS
60%
3 STARS
20%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads
Author
Shazea Quraishi
Author · 2 books
Shazea Quraishi is one of a number of younger black and Asian women poets currently gaining ground in UK poetry. In sensual, clear, perfectly measured tones, her poems meet the male gaze with a female voice. Her long poem sequence The Courtesan's Reply ("a wonderful study of gender and expectation" – Poetry Book Society) is based on the courtesans depicted in Manomohan Ghosh's translation of The Caturbhani – four Sanskrit monologue plays written around 300 BC. It is published as a pamphlet by flipped eye publishing and is being developed for stage. Stephen Knight, her mentor, has described it as "an intriguing collision between the archaeological and the lyrical".
