ISSUE 42, March 2023
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Hello readers, writers, and you!
We are happy to bring you the 42nd issue of The Bombay Review, featuring a delightful mix of 16 writers from around the world. A very big thank you to all of you for considering us a home for your work. We are really lucky to be supported by you with your submissions, the generous donations, and the readership we claim as family.
All of it makes us who we are, and your contribution helps in sustaining an independent publishing initiative like ours. Hope you are staying safe and healthy, catching up on that reading, and generally just having a lot of water.
As has been the case with the recent issues of The Bombay Review, this small editorial note will be updated shortly. Happy reading!
The Bombay Review
Issue 43, March, 2023 (Year 9)
Poetry | 3 Poems by SJ Sindu | Issue 42, March 2023
SJ Sindu is a Tamil diaspora author of two literary novels (Marriage of a Thousand Lies, which won the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award; and Blue-Skinned Gods, which was an Indie Next Pick and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award), two hybrid chapbooks (I Once Met You But You Were Dead, which won the Split Lip Turnbuckle Chapbook Contest; and Dominant Genes, which won the Black Lawrence Press Black River Chapbook Contest), two forthcoming graphic novels (Shakti and Tall Water), and one forthcoming collection of short stories (The Goth House Experiment). Sindu holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Florida State University and…
Excerpt (Fiction) | from ‘Arzu’ by Riva Razdan (Hachette 2022) | Issue 42, March 2023
Riva Razdan is an author based in Mumbai. She is also a screenwriter for Anil Kapoor Films and Saffron Films. As a writer, she is determined to create romantic-feminist fiction that encourages, supports and comforts young Indian women. Her work has been featured in The Hindu Business Line, Grazia India and The Telegraph. Her debut novel, Arzu, was published by Hachette India in February 2021. Her new novel, The Naani Diaries, is represented by A Suitable Agency.
Poetry | ‘For Yoshiko Uchida’, ‘Pumping Gas in Central Point, Oregon’ by Zack Rogow | Issue 42, March 2023
Zack Rogow is author, editor, or translator of more than twenty books or plays. His ninth book of poems, Irreverent Litanies, was published by Regal House. His play Colette Uncensored ran in London and San Francisco. He serves as a contributing editor for Catamaran Literary Reader. His degrees of are from Yale University and the City University of New York. www.zackrogow.com
Short Fiction | ‘Migratory Birds’ by Minal V M | Issue 42, March 2023
Minal V M is a writer from Bangalore, India. Or at least he thinks he is. He considers himself a late bloomer – having actually started writing fiction only in his 40s after his father passed away. He thinks it’s a coping mechanism, but if it helps why knock it. When he is not writing, he reads. A hell of a lot. While he would love to be published in all the great journals, until now it’s been mostly Twitter (@PPuzhu) and Medium (https://vmminal.medium.com/) and an archival site (https://www.bankernivas.org/) that he wishes he spent more time on. He would also like…
Excerpt | from ‘The Plague Upon Us’ by ‘The Plague Upon Us’ by Shabir Ahmad Mir (Hachette, 2020) | Issue 42, March 2023
Shabir Ahmed Mir is a writer and poet and has been awarded the Reuel International Prize for fiction in 2017. This is his first novel.
Short Fiction | ‘Wretched’ by Anuja Chandramouli | Issue 42, March 2023
Anuja Chandramouli is a bestselling author and new age Indian classicist widely regarded as one of the finest writers in mythology, historical fiction and fantasy. She followed up her highly acclaimed debut novel, Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince, which was named as one of the top 5 sellers in the Indian writing category for the year 2012 by Amazon India with Kamadeva: The God of Desire, Shakti: The Divine Feminine, Yama’s Lieutenant and its sequel, Yama’s Lieutenant and the Stone Witch. Her articles, short stories and book reviews appear in various publications like The New Indian Express, The Hindu, Scroll.in and Femina. Some of her other…
Poetry | ‘Lemon Tart’ by Priyadarshini Gogoi (she/her) | Issue 42, March 2023
Priyadarshini Gogoi is a writer, poet, children’s author and editor from Assam, India. Her poetry has been published on platforms such as The Shoreline Review and The LiveWire, and two of her picture books have been published by Pratham Books, with a few more releasing this year. Several children have told her that she’s cool.
Poetry | ‘Story Room’ by Ajay Sawant | Issue 42, March 2023
Ajay Sawant currently serves as Editorial Director at Globalage Poetry and Editorial Intern at Five South Literary Magazine. He has previously also served as guest editor at Inlandia Institute’s Literary Review. He is an art activist and public speaker. His recent poems appear in Detester Magazine, VAYAVYA, America’s Art & Understanding Magazine, The Virgin Island’s – The Carrabian Writer, Hawaii Pacific University’s Hawai’i Pacific Review and forthcoming in Xavier Review, Inlandia: a literary magazine and The Louisville Review & Fleur-de-Lis Press Ajay can be reached on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ajaycycles. Recent publications include pieces in Rattle, Lunch Ticket, Louisville Review, Leavings…
Translation | ‘‘A Woman’s Fate’ by Epitácio Pais | Translated by Paul Melo e Castro | Issue 42 (March, 2023)
Paul Melo e Castro is a lecturer in Portuguese and Comparative Literature at the University of Glasgow. He has long-standing research interests in Portuguese-language fiction & intellectual production from Goa and has been a regular translator into English. His latest book-length translation is Vimala Devi’s Monsoon (Seagull, 2019). He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Poetry | ‘Kind’s Court, Bandh’ & ‘Mutations in scale’ by Ayesha Chatterjee | Issue 42, March 2023
Ayesha Chatterjee is a poet from Kolkata, India who has lived in the UK, Germany and the USA, and is now based in Toronto, Canada. She earned a BA in English and German from Smith College where she graduated cum laude. She has two poetry collections and has been published in journals across the globe including The Moth (Ireland),Magma Poetry (UK) and Exile Quarterly (Canada). Several of her poems have been recently set to music by Canadian composers in a range of genres, including classical, jazz and opera.
Short Fiction | ‘The Curry Cartel’ by Shyala Smith | Issue 42, March 2023
Shyala Smith hails from Sri Lanka. Transitioning from her 17-year career in advertising, she is now pursuing screenwriting in London. She also works for an orchestra producing content for digital platforms. Shyala writes young adult, picture books, and adult novels. Her debut picture book, published by Tate Publishing, UK, will be out in 2023.
Fiction | ‘I A Enveloped’ by Michael B. Tager | Issue 42, March 2023
Michael B. Tager is a Baltimore-based editor and writer. He is the Managing Editor of Mason Jar Press, an independent publisher of high-quality books. Publications include jmww, Uncharted Mag, Necessary Fiction, and Barrelhouse, among others. He is uncomfortable but not worried.
Poetry | ‘Covid’ by John L. Gronbeck-Tedesco | Issue 42, March 2023
John L. Gronbeck-Tedesco’s lives in the U. S. and is Professor Emeritus from the University of Kansas. His work has appeared in a variety of publications and venues, including The Connecticut River Review, Frontier Magazine, the Muddy River Review, Tuck Magazine, Scintilla, Better than Starbucks, MonologueBank, Angry Old Men Magazine, Madness Muse Magazine, Outsider Poetry, San Francesco, la rivista della basilica di San Francesco d’Assisi, The Kansas City Fringe Festival, Business Casual Productions (New York City), Karamu House (Cleveland, Ohio) and the Cleveland.
Excerpt | from ‘Story of the Sikhs’ by Sarbpreet Singh (Penguin, 2021) | Issue 42, March 2023
Sarbpreet Singh is a writer, podcaster and commentator. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Night of the Restless Spirits and the bestselling The Camel Merchant of Philadelphia, and the writer-narrator of the Story of The Sikhs podcast which has listeners in over ninety countries.
Fiction | ‘A Funeral of National Importance’ by Ciara Mandulee Mendis | Issue 42 (March, 2023)
Ciara is currently reading for her MA in English Studies with a special focus on language and culture, and is employed as Assistant Director (Literature & Publications) at the Department of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka. Her debut short story collection ‘The Red Brick Wall’ (manuscript) is at the moment shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize 2020, the most coveted award given for Sri Lankan writing in English.
Fiction | ‘A Rotten Deal’ by Kanya D’Almeida | Issue 42, March 2023
Kanya D’Almeida is a Sri Lankan writer. She won the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her fiction has appeared on Granta, Jaggery and The Bangalore Review. She holds an MFA in fiction from Columbia University’s School of the Arts, and hosts The Darkest Light, a podcast exploring birth and motherhood in Sri Lanka.
