Dothead

Majmuder (Heaven and Earth), Ohio's first poet laureate, excels here in presenting crafty poems about living in a challenging world permeated by misconceptions and grant narratives: "Well yes, I said, my mother wears a dot./ I know they said "third eye" in class, but it's not/ an eye eye, not like that." Authenticity doesn't elevate poetry aesthetically unless it's combined with poetic prowess, which the author displays elegantly here. His works explore themes such as culture, identity, uprootedness, and the fractured sense of belonging: "can I be my father's son/ without being my father?" He incorporates myths, religion, his Indian heritage, political clichés, and history to produce fierce pieces rich with pictorial description. Scattered details migrate effortlessly from the margins of daily experiences to be the vibrant components of most of the poems—evidence of the transforming power of the writer. Majmuder pens a layered language that effectively blends the particular with the general, enhancing the relevancy of the form to public imagination.