{"product_id":"the-maker-of-garlands-by-pooja-mittal-biswas-if-movement-was-a-language-by-svetlana-sterlin","title":"‘The Maker of Garlands’ by Pooja Mittal Biswas + ‘If Movement Was a Language’ by Svetlana Sterlin","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-8 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"auto\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eTwo 2024 Australian poetry collections from Vagabond Press, paired here because both explore the body as a site of memory, though they come at it from very different directions.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn ‘The Maker of Garlands’, Pooja Mittal Biswas writes tilted forward into race, migration, sexuality, gender, family, violence, all whilst the surrounding culture keeps trying to decide what they all mean, for you. Biswas’s poems are direct, bodily and confrontational, deft through inherited trauma, communal violence and assimilation, without sanding down the harder pills edges. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSvetlana Sterlin’s ‘If Movement Was a Language’ turns instead to swimming, water and the disciplined body. Written from the perspective of a former swimmer and swimming coach, the collection uses pools, breath, repetition, buoyancy and bodily technique as ways of thinking through migration, family, language, memory and distance. The poems repeatedly move between physical motion and emotional dislocatio, the body knowing how to cross water even when language, geography and family history remain less obedient. The collection won the 2023 Helen Anne Bell Poetry Bequest Award and was commended in the 2024 Anne Elder Award. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTogether they make a very good little diptych. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVagabond Press, 2024. First editions. Paperbacks. Both appear very lightly handled, with minimal shelf wear; internally clean and unmarked. Near fine condition.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46267648213075,"sku":null,"price":22.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/womenintranslation-2026-09-14T171429.372.png?v=1789370174","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/the-maker-of-garlands-by-pooja-mittal-biswas-if-movement-was-a-language-by-svetlana-sterlin","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}