*extract from Great Books of China, Frances Wood, Head of Zeus Ltd., 2007 Her poems startle us with their velvety intensity and the interconnectedness she sees in life, alongside a haunting sense of memory as in вЂlate spring pollen spilling fine/ as moss of mythвЂ™ her deft play with languages, here Urdu and English, which reach, вЂвЂ¦grabbing /meaning by the throat, tap/ root to tongue earthвЂ™ as she writes elsewhere, and possibly most of all, suggestions of the liminal sought and lost and sought again as, вЂвЂ¦.in the foaming// tides of the body, its teeming fog/ banks of remembrance // softening into oblivion with each/ drawn breathвЂ™. This issueвЂ™s Guest Editor is interlingual poet, author, editor and translator Sophia Naz. And we can return to celebrating poetry and building our community of poets I am deeply grateful for your attentive readership that makes the work worthwhile. I trust this sets out, with complete transparency, the selection process behind Poetry at Sangam. Scores of poets whose work I admire, cannot, unfortunately be accommodated on the pages of Poetry at Sangam. And it is a mutilation of the texts from which one selects a single passage.вЂ™ Whilst this might be an extreme view, there is some truth in it. In Anthologie de la literature Chinoise Classique Jacques Pimaneau* writes, вЂTo create an anthology is to commit a crime, to select some authors and send others, even if they are not without interest, to the hell of oblivion. Poetry at Sangam does not have a Submission link though unsolicited submissions are forwarded to the Guest Editor with a request to consider submissions that come in within ten days of a new issue. This, sadly, in spite of several of my earlier Introductions elucidating the process I have outlined above. Therefore, suggestions to the contrary вЂ“that IвЂ™m gatekeeper вЂ“ are misinformed, unwarranted and mean-spirited. Luminous poets have curated issues, offering poetry that makes us go Ah! Though a tad risky, this method offers readers the Guest EditorsвЂ™ truest choices, and once again, we вЂ“ you, dear reader, and I вЂ“ have been fortunate. I donвЂ™t encourage consultations with me and re-enter the frame to write an Introduction and check the final edit. From choosing poets they wish to feature to making it a themed issue or not, throw it open for submissions or not to the final edits. Each guest editor is given a carte blanche: freedom and responsibility to make all aesthetic and editorial decisions. I chose Guest Editors from among remarkable poets across the globe who do not otherwise edit online or hard copy journals, write poetry blogs, organize poetry festivals and the like as such poets have venues to showcase poetry of their preference. At the same time, we also became a quarterly. Therefore, in April 2016, I decided to invite Guest Editors to curate each issue.

Further, I wished to widen the presentation of poetsвЂ™ work, more than my own resources would permit, to offer readers вЂ“who are the reason for Poetry at SangamвЂ™s existence - thrilling and unexpected choices. This was, and remains antithetical to my appreciation of the art, indeed to its beauty, rigour and underlying spirituality. I also disliked any hint of cliques, claques, coteries & caucuses shaping the journal. I realised I wielded more power as Editor than I cared or intended to have. With our success, it seems resentment at not being included in Poetry at Sangam also grew. With luck and without my quite realizing it, Poetry at Sangam became among the most prestigious literary journals of the subcontinent. My choices were eclectic, but tended towards experimental and lesser known work, especially from India. Friends and acquaintances whose work I admire featured alongside poets I came across on the Net and could contact for contributions. What determined the selection process? Poetry I loved. As Founding Editor, I decided to make Poetry at Sangam a monthly, featuring in each issue, six poets with six poems each. Here was a chance to repay my debt to poetry which we turn to for distillation of thoughts and emotions, to help clear a space for attentiveness, to touch us through language with precision and song and I also hoped to help build an international community of poets. In early 2013, Arshia Sattar, founder of Sangam House, invited me to curate a poetry section for them as an affiliated but independent journal.

Urdu poem with word sangam