Acrobat
India

Acrobat

by Nabaneeta Dev Sen

Identity & Belonging Poetry 2021

Summary

In Acrobat, Nabaneeta Dev Sen transforms the experiences of an ordinary life into an intimate, unflinching exploration of womanhood, love, motherhood, and mortality. This posthumously published poetry collection moves between the exhilaration of first love, the physical and emotional demands of childbirth, the complexities of family relationships, and the inevitable approach of old age. With a voice that can be tender one moment and fiercely rebellious the next, Dev Sen examines the expectations imposed on women and the quiet acts of resistance through which they reclaim their lives. The acrobat becomes a powerful image for the precarious balancing act of being human: navigating intimacy, pain, desire, and loss while attempting to remain upright. Both compassionate and unsparing, these poems celebrate the body and its vulnerabilities, revealing the extraordinary intensity hidden within everyday existence. Translated from Bengali by the author’s daughter, Nandana Dev Sen, the collection also becomes a moving literary dialogue between mother and daughter.

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About the author
Nabaneeta Dev Sen
Nabaneeta Dev Sen

Nabaneeta Dev Sen (1938–2019) was an acclaimed Bengali poet, novelist, essayist, children’s author, and scholar whose work explored women’s lives, cultural identity, family relationships, and social expectations. Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) to two Bengali poets, she developed a literary voice distinguished by its intellectual depth, wit, and emotional openness. She studied English literature at Presidency College and comparative literature at Jadavpur University before pursuing further studies at Harvard University and Indiana University. Throughout her career, she published more than 80 books across numerous genres, including poetry, fiction, travel writing, literary criticism, and children’s literature. A committed feminist, she founded SOI, the Women Writers’ Association of West Bengal, to support women writers. Her honours included the Padma Shri in 2000 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999. Dev Sen remains an influential voice in modern Bengali literature, celebrated for combining humour, compassion, and a fearless examination of women’s experiences.

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Details
Published
2021
Author
Nabaneeta Dev Sen