SWEET MALIDA

A nostalgic collection of poems and short prose about the author’s Bene Israel upbringing.

In her opening essay, entitled “What’s in My Bones,” Joseph touches upon her childhood in Kolkata, India, within India’s oldest Jewish community, the Bene Israel. Acknowledging influences from British literature, American culture, world folklore, and more, the author sets the stage for the poems and essays to come. Most focus heavily on food, whether with detailed descriptions of the meal itself (“Let us heap the sugar-sprinkled poha / tall as a pyramid, mixed with shredded / coconut, precious dried fruit and nuts, / scented with the most fragrant / of spices…”) or reflections on the dish within its larger cultural context (“Sweet, some said it was, like wafers / and honey. Some said it was eaten / plain. Some that it was baked / on hot desert stones or made / into bread. Or added to bread. / Some said, like needles / of sea salt, it crumbled”). Other poems describe a melding of worlds, such as “Mumbai Goddesses,” in which the author recounts the first time her mother and grandmother introduced the idea of Santa into her childhood home. Joseph occasionally plays with form and spacing, forcing readers’ eyes to dart across the page in poems such as “The Angels of Konkan” and “What Ravens Do." Most poems are fairly short, no more than a page and a half, with the longest, “Leaf Boat,” spanning seven pages. Joseph’s words are simple and straightforward, although readers can peel back layers of meaning upon subsequent reads. The author quietly and expertly imbues even the most basic objects with meaning and efficiently uses plenty of mouthwatering metaphors to straddle both old cultures and new: “Sugar rose-tinted coconut milk thickening / tired arms bated breath silky cubes cooling / do spirits whisper old recipes / in a new land new life new history…” Her various reflections on the past prove to be both beautiful in form and broad in scope.

Steeped in rich imagery and keen insight, Joseph’s poems make for a fascinating journey of faith, family, and culture.