Description
In the great Bengali poet’s autobiographical writings we discover what his translators describe as ‘a heart of love, a mind at its service that can cut like a knife, and in some sense the spirit of a child.’ The six prose pieces, centering on the poet’s quest, were composed at landmark moments during the second half of his life and published posthumously. At each point he looks back on a long creative journey. Here in their first English translation, the essays offer an insight into the intellectual and spiritual world of a twentieth-century genius.







Footnotes to Water
You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus
States of Happiness
Essential Poems from the Staying Alive Trilogy
In Reality
Strong Words
Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy
Gold from the Stone
Women in comfortable shoes