Poetry is Balm: Poems and Songs for our Grievous and Distracted Times

A new collection of refined and extraordinarily varied poems by the Anglo-Ceylonese writer, O.O. Bird. Originally contributed to the Anargha Poetry Circle, they are presented here in an exquisitely illustrated volume, under the title Poetry is Balm: Poems and Songs for our Grievous and Distracted Times. They represent the author’s first collected publication of poems, and they speak from the depths of his complex cultural heritage, both Humanist and Vedic. Two worlds, one poetic soul.

Deeply poignant at times, and funny at others, yet always catching us by surprise, they are crafted out of an impressive array of poetical styles and registers. Evocative, jubilant, fatalist, metaphysical or sensually vibrant, they more than live up to their title – administering a deep balm and consolation for the difficult and shifting times in which we live.