this book was tough in both content and style. i liked that the original poems were printed right beside the translated english versions. kazim ali's translations offer clean, plain language, but ananda devi's poems are anything but surface level. there's a lot of subtlety to be had — so much so that it could be easy for readers to miss if they're not already acquainted with difficult poetry.

this collection skews more lyrical than imagistic, and the associative leaps required from one line to the next can be tough to connect together since there's not a lot of context to work with. overall, i did like many of these blurry sketches of pain, despair, and vulnerability—i just wanted more to work with so i could see the picture more clearly.

many thanks to the publishers for giving me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

May 2, 2024
I want to thank NetGalley for the advanced Arc of this poetry book.

Review

I have always appreciated and liked poetry and this collection was a nice read, giving insight as well as being simplistically and raw in places but I appreciated that the French versions were still there in this translated book.

Was an interesting read

lovely collection of poems, with a translation in french and english. I think this would be a great book of poetry for someone who is fluent in both languages.

A beautiful book of poetry. I love that you get the original and the translation. This book is raw and beautifully written.

A book full of beautiful raw poem that go deep in and shines what's inside. A bit of madness. I love that it translates from French and keeps the original right by the English.

This slim book of poetry was my introduction to Ananda Devi, an introduction that is apparently long overdue given that it turns out she is "considered one of the major French language writers of Mauritius and the Indian Ocean" and "one of the most important Francophone writers in the world." I've added some of her other books to my TBR list.

Let's talk first about how beautifully this book is laid out. On the left page is Devi's original poem (in French), and on the right page is Kazim Ali's English translation. I wish more translated-poetry books were laid out like this, so that you can appreciate the poem in its original language, whether or not you speak that language. There's still something powerful about seeing the author's original words, and how she laid them out on the page.
The poems themselves are delicate, often dark, multilayered constructions that promise more meaning with each successive reading. The book's afterword is a treat in and of itself. There's a note from the translator, an interview with Ananda Devi, and an essay titled "Reading Devi's Poetry" by assistant professor Mohit Chandna. Lots of meaty stuff here to dig into; I wish all poetry books contained such additional materials. They connected me more deeply to Devi's poetry, and helped me understand some of the more complex elements.

In her interview, she says "When you are young, you think that everything can change. When you grow older, you realize that you yourself have to change, to understand that all of it is part of life's experience, that life is not about pursuing happiness but about coming to terms: with who you are, with what's you've done, with what was not possible, with what is still possible." A good quote to remember.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.

a lyrically enticing set of poems. the author touches on subjects of womanhood, the way politicians are able to say things others would not get away with, young boys being lost to political wars and sexuality.

i've never read anything by a mauritiuan author before so this was really cool to read. the themes of the poems were similar to themes you can find in other parts of the world.

initially, i don't think i fully understood what all the poems were about until i read the 'interview with the author' at the end so this made the reading journey a little confusing at some points for me.

i think the author has created some great imagery with her descriptions.

Stunning poetry collection here - it flows in a dreamy way, and nothing was lost in the translation process. Some of the poems are emotionally deep and raw while others are light as clouds. If you enjoy heartfelt poetry, then you'll love this book.
Thank you to both Netgalley and the author for this arc!

What a mesmerizing book of poetry “When The Night Agrees To Speak To Me” by Ananda Devi is. I opened it with no expectation or knowledge of what it would be, and found a book of beauty, deep pain and superb use of language. Maybe I should have intuited it from the title which grasped my imagination immediately. The sole idea of the night “agreeing” to speak contains such aliveness, personifying the time of darkness and introducing the idea of consent in the relationship to the poet - maybe a hint to the feminist themes that are to emerge from the book.

The very first poem, structured cleanly in five stanzas of four lines each, guides the reader into a space of absences, where “nothing’s left” of people, “just the low sky, the river grasses, / wild water / abandoned beehives”. There, “your ears strain to hear / the voices of those absent / until the night at last / agrees to speak to you.” (/3). For if nothing is left of what was of a country colonized, at least the night, in its vastness, will stay with you. In a poem later in the collection, the night speaks “with a blade / that slices / into the places of certainty / that carves / love into loneliness” (/51) - the night becomes a sort of companion, “neither lover nor enemy”, but a mirror into life itself.

Not only the night is personified - later we find “brambles” waiting “to be fed by wounds” (/11). Absences keep re-emerging, “of the island there only remains / footsteps echoing of those long gone since” (/15, in French, “Que les pas des absents”). Pain sweeps slowly in, until the brink of suicide (“There came to me the desire / for pills delicate and white” /25) that is only kept at bay by love and the closeness of others (“You will feed me, you / My sometimes spouses, / When I no longer have the strength / To feed myself.” /25). And yet staying afloat isn’t easy (“The sum of moments comes to nothing / Survival feels useless: death is so overrated / There was nothing before and will be nothing after” /27).

The book continues with these rhythms until its second part, so to say, which consists of prose poems more overtly political, grounded in a post-colonial context. For example “Words Die a Slow Death” explores the ways in which words lose meaning in certain political discourses, while “Poetics of Islands” is a meditation on colonized islands, refusing the romanticization of the homeland and exploring the losses of resistance (“How can you not enter a state of rage like entering a state of grace” /72).

Devi is a Mauritian author of Telugu ancestry, something I found out only later and which helps get a better understanding of her texts. Reading the French original next to the English translation by Kazim Ali gave it even more depth, and I am glad to have been able to practice some of my French, remembering how words are pronounced and noticing the assonances and rhymes, some of which are reflected in the translation. The end note by the translator, the interview with the author and the critical text by Mohit Chandna add another layer to a book already filled with emotion and meaning.

“The bolts are broken / The door swings open / Forever impossible / The first step outside of myself.” /45

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC.

What a beautiful collection of poetry. When The Night Agrees To Speak To Me was my first exposure to Ananda Devi's work and what an amazing collection it was. It had me feeling SO many emotions as Devi's poetry dives into the colonial past of her home, Mauritius. The fact that Kazim Ali's translation of Devi's collection starts each poem with the original French version makes it feel so unique as you can see the differences and even feel different emotions between them as well as be beautifully sensitive to the meaning beneath the words.

Overall, When The Night Agrees To Speak To Me is an amazing collection of heartfelt poems that hold boundless emotions like the waters surrounding Mauritius. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves poetry.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers India for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

incredibly unique style (one page in French and the next the English translation) and gorgeous poetry and stream-of-consciousness prose reflections.

This volume of poetry is beautiful and emotional. It focuses on the hard and sometimes painful truths of a male dominated society that tries to control a woman's body. There is vivid imagery where the beauty of nature is often contrasted with violence and decay. There are lines within the poems that I loved and brought me to tears. I appreciate that this volume had the original French text along with the translations. I also enjoyed the end matter included along with this book. It really added context.

Absolutely loved this devastating collection of poetry.

I have never read a book like this before, it is so unique. Each poet is in both French & Engligh language.

The prose short stories towards the end are beautiful, yet harrowing. Each poet & prose reflect on culture & politics via womens body & experience.

The translators own chapter was uniquely brilliant. I understand his descriptions how her words come through his body via 'dram'.

The final chapter reflection analyse take you deeper into the meaning of the words.

Have never read such a wonderful poetry book & will recommend to others.

"When The Night Agrees To Speak To Me" is a bilingual (French/English) book of poetry and prose with an interview between the author and translator and additional notes at the end. The poetry and prose beautifully mix and flow between light and dark with visceral imagery and deep emotion. This is a gorgeous collection, made all the more impactful through the additional notes and interview included at the end. Highly recommended.

I loved Devi's style it reminded me of Marine Pretossian. I would recommend it to every poetry lover, it was a great read. I enjoyed it a lot. Definitely a must read author.

Honestly speaking, this was a good book. It just didn't wow me like I thought it would. This is truly just personal preference since poetry is very subjective and people receive the writing in a poetry book in different ways!

Ananda Devi's "When the Night Agrees to Speak to Me" is a beautiful poetry collection followed by three short prose pieces. Each poem is shown in the original language followed by the English translation. The poems range in topics spanning from politics, feminism, loneliness, family, and everything in between. Additionally, the end of the book contains an interview with the poet, which provides an interesting perspective on the power of language and the inspiration behind the poems. The interview provided key context to the meaning of certain poems and explained certain ideas that were lost in translation. Looking back, I wish that each poem would have had an annotation from the author explaining her inspiration. This would have brought more meaning to the poems and brought more clarity to the author's intentions.

oh my god. i loved everything about this. i loved how the original french that the poetry was written in was kept in the book, then the translations were on the next page. i loved the writing and the prose. some of the lines were so good i just had to highlight them and come back to them! also, i loved the interview. the first answer to the question made me feel so many things. i love devi’s style of writing and speaking and ali’s way of translating these poems <3

when the night agreed to speak with me is very hazy and dreamlike, with a few poems seeming to come into focus and then drop away again. every few pages, something would click and i’d feel connected to the writing, but then i’d turn the page & be lost again. it does very much feel like stumbling around a night, trying to find the light.
the french & english side by side is very interesting, i think if u read both u would have the most impact. there is something interesting about how the words + feelings translate. i only speak very minimal french & most of it i have forgotten, so i feel like this added layer of meaning was lost on me.
i do think a lot of people would love this, but it didn’t impact me in the way i expected it to <3

It had each poem in French and English which is neat.
I liked them. I can feel the emotion in each piece.