Additional information
by Rahul Mehta (Author)
Find the beauty. In 2017, writer and educator Rahul Mehta began a writing practice to find solace and beauty--in the natural world, in their family and friends, and in everyday simplicities--during a time of political tensions, environmental disasters, a global pandemic, and personal disappointment. From the vibrant color of a blade of grass, to their dog sleeping quietly in the corner, to delicate petals fallen from a rose, a mindfulness of the beauty in their surroundings helped offset the feelings of fear, outrage, and helplessness. The result of this exercise is a profoundly moving poetry collection that explores Mehta's South Asian and Appalachian culture, their Queerness, their relationships with self and others, race, privilege, and a deep admiration of nature and the spiritual realm.
With the ear of a poet and a novelist's understanding of narrative motion, Mehta draws in the reader through humor, tenderness, and complexity. This debut poetry collection from the Lambda Literary Award-winning writer is a magnificent celebration of our own ordinary yet miraculous daily lives--an acknowledgment of the "messy beauty . . . ugly beauty" in the world.
Author Biography
Rahul Mehta is the author of the novel No Other World and the short story collection Quarantine. Their work has been awarded a Lambda Literary Award and an Asian American Literary Award and has appeared in numerous publications, including the Kenyon Review, the Massachusetts Review, the Georgia Review, The Sun, and the New York Times Magazine. Born and raised in West Virginia in a Gujarati-American household, they teach creative writing in Philadelphia, where they live with their partner and their dog.
