South South
By Carolene Kurien
IThis week, SWWIM and Matwaala are coming together to celebrate women writers of South Asian heritage with a week of poetry and a SWWIM x Matwaala writing residency and reading at The Betsy-South Beach featuring visiting writer Nina Sudhakar and local writer Carolene Kurien. (The reading will take place on September 11 at 7:00 pm. Please join us in person or via Instagram Live or Facebook Live!)
Matwaala was launched in 2015 to increase the visibility of diasporic South Asian poets (from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Afghanistan) in the mainstream American literary landscape. The name Matwaala in a transferred sense suggests the intoxication of poetic creativity. Matwaala showcases the diversity within the South Asian community—and within the Indo-American community.
A note from Matwaala: Matwaala, the South Asian Diaspora Poetry Collective, is honored to join hands with SWWIM in celebrating a week of South Asian poetry that celebrates Matwaala’s tenth anniversary. A thoughtfully curated selection of women poets offer us a constellation of rich poetry this week. Together with SWWIM, we affirm poetry’s power to bridge distances, and amplify voices.
Existence is……fine I’m unemployed and/or a slut Take your pick Baby hairs are the new micro bangs Micro bangs are the new micro bangs I’m a woman and I have many friends I’m a woman and I’m medium-charming According to the WikiHow page on How to Disappear Completely You’ll be held responsible for your search party fees If anyone ends up finding you Ok If you were to disappear would you see the gates first Or the other side of heaven no one talks about I am mired in modest misery; I dream of neon, veils, Blue, Sandy Ride the mechanical bull until broken arm, ride, ride, touch me Making mistakes is a birthright even God won’t interfere with We’re going south south, every which way Homestead, Delray, Tito’s, Dora’s I am sick and I am dying I’m an entrail ground to nothing Amma, Appa, this, that Everything that happens Is just another thing that happens
Carolene Kurien is a Malayali-American poet from South Florida. Her work has garnered support and recognition from MacDowell, the Kenyon Review Writers Workshops, the Miami Book Fair Emerging Writer Fellowship, and Poetry Society UK. A Tennessee Williams Scholar in Poetry for the 2025 Sewanee Writers' Conference, she has poems published or forthcoming in Poetry London, RHINO, Sixth Finch, The Cincinnati Review, Southeast Review, and elsewhere. You can learn more at carolenekurien.com.
09/11 / Poetry Reading and Conversation, a collaboration with Matwaala, with visiting poet-in-residence Nina Sudhakar & local poet Carolene Kurien / The BBar at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live (rsvp here) and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 7-8:30 pm EST / Free
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wow so original and fascinating!
Captivating. Such a voice.