Award-winning poet and writer Rummana Chowdhury has recently released a book of new poems titled “Where Do I Belong” (published by Xlibris). This anthology examines the ups and downs of the immigrant experience through the eyes and heart of the author who is herself an immigrant in Canada.
“Where Do I Belong” is a collection of traditional poetry and free style verses. The characters, themes and storylines within the poems reflect themes of violence, resilience, migration, love, nature, hope, diaspora and survival – the many stages that make up the life of migrant women and all other people around the world. As the title insinuates, the book grapples with questions of belonging, identity and home.
“I had always envisioned myself as an immigrant, part of a vibrant diasporic community on a journey to the West. But the stark realization that I was now also a Westerner triggered the peak of an ongoing journey where I decided I officially no longer knew where in the world I belonged. Home was in two places and nowhere all at the same time. During my life journey, I have seen so much good and evil in the world. I wanted to portray my many different homes and worlds to others who, like me, were in an incessant search for home and belonging,” Chowdhury says.
Proceeds from the sale of “Where Do I Belong” will be donated to the victims of the Savar tragedy in Dhaka, Bangladesh.