In this new landmark Penguin anthology of sacred poetry that arrives after the much-loved book, Eating God, poet and spiritual traveller Arundhathi Subramaniam weaves together haunting voices of, by and for women across the Indian subcontinent. Here is a lineage of audacious woman-centred spirituality that traverses the poetry of ancient Buddhist nuns, Bhakti and Sufi mystics, tantrikas and Vedantins. There are women here, and men singing as women, and both raising their voices in praise of the sacred feminine. Brought to us through translation, these poems surprise with how intimately familiar their ravenous yearnings and ecstatic freedoms are. Wild Women: Seekers, Protagonists and Goddesses in Sacred Indian Poetry invites us to reclaim an explosive inheritance of female power, rapture and wisdom. 

Arundhathi Subramaniam will introduce and discuss the book, as part of this author interaction at Atta Galatta. Her presentation will be followed by readings of translations by Prathibha Nandakumar, Mani Rao, Ahalya Ballal and Rahul Soni.

Arundhathi Subramaniam is a leading Indian poet and author of fourteen books of poetry and prose. A recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award 2020, and shortlisted for the prestigious TS Eliot Prize for Poetry 2015, her awards include the Mahakavi Kanhaiyalal Sethia Award, among others. 

Prathibha Nandakumar is a Kannada poet, journalist, film-maker, columnist and translator, whose twenty-four books include poems, short stories, biographies, plays, translations and essays.

Mani Rao is the author of twelve books of poetry and three books in translation from Sanskrit, including Saundarya Lahari, Bhagavad Gita and Kalidasa.

Ahalya Ballal is curious about words and includes theatre and classical dance as her passions, both as practitioner and viewer.

Rahul Soni is a writer, editor and translator based in India. He is Associate Publisher (Literary) at HarperCollins Publishers India.