The Atlas of Reds and Blues Read online

  Thank you Kiese Laymon, Nayomi Munaweera, Shanthi Sekaran, Rajiv Mohabir, Evelyne Accad, Magda Bogin, Harry Amana, Angel Velasco Shaw, Patricia Spears Jones & especially Lucille Clifton. I am grateful for the books of Maggie Nelson, Mary Robison, Sandra Cisneros, Chitra B. Divakaruni & Claudia Rankine.

  Namaste VONA poetical content family & Elmaz Abinader for bringing us together: (2015) Karineh Mahdessian, Laura G. Ramos, Tee Sarmina, Mariela Regalado, Sylvia Chavez, Damian Gonzalez, Alan Pelaez, Ramy El-Etreby, Li Ming Yu, Mackenzie MacDade, Martin Velasco Ramos, Tanzila Ahmed; & (2017) Arla S. Bull, Cinelle Barnes, Jai Dulani, John H. Joo, Nour Naas, Sarah Gonzalez, Soniya Munshi, Tina Zafreen Alam & J. Zeynab Joukhadar.

  Love and gratitude to my husband & daughters & to the Bagchi, Roychowdhury, Gupta, Chakrabarti, Dasgupta, Laskar & Sen families; A. L. & Renu Laskar, Pranab & Gauri Sen; Ru & Kim Sen, Raja & Shilpi Laskar & all of the marvelous cousins, nephews, nieces; Shankar & Ruma Sengupta, Daniella Davis, Sunanda McGarvey & family, Anjoli Roy & family, Ashmita Chatterjee & family, Korinne Lassiter, Rachael Zellner, Megan Campbell, Jenny Triplett, Kavita Rao, The Senguptas of Honolulu; Dean & Kathy Brewer, Robin Holtson, Chris Evans, Amanda Scacchitti, Beth Woodward, Susan Freiburg, Pete Apostolakis & his wonderful parents; Jay & Tanya Kruse, Jurgen & Gloria Hofler, Carolina Dourado, Walter Sorrells & Patti Hughes; & especially Faith Hoople & Luchina Fisher. Thanks Laura Wefing, Kathy McDonald, Enrique Balorya, Lori Gagnon, Frank Barbee, Becca Bradford, David McKinnis, Sherry Keen, Brad King, Sandra Grant, Pat Johnson, Christophe Neumann, Joe & Jane Render, Mrs. Gail Heath; Cindy Kuegeman & Wood Acres family; Karen Goelst, Prof. James Yee, Jill Leonard, Jay Chaudhuri & family, Rob & Pritha Roy, Sudhir Gupta & family, Eric & Helen Graben, Joyce Fitzpatrick, Jeff & Cheryl Gramling. Remembering Mrs. Kalyani Sen and J. R. & Nilima Dasgupta.

  And finally, much gratitude and love to the two Elizabeths: the writer Elizabeth Rosner for her friendship, vision and gentle guiding hand; and for my “golden oldie” friend, partner in literature, the writer Elizabeth Stark for her generosity of spirit, for asking the hard questions and for listening to understand.

  © Anjini Laskar

  DEVI S. LASKAR is a native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and holds an MFA from Columbia University. Her work has appeared in Tin House and Rattle, among other publications. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and is an alumna of TheOpEdProject and VONA. The Atlas of Reds and Blues is her first novel. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Find out more at devislaskar.com.