P. K. Saha Poetry

POETRY BY P. K. SAHA (1932–2021)
Prosanta Kumar Saha, often referred to as P.K. Saha, was a gifted writer, scholar, and professor. Saha traveled from Calcutta to Oberlin and completed his masters in only nine months before graduating in 1956. He became celebrated for his teaching, writing, and expertise in foreign linguistics. Embedded in much of his creative work was a contemplation of the diasporic experience – a sort of peeling back the of the layers of assimilating to Western culture without losing his South Asian roots.

Embodying complex legacies of migration, the works of material and religious culture before you have layers and legacies which call for thoughtful reflection but may feel distant. To aid in grounding these works in discussions of original context and cultural property, I now introduce one lived experience which can hopefully open new personal pathways to broaden our approach to this collection. I have thus selected poems by Saha which gracefully follow one immigrant’s transition between India and the United States. Saha’s poems are not all explicitly concerned with diasporic experiences, encompassing themes of love, romance, nature and people’s place within it, the process of aging, and the effects of formal education. Many of these poems resonate with themes in the works before you, and it is my hope that this poetic bridge enriches your experience while introducing you to another bright mind in the history of the Oberlin community.

Tesia Singh-Ragen (OC 2023)