Review | BORN BEHIND BARS by Padma Venkatraman
BORN BEHIND BARS - The Art of the Prose Poem
My heart is still wrapped inside the pages of Padma Venkatraman’s most recent literary jewel, BORN BEHIND BARS. The story, told in prose poems and through the voice of nine-year-old Kabir, a boy born into a lower caste, in a prison in India, is one you will not easily forget. On his ninth birthday, he has come of the age where he must leave the prison without his mother who must remain to fulfill a wrongful sentence. Kabir is devastated when he is forced to leave his mother and all that he knows behind, as inhumane and barbaric as it is, and venture into the cruel streets of Chennai. Together with the help of another street child, Rani, they struggle, innovate, and try to survive against all odds. Kabir is determined to prove his mother’s innocence, to free her from the prison, and to be with her again, one day.
The story is a compelling and tragic look at the many different layers of injustice present in Indian society. Particularly striking when told through a child’s perspective which innocently questions it at every turn. The caste system is questioned through the circumstances that put Kabir and his mother in prison in the first place and in the violence they experience on the streets. It is demonstrated in the way adults mistreat children simply for being children and worst yet, for being poor, and not having a family to care for them. This unflinching look at the many discriminations Kabir and Rani experience as vulnerable street children stirs one to the core. However, it is Kabir’s spirit of persistence, his sweetness, and strong moral compass that helps the reader through the difficulty and we can’t help but hope with all of our might for him to succeed.
Brilliant story aside, what struck me most about BORN BEHIND BARS, is the excellence in literary craft Padma Venkatraman has displayed in this book. Prose poetry when done well, as it is here, is able to capture the true vitality of story – a character’s emotional journey through a set of circumstances – but also, deliver it through language that is artful and precise – two of the major tenants of poetry. Padma expertly balances these forces and it is what makes BORN BEHIND BARS such a successful verse novel.
To show you what I mean, let’s take a look at the opening page of the novel which is also the first chapter.
“Beyond the bars, framed by the high, square window, slides
a small patch of sky.
For months, it’s been as gray as the faded paint flaking off
the walls, but today it’s blue and gold. Bright as a happy song.
My thoughts, always eager to escape, shoot out and try to
picture the whole sky – even the whole huge world.
But my imagination has many missing pieces, like the jigsaw
puzzle in the schoolroom. All I’ve learned here in nine years
from my mother and my teachers is not enough to fill the gaps.
Still, it doesn’t stop me from imagining we’re free, Amma
and me, together, exploring the wide-open world that lives
beyond the bars.”
The first thing that stood out, was the visual placement of the lines. They mimic prison bars. The lines are laid out in short sentences with one full space in between. It was clear to me that these are not paragraphs but stanzas as the first word at the beginning of each broken line is never indented. It creates a visual rhythm throughout as well. This is a great example of concrete poetry – a form known for its performative demands on words or lines to mirror the content of what is written. It is a clever and wonderful device.
The language is gorgeous in the first stanza. The opening line alone speaks volumes. The author uses “patch of sky” figuratively to describe the scarcity in which the boy lives. It is utterly heartbreaking and beautiful.
The second line continues with more poetry. This time, metaphors are used to contrast the stark reality he is in “as gray as the faded paint” with the inspiration of the sky, “Bright as a happy song.”
In the third stanza, the author personifies his thoughts, they are “eager to escape, shoot out” and the child’s voice (diction) and world view is ever clear. But also, we see the interior world of the boy. This is something that is helped by poetry – the intimacy of the heart, the emotional landscape of characters.
The use of language in the fourth stanza is powerfully economic and precise. What would normally take a page or two in standard prose, we are given in only a few lines. It delivers metaphor, setting, introduces a character, and moves the story along. Again, the story elements and poetry are delicately balanced.
The final stanza gives us entry to the longing of the character through its use of musical lines. In poetry, breaking the line will give us some of the music in a stanza. But, because this is in prose form, the use of commas comes forward to ask us to pause, to take a breath, to synchronize and be lulled by the words.
Of course, this is only the first page and chapter! The entire book is written as artfully. In this brief example, we are immediately inside this prison with Kabir and his ever-present hope to be set free. In BORN BEHIND BARS we are given a gift. We are made aware of the power of language, the power of poetry to spring forth an inspiring, unforgettable story.
