mnLIT presents: Aseem Kaul
Read "If at first" by Aseem Kaul, a poem selected for the 2010 cycle of mnLIT's What Light competition by acclaimed poet Todd Boss.
If at first
There’s no shame
in getting it wrongat first
suicide
like loveis hard
but you have to keep tryingknowing
it only needs to workonce
and no matter whatyou say
there will always benext time.
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Todd Boss, the juror who selected Kaul’s entry for the 2010 What Light contest, writes: “I’m interested in this poem because of its seemingly casual approach to heavy subject matter. There’s tension built right into that. And I’ve re-read the poem a dozen times trying to sort out the last four lines; I find them beguiling because there are a couple different ways to read them, and because the lightness of the whole poem suggests the ending is a dark joke.”
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About the poet: Aseem Kaul lives in Minneapolis, where he is Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota. Aseem’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Cortland Review, RHINO, Rattle, Poetry East and nthposition, among others. A collection of his short fiction, titled etudes, was published in 2009.
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Membership on mnartists.org is FREE. Find step-by-step instructions for how to join and how to use the free resources available on the site. If you need assistance, contact Jehra Patrick at info@mnartists.org. Any Minnesota resident is eligible to participate in mnartists.org’s mnLIT competitions for poetry and fiction; there are no entry fees, and writers at all levels of skill and experience are welcome to enter work for consideration by a revolving panel of established authors and publishing professionals in mnLIT’s blind adjudication process.
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