"Like 'a bat’s wings in the darkest cave,' Renuka Raghavan’s Out of the Blue moves the reader deep within the soul and the heart. In this masterful hybrid collection of poetry, lists, and fiction, Raghavan examines a lifetime, spanning generations and continents. 'Words are heavy,' she writes, trying to barricade 'the lie inside.' With courage and tenderness, Raghavan meets 'the solid remorse' of living. Her writing—whether a poem, a collection of haiku, flash--underscores the tragedies and joys that are passed down through families, through birth and death, that hang from a tamarind tree. Renuka Raghavan’s 'prolific words' create a life that we recognize, that makes us weep, pray, and love. 'It’s like everything we know, malleable, fluid, and out of the blue.'
~ Jennifer Martelli, The Uncanny Valley and After Bird
"From monsoons in India to Hill County, Texas to Boston, Massachusetts, Renuka Raghavan seeks 'the unmasked beauty of organic wonder' and finds it everywhere, braiding a tightrope of tension between men and women’s longings, their quest for acceptance, love, how their roles are thrown up into the air, or left to ferment for hours like dosas, a flat pancake eaten with chutney, a favorite of her parents’ homeland. She creates air for 'every living thing needing their own space,' and helps them breathe, while putting out the fires of dragons. Her words are as fresh, succulent, and surprising as biting into a mango for the first time."
~ Laura Rodley, Counter Point and Turn Left at Normal
