“Iron Oxide is a book of inventive language and multiplicities. The recitation of every poem carries a songlike quality, and embraces the tradition of singing through poetry. The poems echo with sonorous semblances, tracing nuance and wonder. Dasgupta meditates on the physiology of landscapes that transcend to explore the metaphysical. The chronology of these poems follow a process of sublimation; of leaps which hold meaning, patiently leading us toward discovery. The malleable syntax is especially how an amalgamation of pluralities is invited into these poems. A distinctive aspect of this book is the velocity of pace; in which every poem embodies a constancy, movement, and rhythm. The book engages with the formulations of language in newer, myriad ways, and the voice of Dasgupta shines through in this resplendent collection.”

—Sneha Subramanian Kanta, Author of Ghost Tracks

“Shome Dasgupta unsettles the earth by bringing the cosmos of cow’s breath, the ether of mongrel beak, the infinity of ant-piles to rest in our heads, where sacred and profane maintain a running dialogue. Forget descriptive imagery—imagine, instead, a poem that physically enacts erosion in one’s mind. Imagine interior velocities meeting across enjambments. Imagine the dance of rabbits on a threshold limning the distance between the surreal and the ethereal and then—only then—may you be one inch closer to the marvel of this book.”

—Alina Ştefănescu, Author of Ribald