In My Body Didn't Come Before Me, Kuhu Joshi recalls her struggle with spinal
deformity, depression and shame that made it nearly impossible to feel at
ease in her body. Her verses travel in time between childhood, when she was
diagnosed with severe scoliosis, and her journey into young adulthood. They
move between hospitals, schools, gardens and homes in an urgent attempt
to reclaim agency. The poet asks: Who is a woman before she becomes just a
body? Is there a part of her that isn't trapped in the limitations of the physical
and the conventions the world sets down for womanhood? The longing for
safety and pleasure that envelops girls and women bonds them to each other
in these poems. Sensual and intense, they explore desires that are sharply
individual yet deeply universal. The poetic voice is in turns coolly observant
and seething with rage. It brings to focus distinct moments from the past that
may seem small but are defining. Parents, lovers, friends and strangers haunt
the universe of this moving and exquisitely crafted collection.
