Poet Profile

Arvinder Kaur

Arvinder Kaur, author, translator, poet has retired as Principal from Government College Mohali, India. She has served as an associate Professor in English Literature and Media Studies in PGGCG -11, Chandigarh, India and other Government colleges for nearly 35 years. She is a free spirit who loves haiku, hindi, urdu and Punjabi poetry. She experiments with literary forms fearlessly. Her haiku have been published in various international journals including Frogpond, Modern Haiku,The Heron's Nest, A Hundred Gourds, Cattails, Presence, Chrysanthemum, World Haiku Review, The Asahi Shimbun, The Mainichi.

Awards and Other Honors: Awarded positions and honorable mentions in various contests including The Mainichi Haiku Contest, Shiki Monthly Kukai, Indian Kukai, Carribean Kigo Kukai, Vancouver Cherry Blossom Haiku Contest etc. Guest poet at Mann Library's Daily Haiku (April 2015).

Books Published: Books of haiku: Nimolian (Punjabi Haiku) - Lokgeet Prakashan, Chandigarh, India (2013) and dandelion seeds (bilingual, English and Punjabi) - Aesthetic Publications, Ludhiana, New York, Brampton (2015); books of translation: Amrita and Imroz; In the Times of Love and Longing - Full Circle, New Delhi (2009); Under Raintrees, ai li's cherita in translation - Aesthetic Publications, Ludhiana, New York, Brampton (2018).

ceasefire― 
a soldier comes home 
wrapped in moonlight

blackout siren―
the toddler's grip
tightens on my breast

rustle of silk―
embroidered peacocks
dance on her saree

kitchen gossip―
the sound of her knife
on the chopping board

swirling leaves―
a scribble of starlings
in the evening sky

dandelions―
how i learnt
to let go

Credits: "ceasefire" – honorable mention The 18th Mainichi Haiku Contest (2014); "blackout siren" – Frogpond Vol. 38.3 (Autumn 2015); “rustle of silk” – The Heron's Nest Vol. XVII No. 3 (2015); “kitchen gossip” - Big Data. The Red Moon Anthology Red Moon Press (2014); “swirling leaves” – Frogpond Vol. 37.1 (Winter 2014); “dandelions” – first place European Quarterly Kuka (Spring 2015).