Mohua Mitra Walks Into A Strange Encounter Between Jaipur, Japan

Anthologies which constitute the bulk of publishing activity now are rather like black holes in outer space with a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape from it. Having attained a uniquely vacuous state at the end of its life, black holes develop an unstanchable appetite for sucking up and devouring any surrounding matter. So too with anthologies. The past decade has shown that there is a similar inverse ratio between the ever smaller area of human activity that has not yet been anthologised and the number of anthologies it seems to attract. Take the New Writing Series Volume 5 edited by Christopher Hope and Peter Porter (Vintage in association with the British Council, Special Indian price,