Measure of a Wo/Man

By Jagjeet Sharma

What is the measure of a woman? She is immeasurable. She is strong. She is a double force to reckon with. Jagjeet Sharma's "journalistic poetry" continues in this new poetry collection, Measure of a Wo/man.

 

Poems in this collection are about the Wo/man. The Hindu God Shiva's ardhanishvara, a concept that she is both half man and half woman. Lord Shiva, one of the Hindu gods is referred to as the ultimate man, but one form of Shiva is also a fully developed woman. The masculine and the feminine are equally divided within yourself, within oneself. It is about the struggles and challenges a Wo/man faces day in and day out in any part of the world.

 

 

"Jagjeet's poems use simple language, but are extremely profound and relatable"

-The North Grenville Times, May 2, 2018

 

 

"...even when the poems are relatively simple, moves one to reflect on contemporary society, power structures, the surviving fragments of our own traditions and on ourselves"

- Review by Christopher Adam

• Language: English
• Publisher: Broken Keys Publishing & Press
• Release date: Mar 8, 2024
• ISBN: 9781988253787

Jagjeet Sharma

Jagjeet Sharma is a freelance journalist, poet and author. She hosts a weekly radio show in Ottawa along with her team of dedicated volunteers on CKCU 93.1fm. She has three collections of poems to her credit. Nature's Subtle Seductions, published 2018; Fragments, published 2019. Raindrops, her third collection was launched in June 2020. COVID 19 Chronicles - Reflections on the 2020 pandemic was published in November 2020. This anthology, a limited edition, was launched in December 2020. It was initiated by the Ottawa Ethnic Media Forum (OEMF) with support from the Media Club of Ottawa. COVID 19 Chronicles Part 2- Road to Recovery anthology was published December 2021. Jagjeet has contributed to several publications, the Ottawa Independent Writers’ anthology, “Short stories for a long year,” 2020; “Ottawa Rising,” 2022; Broken Keys Publishing anthology, Love & Catastrophē Poetrē, 2021; the Glebe Report (Ottawa); Apt 613, and The Canadian Literature: A quarterly of Criticism and Review. Jagjeet is also one of the judges on the Bywords poetry selection committee. She is an Ottawa Independent Writers’ (OIW) ex-board member; a member of the North Grenville Writers’ Circle; a founding member of the Ottawa Ethnic Media Forum, and a member of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA). She won the CEMA award for journalistic excellence 2021 in the print category. She is currently working on a collection of short stories, another collection of poems, COVID-19 Part 3 anthology, and other projects.

Book preview

Measure of a Wo/man

A collection of poetry

by Jagjeet Sharma

Dedication Page

For Maa

...miss you

His presence everywhere

upon whom we rely

day and night

Acknowledgements

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A warm thank you to family and friends. Thank you to Michael W. Pohoresky for the gorgeous cover design and art. My extreme gratitude to Michel Weatherall and Broken Keys Publishing & Press  for supporting local authors and uplifting their spirit and confidence.  Also extending my gratitude to Tiger Lily Editing Services for their fine editing skills and advice.

Introduction

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Poems in this collection are about the wo/man. She is half man and half woman, a concept that derives from the Hindu God Shiva’s ardhanishvara. Lord Shiva, one of the Hindu gods is referred to as the ultimate man, but one form of Shiva is also a fully developed woman. The masculine and the feminine are equally divided  within yourself, within oneself.

That said then what is the measure of a wo/man? She is immeasurable. She is strong. She is a double force to reckon with.

Although she is a