When Parag invited me to the American Poetry Museum in Washington D.C. to read, he had imagined a site-specific activation of The Daughter Industry (Nightboat Books, 2026) rather than a traditional poetry reading. The book is a poetry collection structured in three acts with seven players, each assigned a color of the rainbow and an apparition’s name, each of whom needs an audience to fully exist. For Parag’s vision to be realized, we had to rely on the shape of the room, who showed up that day, and how. Outside, it was about to rain. People drifted in and out of the museum, some clearly drawn more by the free wine and empanadas. The site itself, though, had a devoted cast of regulars who arrived with a beautiful curiosity and patience for poetry.Article continues after advertisement
I came carrying a canvas tote stuffed with seven sarong props. They were a gift from family, and each are a presence, symbols for the lives lost to gender violence and the hopeful power each survivor holds.
The ghost called Sidhangana, who acts as chorus, is the rainbow. As for the ensemble: Sai is blue. Shasha is orange. Suvali wears green. Sasmita laughs wrapped in the yellow like the sun sarong. Sajani is purple and Sarah’s sarong is a light purplish, close to indigo. Sheetal is red.
