Tag: Jim Murdoch

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Contents

Borderless, September 2025

Art by Sohana Manzoor

Editorial

Seasons Out of Time… Click here to read

Translations

Nazrul’s Karar Oi Louho Kopat (Those Iron Shackles of Prison) has been translated from Bengali by Professor Fakrul Alam. Click here to read.

Five poems by Ashwini Mishra have been translated from Odia by Snehprava Das. Click here to read.

The Dragonfly, a poem by Ihlwha Choi,  has been translated from Korean by the poet himself. Click here to read.

Tagore’s Aaj Shororter Aloy (Today, in the Autumnal Light) has been translated from Bengali by Mitali Chakravarty. Click here to read.

Poetry

Click on the names to read the poems

Ryan Quinn Flanagan, Onkar Sharma, Ron Pickett, Arshi, Joseph K Wells, Shamim Akhtar, Stephen House, Mian Ali, John Grey, Juliet F Lalzarzoliani, Joseph C.Obgonna, Jim Bellamy, Soumyadwip Chakraborty, Richard Stimac, Sanzida Alam, Jim Murdoch, Rhys Hughes

Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes

In Soaring with Icarus, Rhys Hughes shares a serious poems. Click here to read.

Musings/ Slices from Life

Parenting Tips from a Quintessential Nerd

Farouk Gulsara relooks at our golden years and stretches it to parenting tips. Click here to read.

Instrumental in Solving the Crime

Meredith Stephens takes us to a crime scene with a light touch. Click here to read.

What’s in a Name?

Jun A Alindogan writes about the complex evolution of names in Phillippines. Click here to read.

Bibapur Mansion: A Vintage Charmer

Prithvijeet Sinha takes us for a tour of Lucknow’s famed vintage buildings. Click here to read.

Musings of a Copywriter

In Demolition Drives… for Awards?, Devraj Singh Kalsi muses on literary awards. Click here to read.

Notes from Japan

In Contending with a Complicated History, Suzanne Kamata writes of her trip to US from Japan. Click here to read.

Essays

The Bauls of Bengal

Aruna Chakravarti writes of wandering minstrels called bauls and the impact they had on Tagore. Click here to read.

The Literary Club of 18th Century London

Professor Fakrul Alam writes on literary club traditions of Dhaka, Kolkata and an old one from London. Click here to read.

Stories

Looking for Evans

Rashida Murphy writes a light-hearted story about a faux pas. Click here to read.

Exorcising Mother

Fiona Sinclair narrates a story bordering on spooky. Click here to read.

The Storm

Anandita Dey wanders down strange alleys of the mind. Click here to read.

The Fog of Forgotten Gardens

Erin Jamieson writes from a caregivers perspective. Click here to read

The Anger of a Good Man

Naramsetti Umamaheswararao makes up a new fable. Click here to read.

Feature

A review of Jaladhar Sen’s The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas, translated from Bengali by Somdatta Mandal, and an online interview with the translator. Click here to read.

Book Excerpts

An excerpt from Jaladhar Sen’s The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas, translated from Bengali by Somdatta Mandal. Click here to read.

An excerpt from Prithvijeet Sinha’s debut collection of poems, A Verdant Heart. Click here to read.

Book Reviews

Somdatta Mandal reviews Aruna Chakravarti’s selected and translated, Rising From the Dust: Dalit Stories from Bengal. Click here to read.

Rakhi Dalal reviews Mohua Chinappa’s Thorns in My Quilt: Letters from a Daughter to her Father. Click here to read.

Pradip Mondal reviews Kiriti Sengupta’s Selected Poems. Click here to read.

Bhaskar Parichha reviews Kalyani Ramnath’s Boats in a Storm: Law, Migration, and Decolonization in South and Southeast Asia, 1942–1962. Click here to read.

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Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International

Categories
Poetry

Short Poems by Jim Murdoch

Jim Murdoch
On Grudges

Grudges are like hedgehogs.
Be careful how you hold them.
And never juggle with them.

Seriously, don’t.


Hide and Seek

[I]t’s harder for him to mean something than say – A.R. Ammons

Meaning hid in the words.
The last place anyone would look.
These days anyways.

And no one looked.
No one looked.
No one ever looked.

And that… hurt.


Tuesday (or in might’ve been a Friday)

Wrote a little poetry.
Made no difference.
Same ol’ same ol’.

Actually, I think it was Sunday,


Quotidian

Every day I forget a little.
I eat a little, sleep a little,
forget a little…

actually, sometimes I do forget to eat but

I never forget to forget.
Either way it gets a little
easier every day.

Jim Murdoch has been writing poetry for fifty years for which he blames Larkin, who probably blamed Hardy. He has published two books of poetry, a short story collection and four novels.

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PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International

Categories
Contents

Borderless, March 2024

Art by Sohana Manzoor

Editorial

‘If Winter Comes, Can Spring be Far Behind…’ Click here to read.

Translations

Travels of Debendranath Tagore are narratives translated from Bengali by Somdatta Mandal. Click here to read.

The Yellow Flower, a narrative by Haneef Sharif, has been translated by Fazal Baloch from Balochi. Click here to read.

Ye Shao-weng’s poetry ( 1100-1150) has been translated from Mandarin by Rex Tan. Click here to read.

Nazrul’s Amamai Nahi Go Bhalobashleo (Even if you don’t love me) has been translated by Professor Fakrul Alam from Bengali. Click here to read.

Rough Stone by Ihlwha Choi has been translated from Korean to English by the poet himself. Click here to read.

Phalgun or Spring by Rabindranath Tagore has been translated from Bengali by Mitali Chakravarty. Click here to read.

Conversations

A discussion with Radha Chakravarty on her new book, Subliminal, and a brief review of the book. Click here to read.

Jagari Mukherjee interviews Rajorshi Patranabis, discussing his new book, Checklist Anomaly and Wiccan philosophy. Click here to read.

Poetry

Click on the names to read the poems

Rhys Hughes, Alpana, Ron Pickett, Shamik Banerjee, Stuart McFarlean, Baisali Chatterjee Dutt, John Grey, Shahalam Tariq, Jim Murdoch, Kumar Ghimire, Peter Magliocco, Saranyan BV, Rex Tan, Samina Tahreem, Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal

Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes

In Lines for Loons, Loonies and Such-like, Rhys Hughes shares a rare treat. Click here to read.

Musings/Slices from Life

The Elusive Utopia?

Farouk Gulsara discusses the ideal of a perfect world. Click here to read.

Serenading Sri Lanka

Mohul Bhowmick backpacks in Sri Lanka with a camera. Click here to read.

Musings of a Copywriter

In A Conversation with God, Devraj Singh Kalsi has a bargaining chip. Click here to read.

Notes from Japan

In Cherry Blossom Forecast, Suzanne Kamata brings the Japanese ritual of cherry blossom viewing to our pages with her camera and words. Click here to read.

Stories

Prison Break

C.J.Anderson-Wu gives a poignant flash fiction. Click here to read.

Terrace

Rakhi Pande relates a strange tale from Goa. Click here to read.

The Temple-going Snake

Devraj Singh Kalsi almost creates a fable but not quite. Click here to read.

Monsoon Arc

K.S. Subramaniam shows the human spirit pitched against the harshness of monsoon storms. Click here to read.

Felipe Jimenez’s Quest of the Unheard

Paul Mirabile travels to Spain of Goya’s times with an imaginary friend who takes after perhaps, Don Quixote? Click here to read.

Essays

Where the Rice is Blue and Dinosaurs Roar…

Ravi Shankar takes us on a tour of a Malaysian town. Click here to read.

Conquering Fears: Bowing to the Mountains 

Keith Lyons tells us of his challenging hike in New Zealand. Click here to read.

Book Excerpts

An excerpt from Out of Sri Lanka: Tamil, Sinhala and English Poetry from Sri Lanka and its Diasporas edited by Vidyan Ravinthiran, Seni Seneviratne and Shash Trevett. Click here to read.

An excerpt from Rajat Chaudhuri’s Spellcasters. Click here to read.

Book Reviews

Somdatta Mandal reviews Ilse Kohler-Rollefson’s Camel Karma: Twenty Years Among India’s Camel Nomads. Click here to read.

Rakhi Dalal reviews Anuradha Kumar’s The Kidnapping of Mark Twain: A Bombay Mystery. Click here to read.

Bhaskar Parichha reviews Mafia Raj: The Rule of Bosses in South Asia by Lucia Michelutti, Ashraf Hoque, Nicolas Martin, David Picherit, Paul Rollier, Clarinda Still. Click here to read.

.

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International

Categories
Poetry

Not Everything Belongs in a Poem…

By Jim Murdoch

WARDROBE MALFUNCTION
  
Instead of Narnia we wound up in Oz
which was fine aside from the lion
who took some getting used to.
PTSD is no joking matter.
 
The tiger on the other hand…


SIMPATICO
  
Quite often I finish
my wife’s sentences.
It’s not such a big deal.
 
I get it right too, well,
every ten or twelve goes.
I call that a win.


’NUFF SAID
 
There are many things not in this poem
but that is how it should be.
 
Not everything belongs in a poem
even if it can be made to fit.

Jim Murdoch has been writing poetry for fifty years for which he blames Larkin. Who probably blamed Hardy. He has published two books of poetry, a short story collection and four novels.

.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Kindle Amazon International