FIRE'S GOAL: Poems from the Hindu Year

The first half of this book of devotional poetry is structured around festivals of the Hindu year, including Divali, Krsna Jayanti, the Night of Siva and Ganesha Chaturthi. Through the poems, Patton, a professor of Indian religions at Emory University, seeks to evoke the experience of a devotee. "Each [poem] attempts to portray a moment in the mind of such a person as he or she performs rituals of devotion," says Patton. The book's second half takes up the idea of gods crossing over to earth in particular holy places; some of these poems are in both English and Sanskrit. A brief appendix offers descriptions of each holiday and notes on some mythic symbols. (Sept. 20)