Iron Oxide attempts to explore the natural world as it relates to one's psyche--a mind in search of hope and solace through the various landscapes of solitude. Shome Dasgupta unsettles the earth by bringing the cosmos of cow's breath, the ether of mongrel beak, the infinity of ant-piles to rest in our heads, where sacred and profane maintain a running dialogue. Forget descriptive imagery—imagine, instead, a poem that physically enacts erosion in one's mind. Imagine interior velocities meeting across enjambments. Imagine the dance of rabbits on a threshold limning the distance between the surreal and the ethereal and then—only then—may you be one inch closer to the marvel of this book. —-Alina Ştefănescu, Author of Ribald Iron Oxide is a book of inventive language and multiplicities. The recitation of every poem carries a songlike quality, and embraces the tradition of singing through poetry. The poems echo with sonorous semblances, tracing nuance and wonder. Dasgupta meditates on the physiology of landscapes that transcend to explore the metaphysical. The chronology of these poems follow a process of sublimation; of leaps which hold meaning, patiently leading us toward discovery. The malleable syntax is especially how an amalgamation of pluralities is invited into these poems. A distinctive aspect of this book is the velocity of pace; in which every poem embodies a constancy, movement, and rhythm. The book engages with the formulations of language in newer, myriad ways, and the voice of Dasgupta shines through in this resplendent collection. —Sneha Subramanian Kanta, Author of Ghost Tracks Shome Dasgupta is the author of i am here And You Are Gone (Winner Of The 2010 OW Press Contest), The Seagull And The Urn (HarperCollins India), Anklet And Other Stories (Golden Antelope Press), Pretend I Am Someone You Like (Livingston Press), Mute (Tolsun Books), Iron Oxide (Assure Press), and the forthcoming epistolary work of fiction, Spectacles (Word West). His fiction and poetry have been anthologized in Best Small Fictions 2019, and Best Small Fictions 2021 (Sonder Press), The &Now Awards 2: The Best Innovative Writing (&Now Books), and Poetic Voices Without Borders 2 (Gival Press). His work has been featured as a storySouth Million Writers Award Notable Story. His stories and poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, Best Of The Net, and the Orison Anthology. He is currently the series editor of the Wigleaf Top 50. He lives in Lafayette, LA, and can be found at www.shomedome.com.