Description
Suruchi Choksi’s collection of poems with words and visuals is extremely relatable. These poems carry the marks, scars, medals, wounds, talismans, regrets, hopes, trials, consolations and triumphs of a major life change. This work is among those reaffirming the role of poetry as the language of choice in periods of inner and outer transformation. — Suhit Bombaywala, Writer and Journalist
A Self drained of strength. Decaying. Abandoned in landscape of ‘ash’ made ‘love’ made ‘absence’ made ‘exile’. Like the silence that seeks refugee in language and image in poems of loss and what can only be called ‘unbelonging’. Imagine being a refugee in your own void. — Naveen Kishore, Poet and Publisher
Choksi writes with the discerning “I” firmly at the steering wheels. But her work is subtly abstract as well, to the point where we agree that poetry is about the “crisis of the heart”. So it is also a pilgrim’s progress. An artist, her words fall like brush strokes on the page evoking cherishable images of love, quest, and solitary sojourns. — Nabina Das, Poet and Writer
Emptying the Void is replete with the productive tension between ink and mark, letter and form, word and image. The visual and spatial aspects of language, phonetic inflections, and their careful placement on the paper, producing silences or echoes, are all part of Choksi’s expressive toolbox. At the heart of these ‘word-probes’ lies self-inquiry and the perpetual search for meaning and catharsis amidst a maze of epiphanies, hope, resilience, loss, and solitude. — Jitish Kallat, Artist
In Emptying the Void, Suruchi Choksi offers a deeply personal exploration of the human spirit’s quiet struggles and quiet triumphs. Through free verse, visual art, and asemic writing, she takes us into moments of silence, where despair turns toward hope and where we confront our own vulnerabilities. Each poem invites us to sit with our raw, unspoken emotions, discovering strength and tenderness in unexpected places. Choksi doesn’t just share her own journey—she creates a space for readers to pause, reflect, and find their own path through life’s inevitable changes. This is a meditation on being, becoming, and everything in between. — Tenzin Lhabsum, Teacher, Philosopher
Suruchi Choksi is a multidisciplinary artist whose recent explorations have expanded to include text-based art and poetry, probing the limits and limitless potential of language. Through free verse, concrete poetry and asemic writing, she explores the fluidity of words and scripts, uncovering their intrinsic power when liberated from conventional meanings.
Her book, Svayam Se Parichay, a translation of Into the Heart of Life by the revered Buddhist nun, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, was published by The Library of Tibetan Works & Archives in 2022.
Suruchi lives and works in Mumbai, India.
