韦康德（Vivekanand Selvaraj, 1986- ), 当代印度诗人，同时用泰米尔语、英语写诗，首部泰米尔诗集 Suthanthiram Oru Dabba 发行于2020年，首部英文诗集 CogVerse 出版于2022年，另有英文诗作发表于各种刊物。曾专攻医学，但并未执业行医。目前是一位外交官，流转于世界各地。 CogVersehas clever nuts and bolts that set into motion a succinct and amiable mechanism. The prose poems dealing with the inner life of a freshman and the profession of medicine are unflinchingly incisive. Speaking of his grandparents on both sides, Vivekanand's Tamil ethos comes through. CogVerse is a startlingly original voice.—— Sivakami Velliangiri Here, in these poems, the object-worlds of a pre-liberalized India rub shoulders with the pandemic present, incongruent, yet strangely essential. Here, failure is rebellion, and rebellion, in itself, becomes an illusion. Yet, Selvaraj's poems document a severe critique of the institutions we hold as pristine—the medical school, the hospital, the deep state. Oftentimes, this critique is that of an insider who, in spite of the said critique, feels depleted and hopeless, leaving us—the readers—asking for more. And, it is often done through careful manipulation of the white spaces on a page, unconventional line-break, and a playful engagement with the very idea of lyric subjectivity.—— Nandini Dhar Vivekanand is a poet of spaces. He isn't interested in the broader themes of things that happen every day. But he is still interested in the façade of equanimity, everyday cruelty, and mundanity. These poems are Vivekanand's way of chronicling stories for posterity, but also because everyone else has simply forgotten to catalogue them. These aren't poems you've read before. Vivekanand isn't a poet you've met before. Unique in his writing and assured in his voice, Vivekanand's CogVerse is a necessary addition to your poetry collection.—— Manjiri Indurkar
