India, Sept. 28 -- The trouble with the dead isthey're still alive to some of us; when I nearly step on a fallen sparrowlong eyes shut, feathers gleaming, it doesn't look dead enough to meand I think again of those who've gone but still remainin cozy Tamil I may never speak againin sandalwood soap and a certain song;I use a leaf and a twig to nudgethe dead sparrow to a cornerto push a memory awayand keep walkingbut the trouble with me isI'm terrified of forgetting.

In spare and lucid lines of poetry and prose, How to Forget takes the reader on a walk through childhood, love, loss and longing. Told through memory and impressions both personal and communal, the book chronicles lifetimes through the act of walking.

These journeys often fol...