Indian Poetry In English Critical Essays

Indian poets who wrote in English—a small middle class minority—were divided from the regional language poets by more than language for long. The English poets had a selected readership, were known unto themselves, in academic circles if they were widely published, but were looked down upon with a kind of derision by regional writers. However, the scenario has changed now. From English being spurned as a colonizer’s tongue that was nobody’s language, it has now become everybody’s language with English medium schools, English movies, ads, soaps and serials. For a generation living in a global village, genuine readership and appreciation of English poetry is no longer an encumbrance. This book, in its second edition, continues to educate the students with diverse and thought-provoking essays that vary from personal to argumentative to objectively discursive English literature and to those who are genuinely interested in Indian English poetry. The Fourteen poets selected in this anthology are Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Toru Dutt, Rabindranath Tagore, Aurobindo Ghosh, Sarojini Naidu, Jibanananda Das, Nissim Ezekiel, Jayanta Mahapatra, A.K. Ramanujan, Arun Kolatkar, Rajagopal Parthasarathy, Kamala Das, and Dilip Chitre. The poets included are all on the syllabi of major universities in India.

Festschrift honoring Armando Menezes, b. 1902, Indian poet and educationist.

Indian English Has Been Universally Accepted As A Unique Style Of Discourse With Its Own Nuances, Giving Expression To Indian Multiculturalism In The Works Of Writers In India Or Those Abroad. Not Only The New Indian Writers In The West, Expatriates, Second And Third Generation Writers, But Also The Classic Authors Like A.K. Ramanujan, Nissim Ezekiel, Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan, And Bhabani Bhattacharya Are Being Interpreted In The Old New Critical Mode As Well As The Current Critical Styles Of Multiculturalism, Postcoloniality And Diaspora. V.S. Naipaul Is Being Interpreted Not Only As A Caribbean Or British Author But Also A Diasporic Writer Engaged In A Quest For The Indianness Inherited By Him.The Twelve Essays In This Book Deal With The Various Aspects Of Indian English Writing In The Light Of The Current Critical Trends. The Essays, Originally Published In Reputed Research Journals Or Critical Anthologies Over The Years, Are: Contemporary Indian English Literary Scene, Multiculturalism And Indian (English) Literature, Indian English Prose Writing, A.K. Ramanujan S Credo, Nissim Ezekiel S Credo, Soul-Stuff And Vital Language: The Poetry Of P. Lal, Mulk Raj Anand On The Novel, Anand S Vision Of War And Death In Across The Black Waters, Bhabani Bhattacharya S A Dream In Hawaii: A Study In Postcolonial Spirituality, Philosophers And Lovers: Paradox Of Experience In Shiv K. Kumar S The Bone S Prayer, Technique In The Short Stories Of Tagore, And From Darkness To Light: V.S. Naipaul S Indian Odyssey. The Article On Naipaul Has Been Written Especially For This Book.

Contributed papers at a writers' workshop held in Calcutta, West Bengal.

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The Present Book Is An Attempt To Analyse Some Of The Outstanding Post-Colonial Writers Like Arundhati Roy (Booker Prize Winner 1997), Vikram Chandra (Commonwealth Prize Winner 1997), Derek Walcott (Nobel Prize Winner), Margaret Atwood (Booker Prize Winner 2000), Jayanta Mahapatra, Dom Moraes, Nissim Ezekiel, Keki N. Daruwalla, Kamala Das, Shiv K. Kumar, Anita Desai, Shashi Deshpande, Ruskin Bond (All Sahitya Akademi Award Winners) In The Light Of Post-Colonial Theory. Apart From Analysing Individual Authors, An Attempt Has Also Been Made To Show The Trends In Post-Colonial Poetry, Indian English Fiction, Orissan Contribution To Post-Colonial Indian English Literature And Above All, Post-Colonial English Studies In India.