Kamala Das: Critical Perspectives
Edited by Devindra Kohli

This critical anthology attempts to chart definitive perspectives on all the six volumes of poetry that Kamala Das published in her lifetime, from Summer in Calcutta (1965) to Encountering Kamala (2007). It revaluates, among other issues, the exploration of human relationships in Kamala Das’s poetry, expecially those involving sexual love, the processes of identity-formation—‘the whatness of me within’—in her persona, the features of maturation/stagnation in her poetic vision, and the distinctly postcolonial Indian ambience in which her work is located. These readings by widely acknowledged scholars of Kamala Das’s poetry are followed by an astute study of her highly provocative autobiography My Story.

Kamala Das who knew that this book was in the making, passed away on 31 May 2009, and to register this profound loss the volume carries a few tributes to her by some of her lifelong friends. This comprehensive study, edited by the author of the pioneering work—Kamala Das (Arnold-Heinemann, New Delhi, 1975)—makes for an engaging and fruitful companion to Kamala Das’s oeuvre.


Devindra Kohli studied at the Universities of Panjab and Delhi in India, and Leeds in the U.K. He was Professor of English at the University of Kashmir, Srinagar (1986-2000). He has been a Visiting Professor at various universities in Germany, including universities of Frankfurt, Bonn, and Munich. His publications include Kamala Das (1975), Indian Writers at Work (ed.1991), Contemporary Indian Short Stories (co-ed.with Barbara Schmidt-Haberkamp, 2006), Anita Desai: Critical Perspectives (co-ed. With Melanie Maria Just, 2008), and numerous papers on nineteenth and twentieth century British, American, and Postcolonial literatures.
 

Contributors : Eunice de Souza, Kamala Das, Vrinda Nabar, Suguna Ramanathan, Anne Brewster, P.P.Raveendran, Keki Daruwalla, Krishna Rayan, Carol Rumens, K.Satchidananddan, Bruce King, Vincent O’Sullivan, Chris Wallace-crabbe, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Rakmini Bhaya Nairm Suresh Kohli and Meena Alexander.
 
ISBN 978-81-909416-1-7            2010           216 pp           Rs. 600 (hb)