Authors, Texts, Issues: Essays on Indian Literature
By  K. Satchidanandan

Authors, Texts, Issues by the author of the highly acclaimed Indian Literature: Positions and Propositions brings together ten essays concerning major aspects of Indian literature. The essays in the first part examine some of the specific anxieties of contemporary Indian poetry in the context of nation and region, the democratizing and modernizing forces and processes in post-Independence Indian literature, and the concept of the diaspora in the context of Indian writing. The essays in the second part look at some specific authors from fresh perspectives: Sarojini Naidu is re-evaluated as an Indian poet sharing the bhasha traditions; Saratchandra Chatterjee is looked at from the point of view of his reception in different languages, and Sarala Dasa’s Mahabharata is examined for its subaltern elements. The third part looks at the social dynamics and poetics of Bhakti, the state of autobiography as a genre, the theoretical status of the concept of Orientalism today, and the activity of translation from an Indian perspective. The book is essential reading for academics dealing with Indian literature, students, researchers and readers broadly interested in the issues of Indian literature and culture.

 
K. Satchidananadan , former Secretary of the Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters, India), is an internationally recognised poet, critic, translator and editor. He has 22 collections of poetry, 16 collections of translations of poetry, 20 works of literary criticism including two in English, 4 plays and 3 travelogues to his credit. He has received 21 awards at regional, national and international levels, including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award four times, India-Poland Friendship Medal from the Government of Poland and Knighthood of the Order of Merit from the Government of Italy. His collections of poetry have appeared in 16 languages including English, French, Italian and German. He has edited eight journals including Indian Literature, Sahitya Akademi’s bimonthly and several anthologies of poetry, short stories and essays in Malayalam, English and Hindi. He has travelled across the world, reading and lecturing, and represented India in several international fairs and festivals including The Sarajevo Poetry Days, Berlin Literary Festival, Frankfurt Book Fair, Leipzig Book Fair, Paris Book Fair, Lahore Book Fair, The Indo-Arab Literary Festival at Abu Dhabi, The Festivals of Culture in the USSR and in China, Writers’ Exchange Programmes in Syria, France, Italy, Sweden and the U.S.A.

 
ISBN 81-85753-56-3           2003           128 pp           Rs.260 (hb)
 
Raises many questions and articulates them with clarity and force: Supportive evidences are presented in plenty with an astonishing range and variety.
The Hindu