The Changing World of Contemporary South Asian Poetry in English

A Collection of Critical Essays

Edited by Mitali P. Wong and M. Yousuf Saeed - Contributions by Nayomi Abayasekera; Sanjeeta Aheibam; Ayesha Fatima Barque; Sutapa Chaudhuri; Angana Dutta; Rob Harle; Sivagowri Sivagurunathan Rajashanthan; Kaukab Roohi Rasool; Arunima Ray; Jaydeep Sarangi; Muneeza Shamsie; C. G. Shyamala; Prem Kumari Srivastava; Pramila Venkateswaran and Ilona Yusuf

This collection uses a transnational approach to study contemporary English-language poetry composed by poets of South Asian origin. The poetry contains themes, motifs, and critiques of social changes, and the contributors seek to encapsulate the continually changing environments that these contemporary poets write about.

The contributors show that English-language poetry in South Asia is hybridized with imagery and figurative language adapted from the vernacular languages of South Asia. The chapters examine women’s issues, concerns of marginalized groups—such as the Dalit community and the people of Northeastern India—, social changes in Sri Lanka, the changing society of Pakistan, and the formation of the identity in the several nation states that resulted from the British colony of India.

Lexington Books

Pages: 298 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9

978-1-4985-7407-5 • Hardback • July 2019 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4985-7408-2 • eBook • July 2019 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

Subjects: History / Asia / India & South Asia, Literary Criticism / Asian / General

The Changing World of Contemporary South Asian Poetry in English

A Collection of Critical Essays

Hardback

eBook

Summary

This collection uses a transnational approach to study contemporary English-language poetry composed by poets of South Asian origin. The poetry contains themes, motifs, and critiques of social changes, and the contributors seek to encapsulate the continually changing environments that these contemporary poets write about.

The contributors show that English-language poetry in South Asia is hybridized with imagery and figurative language adapted from the vernacular languages of South Asia. The chapters examine women’s issues, concerns of marginalized groups—such as the Dalit community and the people of Northeastern India—, social changes in Sri Lanka, the changing society of Pakistan, and the formation of the identity in the several nation states that resulted from the British colony of India.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 298 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9

978-1-4985-7407-5 • Hardback • July 2019 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

978-1-4985-7408-2 • eBook • July 2019 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

Subjects: History / Asia / India & South Asia, Literary Criticism / Asian / General

Author

Mitali P. Wong is professor and chair of the English Department at Claflin University.

M. Yousuf Saeed is associate professor of political science at Claflin University.

Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction

Chapter 1: South Asia in the Postcolonial Era: A Socio-Political Overview, by M. Yousuf Saeed

Chapter 2: Time, Place, and Change: The Location of Contemporary South Asian Poetry in English, by Mitali P. Wong

Part II: Perspectives on Women in Contemporary Poetry from India and Bangladesh

Chapter 3: Taslima Nasrin and Revathi Kutti: Activists of the Female Body, by Pramila Venkateswaran

Chapter 4: Finding a Home in the World: Reading Sanjukta Dasgupta’s Urban Poetry of Inclusiveness, by Sutapa Chaudhuri

Chapter 5: Outside Margins: Sukrita’s Poetic Oeuvre, by Prem Kumari Srivastava

Chapter 6: The Call to Awaken: Feminine Concerns in Selected Poems of Jayanta Mahapatra, by C.G. Shyamala

Part III: Perspectives on Marginalization in India

Chapter 7: Poetry as Witness to Terror: Life (and Death) in the North-East, by Sanjeeta Aheibam

Chapter 8: Poetry and Cultural Politics: A Reading of Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih’s Poetry, by Arunima Ray

Chapter 9: Representations of the Marginalized in Jaydeep Sarangi’s Silent Days, by Angana Dutta

Part IV: Perspectives on Social Changes in Poetry from Sri Lanka

Chapter 10: Sri Lankan Modern Tamil and Sinhala Poetry in English–A Reflection of Societal Changes, by Sivagowri Sivagurunathan Rajashanthan

Chapter 11: Poetry as a Political Statement: A Study of Jean Arasanayagam's Poetry, by Nayomi Abayasekera

Part V: Perspectives on Poetry from Pakistan in a Changing World

Chapter 12: Demons in Maki Kureishi’s Poetry, by Ayesha Fatima Barque

Chapter 13: Adrian Akbar Husain’s Search for Truth and Identity within Dialectics of Identity and Freedom: A Reading of His Pre-9/11 Poems, by Kaukab Roohi Rasool

Chapter 14: Matriarchy and Language: Maki Kureishi, Imtiaz Dharker, Moniza Alvi, Hima Raza, by Muneeza Shamsie

Chapter 15: Fluidity in Words: Exploring Themes in the Poetry of Shadab Zeest Hashmi, by

Ilona Yusuf

Part VI: Poets on Contemporary Poetics: Interviews with Two Contemporary Poets from India

Chapter 16: Interview with Indian poet Sanjukta Dasgupta, by Jaydeep Sarangi

Chapter 17: Interview with Australian poet Michelle Cahill, by Jaydeep Sarangi

Chapter 18: Interview with Indian poet Jaydeep Sarangi, by Rob Harle