Writer in Context – serie

This book is a comprehensive volume on the life and works of Joginder Paul, a well-known Urdu fiction writer and thinker. It presents a selection from the writer’s oeuvre – a few of his short stories, extracts from his long fiction, samples of his micro-fiction, personal reminiscences, and some of his incisive critical essays written in Urdu as well as in English that lay out his ideas on the role of the writer and the art of writing. The volume also contextualises his work within the Urdu literary tradition and beyond through some critical essays on him from across time and geography. It situates Paul as a notable fiction writer and an essayist who broke convention in his writing and crafted his own individual style. It shows how he was received in Urdu while also placing him as an important creative voice within a larger pan-Indian literary context.The book also focuses on Paul’s efforts to effect a change in how fiction should be perceived, particularly by his readers who he considered the most important ally-participant in his effort to create stories. This volume will help to evolve a deeper understanding of the thematic subtleties in his fiction, as well as the critical perspectives he offers in his non-fiction.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be indispensable to scholars and researchers in literature, history, sociology, language and creative writing, Partition studies, translation studies, Indian writings, Urdu literature, postcolonial studies, and South Asian Studies.

This book engages with the life and works of the distinctive Hindi writer Krishna Sobti, known for making bold choices of themes in her writing. Also known for her extraordinary use of the Hindi language, she emerges as an embodiment of a counter archive. While presenting the author in the context of her times, this volume offers critical perspectives to define her position in the canon of modern Indian literature.Alongside important critical essays on her, the inclusion of excerpts from the translations of some major works by the author, such as Zindaginama, Mitro Marjani and Ai Ladki, greatly facilitate an understanding of her worldview and the contexts in which she wrote. Also included in this book are some of her reflections on the creative process that help in unfolding the complexities of her characters and her specific approach to the language of fiction. Writing in the times of significant political and cultural churnings, her fiction includes themes such as the Partition of the country and its aftermath, women and their sexuality, desire and violence, history and memory. Her writing subverted the dominant narratives of the times and de-historicised history. Her own essays and other critical writings demonstrate the way Krishna Sobti’s characters are abundantly polyphonic and seeped in social realities. They encapsulate the cultural milieu of their times and serve as a site of resistance to the dominant archive of power. Her interactions with her fellow Hindi writers such as Nirmal Verma and Krishan Baldev Vaid, as also her letters, her memoirs and the reminiscences of others, further enrich this volume and establish her unique voice.Part of the ‘Writer in Context’ Series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, gender studies, translation studies and Partition studies.

Mahasweta Devi occupies a singular position in the history of modern Indian literature and world literature. This book engages with Devi’s works as a writer-activist who critically explored subaltern subjectivities, the limits of history and the harsh social realities of post-independence India.The volume showcases Devi’s oeuvre and versatility through samples of her writing – in translation from the original Bengali—including Jhansir Rani, Hajar Churashir Ma, and Bayen among others. It also looks at the use of language, symbolism, mythic elements and heteroglossia in Devi’s exploration of heterogeneous themes such as exploitation, violence, women’s subjectivities, depredation of the environment and failures of the nation state. The book analyses translations and adaptations of her work, debates surrounding her activism and politics and critical reception to give readers an overview of the writer’s life, influences, achievements and legacy. It highlights the multiple concerns in her writings and argues that the aesthetic aspects of Mahasweta Devi’s work form an essential part of her politics.Part of the ‘Writer in Context’ series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Bengali literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies and translation studies.

Amrita Pritam was a prominent Punjabi poet, novelist, and essayist who captured the realities of everyday life in the India of the early 1900s India and presented the unique voices of the women of the Indian subcontinent. This book offers a comprehensive understanding of the writer’s work by situating it in the context of not just Punjabi literature but Indian literature, while showcasing their continued relevance in contemporary times.With a career spanning over six decades, she Pritam produced over 100 books of poetry, fiction, biographies, essays, a collection of Punjabi folk songs and an autobiography that were all translated into several Indian and foreign languages. This volume includes critical essays on her works as well as a selection of her poems and stories in translation including, ‘A Call to Waris Shah’ (Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah nu), The Skeleton (Pinjar) and Village No. 36 (Khabarnama Te Chak No. 36) and excerpts from other prominent writings to give readers a glimpse into Pritam’s her rich literary oeuvre as well as her legacy in a post-colonial India which is still grappling with many of the same taboos around gender, national and religious identity and women’s sexuality. It discusses the diversity of themes and socio-cultural realities in her writings works focusing especially on her writings on Punjab, agency of her women protagonists, national and communal identities and the testimonies of the traumas which the cataclysmic 1947 Partition of India brought on women. A writer who consistently subverted the existing social, political and patriarchal structures of her times, both in her life and in her writings, this book encapsulates the relevance of her writing and her voice in our times. Part of the ‘Writer in Context’ series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Hindi literature, Punjabi Literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies and translation studies.

Mahasweta Devi occupies a singular position in the history of modern Indian literature and world literature. This book engages with Devi’s works as a writer-activist who critically explored subaltern subjectivities, the limits of history and the harsh social realities of post-independence India.The volume showcases Devi’s oeuvre and versatility through samples of her writing – in translation from the original Bengali—including Jhansir Rani, Hajar Churashir Ma, and Bayen among others. It also looks at the use of language, symbolism, mythic elements and heteroglossia in Devi’s exploration of heterogeneous themes such as exploitation, violence, women’s subjectivities, depredation of the environment and failures of the nation state. The book analyses translations and adaptations of her work, debates surrounding her activism and politics and critical reception to give readers an overview of the writer’s life, influences, achievements and legacy. It highlights the multiple concerns in her writings and argues that the aesthetic aspects of Mahasweta Devi’s work form an essential part of her politics.Part of the ‘Writer in Context’ series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Bengali literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies and translation studies.

This book engages with the life and works of Indira Goswami, the first Assamese woman writer to win the highest national literary award, the Jnanpith Award, in 2001. From sociological treatises to a springboard of a socio-political milieu, Goswami’s texts are intersections of the local and the global, the popular and the canonical. The writer’s penchant for transcending boundaries gives a new contour and shape to the social and cultural domains in her texts. That every character is a representative of the society, that the context comes alive in every evocation of class struggle, power play, caste discrimination and gendered narratives add an interesting semantic load to her texts. While tracing the trajectories discussed above, this book foregrounds Goswami’s act of going beyond the margins of varied kinds, both abstract and concrete, in search of egalitarian and democratic spaces of life.The book looks at Indira Goswami’s works with a special emphasis on the author situated within the Assamese literary canon. It not only discusses the themes and issues within her writing, but also focuses on the distinct language and style she uses. The volume includes non-fictional prose, excerpts from her short stories and novels, viewpoints of critics, letters and entries from diaries, as well as interviews with Goswami about her writing and personal life. It engages with her works in the context of her multifaceted, almost mythical life, especially her avowed ‘activism’ against animal sacrifice and militancy in her latter career.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Assamese literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies, gender studies and translation studies.

This book engages with the life and works of Indira Goswami, the first Assamese woman writer to win the highest national literary award, the Jnanpith Award, in 2001. From sociological treatises to a springboard of a socio-political milieu, Goswami’s texts are intersections of the local and the global, the popular and the canonical. The writer’s penchant for transcending boundaries gives a new contour and shape to the social and cultural domains in her texts. That every character is a representative of the society, that the context comes alive in every evocation of class struggle, power play, caste discrimination and gendered narratives add an interesting semantic load to her texts. While tracing the trajectories discussed above, this book foregrounds Goswami’s act of going beyond the margins of varied kinds, both abstract and concrete, in search of egalitarian and democratic spaces of life.The book looks at Indira Goswami’s works with a special emphasis on the author situated within the Assamese literary canon. It not only discusses the themes and issues within her writing, but also focuses on the distinct language and style she uses. The volume includes non-fictional prose, excerpts from her short stories and novels, viewpoints of critics, letters and entries from diaries, as well as interviews with Goswami about her writing and personal life. It engages with her works in the context of her multifaceted, almost mythical life, especially her avowed ‘activism’ against animal sacrifice and militancy in her latter career.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Assamese literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies, gender studies and translation studies.

O.V. Vijayan (1930–2005) was an acclaimed Malayalam novelist, short story writer, cartoonist, translator, columnist, political analyst, and public intellectual. In a literary career spanning almost half a century, he published six novels, twelve volumes of short stories, eight volumes of non-fictional prose, three volumes of reminiscences, three volumes of cartoons, and four self-translations. This book offers a comprehensive understanding of O.V. Vijayan’s work by analysing his fictional and non-fictional works, cartoons, and columns, and situates him in the context of Malayalam literary culture and Indian literature at large.The volume discusses themes such as the politics of everyday life; culture, religion, and the changing nature of Indian society; struggles of a writer and thinker; the idea of socially responsive radical modernism; ecology and subculture; and the politics of self-translation. These readings explore Vijayan’s legacy as an iconic figure of modernism in Malayalam fiction who reinvented its language; as an unrelenting critic of the modern nationstate and its excesses; as a post-colonial thinker; and as a visionary who transcended the binaries of the mundane and the magical, the political and the spiritual, and the premodern and the postmodern.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Malayalam literature, English literature, comparative literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies, and translation studies.

Bama is a Tamil Dalit feminist writer and novelist. Her autobiographical novel Karukku, which chronicles the joys and sorrows experienced by Dalit Christians in Tamil Nadu, catapulted her to fame. As a prolific writer, she has experimented with all kinds of genres, such as novels, short stories, poems, autobiographical writing, children’s literature, and discursive essays. This book presents a dedicated study of Bama’s work as a writer and activist and situates her in the context of Dalit literature in general and Tamil Dalit literature in particular. It recognises Bama as writer of great relevance especially in bringing to the fore the problematics of Dalit issues and their possible modes of aesthetic articulation through a new Dalit language.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Dalit Literature, Dalit Studies, Tamil literature, English literature, comparative literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, Green studies. global south studies and translation studies.

Vyankatesh Madgulkar (1927–2001) was one of the pioneers of modernist short fiction (nav katha) as well as ‘rural’ (grameen) fiction in Marathi in the post-World War II era. He wrote eight novels, two hundred short stories, several plays, including some notable ‘folk plays’ (loknatya), screenplays and dialogues for more than eighty Marathi films. This book offers a comprehensive understanding of Vyankatesh Madgulkar’s work by analysing selections from his major creative fictions and nonfictions. This is augmented with important writings on him by his contemporaries, as well as critical writings, commentaries and reviews by present-day scholars. It situates Madgulkar in the context of Marathi literary tradition and Indian literature in general.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Marathi literature, English literature, comparative literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies and translation studies.

Vyankatesh Madgulkar (1927–2001) was one of the pioneers of modernist short fiction (nav katha) as well as ‘rural’ (grameen) fiction in Marathi in the post-World War II era. He wrote eight novels, two hundred short stories, several plays, including some notable ‘folk plays’ (loknatya), screenplays and dialogues for more than eighty Marathi films. This book offers a comprehensive understanding of Vyankatesh Madgulkar’s work by analysing selections from his major creative fictions and nonfictions. This is augmented with important writings on him by his contemporaries, as well as critical writings, commentaries and reviews by present-day scholars. It situates Madgulkar in the context of Marathi literary tradition and Indian literature in general.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Marathi literature, English literature, comparative literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies and translation studies.

O.V. Vijayan (1930–2005) was an acclaimed Malayalam novelist, short story writer, cartoonist, translator, columnist, political analyst, and public intellectual. In a literary career spanning almost half a century, he published six novels, twelve volumes of short stories, eight volumes of non-fictional prose, three volumes of reminiscences, three volumes of cartoons, and four self-translations. This book offers a comprehensive understanding of O.V. Vijayan’s work by analysing his fictional and non-fictional works, cartoons, and columns, and situates him in the context of Malayalam literary culture and Indian literature at large.The volume discusses themes such as the politics of everyday life; culture, religion, and the changing nature of Indian society; struggles of a writer and thinker; the idea of socially responsive radical modernism; ecology and subculture; and the politics of self-translation. These readings explore Vijayan’s legacy as an iconic figure of modernism in Malayalam fiction who reinvented its language; as an unrelenting critic of the modern nationstate and its excesses; as a post-colonial thinker; and as a visionary who transcended the binaries of the mundane and the magical, the political and the spiritual, and the premodern and the postmodern.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Malayalam literature, English literature, comparative literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies, and translation studies.

This book engages with the life and works of the distinctive Hindi writer Krishna Sobti, known for making bold choices of themes in her writing. Also known for her extraordinary use of the Hindi language, she emerges as an embodiment of a counter archive. While presenting the author in the context of her times, this volume offers critical perspectives to define her position in the canon of modern Indian literature.Alongside important critical essays on her, the inclusion of excerpts from the translations of some major works by the author, such as Zindaginama, Mitro Marjani and Ai Ladki, greatly facilitate an understanding of her worldview and the contexts in which she wrote. Also included in this book are some of her reflections on the creative process that help in unfolding the complexities of her characters and her specific approach to the language of fiction. Writing in the times of significant political and cultural churnings, her fiction includes themes such as the Partition of the country and its aftermath, women and their sexuality, desire and violence, history and memory. Her writing subverted the dominant narratives of the times and de-historicised history. Her own essays and other critical writings demonstrate the way Krishna Sobti’s characters are abundantly polyphonic and seeped in social realities. They encapsulate the cultural milieu of their times and serve as a site of resistance to the dominant archive of power. Her interactions with her fellow Hindi writers such as Nirmal Verma and Krishan Baldev Vaid, as also her letters, her memoirs and the reminiscences of others, further enrich this volume and establish her unique voice.Part of the ‘Writer in Context’ Series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, gender studies, translation studies and Partition studies.

Amrita Pritam was a prominent Punjabi poet, novelist, and essayist who captured the realities of everyday life in the India of the early 1900s India and presented the unique voices of the women of the Indian subcontinent. This book offers a comprehensive understanding of the writer’s work by situating it in the context of not just Punjabi literature but Indian literature, while showcasing their continued relevance in contemporary times.With a career spanning over six decades, she Pritam produced over 100 books of poetry, fiction, biographies, essays, a collection of Punjabi folk songs and an autobiography that were all translated into several Indian and foreign languages. This volume includes critical essays on her works as well as a selection of her poems and stories in translation including, ‘A Call to Waris Shah’ (Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah nu), The Skeleton (Pinjar) and Village No. 36 (Khabarnama Te Chak No. 36) and excerpts from other prominent writings to give readers a glimpse into Pritam’s her rich literary oeuvre as well as her legacy in a post-colonial India which is still grappling with many of the same taboos around gender, national and religious identity and women’s sexuality. It discusses the diversity of themes and socio-cultural realities in her writings works focusing especially on her writings on Punjab, agency of her women protagonists, national and communal identities and the testimonies of the traumas which the cataclysmic 1947 Partition of India brought on women. A writer who consistently subverted the existing social, political and patriarchal structures of her times, both in her life and in her writings, this book encapsulates the relevance of her writing and her voice in our times. Part of the ‘Writer in Context’ series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Hindi literature, Punjabi Literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies and translation studies.

Devanura Mahadeva’s is a powerful and influential voice in contemporary South Asian and Dalit literature. His compact oeuvre has been widely commented upon in Kannada and, occasionally, in English as well. They have changed existing views among Kannada readers on literature’s relationship with situated practices of caste, gender and politics, and humankind’s larger quest for freedom. Much of this remains unknown beyond the Kannada-speaking region. This book is a sustained engagement with Mahadeva’s work that seeks to fill this lacuna. It includes translations of select samples of Mahadeva’s fiction and nonfiction writings and some of the major responses to these works from Kannada. In addition, there are essays by leading scholars of Kannada literature and language that explore the place that Mahadeva enjoys as a public intellectual in the region, aspects of language, caste and gender in his writings, and the challenges of translating his works which borrow deeply from oral linguistic and mythopoeic conventions. Together, they place in relief Mahadeva’s life and works in a manner that underlines his significance not only for Kannada or South Asian literature and the Dalit movement, but also for the larger history of progressive movements across South Asia. Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Kannada literature, Dalit Literature, English literature, postcolonial studies, global south studies and translation studies.

This book is a comprehensive volume on the life and works of Joginder Paul, a well-known Urdu fiction writer and thinker. It presents a selection from the writer’s oeuvre – a few of his short stories, extracts from his long fiction, samples of his micro-fiction, personal reminiscences, and some of his incisive critical essays written in Urdu as well as in English that lay out his ideas on the role of the writer and the art of writing. The volume also contextualises his work within the Urdu literary tradition and beyond through some critical essays on him from across time and geography. It situates Paul as a notable fiction writer and an essayist who broke convention in his writing and crafted his own individual style. It shows how he was received in Urdu while also placing him as an important creative voice within a larger pan-Indian literary context.The book also focuses on Paul’s efforts to effect a change in how fiction should be perceived, particularly by his readers who he considered the most important ally-participant in his effort to create stories. This volume will help to evolve a deeper understanding of the thematic subtleties in his fiction, as well as the critical perspectives he offers in his non-fiction.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be indispensable to scholars and researchers in literature, history, sociology, language and creative writing, Partition studies, translation studies, Indian writings, Urdu literature, postcolonial studies, and South Asian Studies.

Bama is a Tamil Dalit feminist writer and novelist. Her autobiographical novel Karukku, which chronicles the joys and sorrows experienced by Dalit Christians in Tamil Nadu, catapulted her to fame. As a prolific writer, she has experimented with all kinds of genres, such as novels, short stories, poems, autobiographical writing, children’s literature, and discursive essays. This book presents a dedicated study of Bama’s work as a writer and activist and situates her in the context of Dalit literature in general and Tamil Dalit literature in particular. It recognises Bama as writer of great relevance especially in bringing to the fore the problematics of Dalit issues and their possible modes of aesthetic articulation through a new Dalit language.Part of the Writer in Context series, this book will be useful for scholars and researchers of Indian literature, Dalit Literature, Dalit Studies, Tamil literature, English literature, comparative literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, Green studies. global south studies and translation studies.