Indian Poetry In English: A Critical Study

Indian English poetry is the oldest form of Indian English Literature. Henry Louis Vivian Derozio is considered the first poet in the lineage of Indian English poetry followed by Sri Aurobindo, Sarojini Naidu, and Toru Dutt, among others. Indian poetry in English established itself globally as a distinctive genre with the pioneering works by Nissim Ezekiel, A.K. Ramanujan, R. Parthasarathy, Kamala Das and Jayanta Mahapatra. Another significant poet of the post-Derozio and pre-Ezekiel times is Rabindranath Tagore but he wrote primarily in Bengali and was responsible for the translations of his own work into English.
The book critically examines the poetry of Nissim Ezekiel, A.K. Ramanujan, R. Parthasarathy, Kamala Das and Jayanta Mahapatra, who are the major voices in the contemporary Indian poetry in English. It attempts to analyse different modes and strategies employed by these poets to substantiate the view that their poetry makes a persistent effort to construct the concept of home and/or nation and the urge behind such construction. Each of these poets follows the quest for the metaphoric and symbolic dimensions of home/nation, which is central to his/her poetry.
The book also provides a historical perspective of Indian poetry in English from Derozio to the present time. It highlights how the English romanticism of the early Indian English poets makes a significant departure in the writings of poets of the post-Independence and post-colonial period. Strategies and paradigms employed by the latter have been discussed. A brief study of a few other poets who share the same vision has also been included.
The book is rich with references from the poems of the celebrated poets taken up for study. Comments of well-known critics have been given at appropriate places. The secondary source materials have been incorporated from a post-modern and post-colonial perspective. There is Bibliography at the end for further reading.
The book will be useful for the students and teachers of Indian English Literature, especially Indian English poetry, and researchers in these fields.