About the Book
This is the first full-length critical study of A.K. Ramanujan's poetic craftsmanship. The main focus of this book is on Ramanujan's poetry and artistry. Divided into seven chapters in all, besides a comprehensive Bibliography given at the end, it seeks to establish Ramanujan as one of the foremost Indian English poets of the post-Independence era. It begins with an elementary introduction to him as a poet and as a translator, takes stock of his three poetical collections, examines the various themes employed by him in his poetry-family and relations, Indian myth and history, her people and culture, love and death, childhood and youth, exposure to tense contemporary life, etc.-as well as 'the linguistic and cultural determinants' of his fertile imagination, deals exclusively with his treatment of family and relations, highlights his typical 'Indianness' as one of his salient features, and finally concludes by objectively assessing his overall poetic achievements and by determining his place in Indian English poetry of our times.
Table of Contents: • Preface
1. Between the Two 'Shores' : Introducing the Poet
2. The Golden Mean : Ramanujan's
Poetic Harvest
3. The Range and The Tool : Theme and Form
4. 'Living among Relations Binds the Feet' : Treatment of Family and Relations
5. 'You must have Second Sight' : Indianness of A.K. Ramanujan's Poetry
6. The Muse and the Message : Ramanujan's Poetic Achievement
7. Conclusion : Some Observations
• Chronology