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.
Dwivedi, Amar Nath (Born in 1943) is a Senior Reader at the University of Allahabad. A recipient of State Bursary for four years (1961- 65), he was conferred Ph.D. in 1975 on his dissertation, "Indian Thought and Tradition in T.S. Eliot's Poetry", which was later published as a book. Dr. Dwivedi has published about a dozen books and sixty research papers and articles in prestigious Indian and foreign journals/periodicals.
Dr. Dwivedi is listed in the International Who's Who ("Men of Achievement" and "Register of Intellectuals") of Cambridge, U.K, in the Book of Honor published by the A. B.I., Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A and in the International Who's Who of Contemporary Achievement of Cambridgeshire, England. He has participated in a number of national seminars and conferences, and has delivered talks and recited poems over the A.I.R. He is on the board of advisers for the literary journals, New Literary Horizons and Canopy.
A.K. Ramanujan is one of the distinguished Indian- English poets of the post-Independence era. Ever since the publication of his first volume of poetry-The Striders-in 1966, he has scaled heights of artistic excellence. The two more volumes of verse published in 1971 and 1986 respectively- Relations and Second Sight-consolidated his position as a poet, and today he is definitely reckoned as one of the front rank. One should not read a tone of adulation in this statement, for this is the reality of situation. Even a cursory glance at his publications convinces the reader that he always set his eye on 'standard' and 'perfection' in artistic matters.
One of the most charming features of Ramanujan's poetry is its Indianness. Though he was far-removed from the land of his birth and though he lived in 'the land of plenty for a long period of time (about three decades), he never severed his associations with his friends and relatives and with his Motherland. This fact is majestically borne out by his poetry and translations. We come across numerous Indian myths and legends, various Hindu gods and goddesses, customs and rituals, fads and fashions, saints and seers, in them. If his poetry establishes his claim as a 'genius'-luckily, he was honoured so by the MacArthur award in 1983-his translations clearly display his abiding concern for the enrichment and propagation of the hoary wisdom of ancient India. Ramanujan's mastery of Tamil and Kannada coupled with that of English is simply superb.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
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