READING LITERARY CULTURE: Perspectives from Orissa

A mélange of surveys, introductions, essays, reviews and interviews, this unique book offers a window-view to some key cultural figures, historical moments, and issues in one of India’s fascinating locations ‘‘Orissa’’ whose rich and ancient literary heritage remains relatively obscure to the world outside. Between them the pieces here ably illustrate, contrary to popular misconception, how traditional as well as contemporary Oriya literature has been enriched by several extraordinary voices. Going by their intrinsic worth and cultural impact, and through the perspectives offered here, works such as those of Sarala Das, Jagannath Das, Fakir Mohan Senapati, Gopinath Mohanty, Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, Sachi Rautray, Basanta Kumari, Basanta Satpathy, Jayanta Mahapatra, Ramakanta Rath, Sitakant Mahapatra, JP, Pratibha Ray emerge as masterpieces, not only of Oriya or Indian, but world literature. This volume will be of interest to specialists as well as to a general readership.

Sumanyu Satpathy, Professor of English, University of Delhi, has edited and published books and essays related to modernism, gender studies and postcolonialism. His most recent publications include an edition of “Southern Postcolonialisms: ” “The Global South and the ‘New’ Literary Representations.” He has also co-edited “The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense and Signifying the Self: Women and Literature.”

He was a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, La Trobe University, Australia in 2007.

Satpathy translates literary texts from Indian languages, especially from Oriya, into English. Among his recent translations is an edition of “Voyage Out: An Anthology of Oriya Women’s Short Stories.”