Kamala Das and Her Poetry (Hardcover)  | Released: 2009

This book traces the origin and growth of Kamala Das as a poet through successive stages. Mrs. Das, who received no formal education, no pompous University degree, stands on her own merit and is placed on the pinnacle of reputation and distinction among Indo-English poets of today. Her scintillating verse has that irresistible force and tilting rhythm in it which captures the readers attention immediately. The reader often feels that he is in the presence of a writer who is highly gifted and skilful, largely emotional and subjective, and who is ever celebrating the charms of the body and the hungers of the sex, without getting him bored even for a while. The poetess admirably comes through the dictum of William Wordsworth when he pronounced that poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. The present book endeavours to combine biography and criticism and makes a critical-analytical study of Mrs. Dass verse to date. It is not so much a chronological survey of her literary output as an investigation into the aspects of her poetry. There are already books, articles and reviews on Kamala Das, but this one is unique in evaluating her poetic worth in the light of her work and in ascertaining her position amongst contemporary Indo-English poets. This may well claim to be the first of its kind in making a pointed approach to diverse subjects of her verse, to her being a confessional poet, to her conspicuous tragic vision of art, and in critically examining some of her significant poems and in undertaking an appraisal of her novel, Alphabet of Lust (1976), and of her prose works. It is, thus, designed for the benefit of the teachers of English literature and the taught alike. Table of Contents: 1. Kamala Das : A Biographical Sketch 2. The Body of Das's Poety (i) Summer in Calcutta (1965) (ii) The Descendants (1967) (iii) The Old Playhouse and Other Poems (1973) 3. Main Themes of Das's Poetry 4. As a Poet of Love and Sex 5. As a 'Confessional' Poet 6. Diction and Versification 7. Imagery and Symbolism 8. Tragic Vision 9. Some Gems of Das's Poetry (a) The Freaks (b) My Grandmother's House (c) A Hot Noon in Malabar (d) The Sunshine Cat (e) The Invitation (f) The Looking Glass (g) The Old Playhouse (h) An Introduction 10. Conclusion : As a Poetic Artist Appendices Appendix A : Alphabet of Lust (1976) An Appraisal Appendix B : The Other Harmony : Kamala Das's Prose Select Bibliography Index