Here is an excerpt of my review published in the last issue of Ariel: A Review of International English Literature:
"What is the texture of the English that is used by Indian poets? Vijay Dharwadkar’s examination of Arun Kolatkar is clearly a star essay picking up on the poet’s unique use of English. The examples from Jejuri, Sarpa Satra, Kala Goda, and discussion, show the spare beauty of the Kolatkar’s lines. Dharwadkar picks up on key points of Kolatkar’s life to argue the poet’s poetic nexus between English and Marathi, Hindu epic tradition and modern life. We see a similar treatment of Jayanta Mahapatra’s poems by Sachidananda Mohanty that helps us read them with a fresh perspective. As Tabish Khair reminds us, “we have a long tradition of literature in largely textual and standardized elite languages: Sanskrit and Persian. To ignore this tradition is to deprive Indian poetry in English of its heritage—and its voice” (253). Agarwal’s book firmly locates Indian poets writing in English in their rightful places by recognizing the depth of political, social, and linguistic investment they have made, thereby adding heft to the thin skein of critical works on these poets."
"What is the texture of the English that is used by Indian poets? Vijay Dharwadkar’s examination of Arun Kolatkar is clearly a star essay picking up on the poet’s unique use of English. The examples from Jejuri, Sarpa Satra, Kala Goda, and discussion, show the spare beauty of the Kolatkar’s lines. Dharwadkar picks up on key points of Kolatkar’s life to argue the poet’s poetic nexus between English and Marathi, Hindu epic tradition and modern life. We see a similar treatment of Jayanta Mahapatra’s poems by Sachidananda Mohanty that helps us read them with a fresh perspective. As Tabish Khair reminds us, “we have a long tradition of literature in largely textual and standardized elite languages: Sanskrit and Persian. To ignore this tradition is to deprive Indian poetry in English of its heritage—and its voice” (253). Agarwal’s book firmly locates Indian poets writing in English in their rightful places by recognizing the depth of political, social, and linguistic investment they have made, thereby adding heft to the thin skein of critical works on these poets."
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