Description
Book SynopsisDavid Shulman and Velcheru Narayana Rao offer a groundbreaking cultural biography of Srinatha, arguably the most creative figure in the thousand-year history of Telugu literature. This fourteenth- and fifteenth-century poet revolutionized the classical tradition and effectively created the classical genre of sustained, thematically focused, coherent large-scale compositions. Some of his works are proto-novellas: self-consciously fictional, focused on the development of characters, and endowed with compelling, fast-paced plots. Though entirely rooted in the cultural world of medieval south India, Srinatha is a poet of universal resonance and relevance. Srinatha: The Poet who Made Gods and Kings provides extended translations of Srinatha''s major works and shows how the poet bridged gaps between oral (improvised) poetry and fixed literary works; between Telugu and the classical, pan-Indian language of Sanskrit; and between local and trans-local cultural contexts. Srinatha is a protean fi
Trade ReviewIt is impossible to slap a label on this book. It begins as a biography (a rare genre for this culture) of Srinatha , a poet who lived in Andhra, in South India, in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. But then it goes on to combine hardheaded historical contextualization with a generous appreciation of the rich web of legends about Srinatha, all informed by lyrical translations and brilliant readings of his poems.... The works of Srinatha , like this work of Shulman and Narayana Rao, are playful, rejoicing in comic incongruity and exuberant excess, no holds barred. The authors rightly insist that you do not need to know Telugu to read this book and that readers will recognize here much that resonates with their knowledge of other great literatures. It's a great read. * Wendy Doniger, Mircea Eliade Distinguished Service Professor of the History of Religions, University of Chicago *
Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. Introduction ; 2. What Happens When a Poem is Translated into a Poem? ; 3. Building in Sound ; 4. A Novella in Two Voices ; 5. Afterlife ; 6. Conclusion ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index
