Creative Lives: Interviews with Contemporary South Asian Diaspora Writers

by Chandani Lokuge (Editor), Janet Wilson (Editor), Chris Ringrose (Editor)

Overview

South Asian Diasporic Writing—poetry, fiction literary theory, and drama by writers from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka now living in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA—is one of the most vibrant areas of contemporary world literature. In this volume, twelve acclaimed writers from this tradition are interviewed by experts in the field about their political, thematic, and personal concerns as well as their working methods and the publishing scene. The book also includes an authoritative introduction to the field, and essays on each writer and interviewer. The interviewers and interviewees are: Alexandra Watkins, Michelle de Kretser, Homi Bhabha, Klaus Stierstorfer, Amit Chaudhuri, Pavan Malreddy, Rukhsana Ahmad, Maryam Mirza, Shankari Chandran, Birte Heidemann, Neel Mukherjee, Anjali Joseph, Chris Ringrose, Michelle Cahill, Rajith Savanadasa, Mariam Pirbhai, Maryam Mirza, Mridula Koshy, Sehba Sarwar, Dr Angela Savage, Sulari Gentill.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783838275444
Publisher:	ibidem
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Series:	Studies in World Literature , #9
Sold by:	Libreka GmbH
Format:	eBook
Pages:	276
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

A former Australian Commonwealth Scholar from Sri Lanka, Chandani Lokuge is currently Associate Professor in Creative Writing and Literary Studies at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. She has also held guest professorships in Germany, France, and the USA. She is the author of 16 books, including her novels My Van Gogh (2019), Softly as I Leave You (Winner of Sri Lanka's Godage National Literary Award for Best Novel 2013), and If the Moon Smiled (Shortlisted for New South Wales Premier’s Prize) and a recent book of essays, Mediating Literary Borders: Asian Australian Writing. Chris Ringrose was educated at Cambridge University and the University of Alberta, and has held posts at Dalhousie University, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Northampton. He is currently Adjunct Associate Professor of English at Monash University. His poetry and short fiction have won awards in England, Canada, and Australia, and he has published critical work on modern fiction, literary theory, and children’s literature. He co-edits the Journal of Postcolonial Writing and ibidem’s book series Studies in World Literature. His most recent book of poetry is Palmistry (2019).

Table of Contents

Foreword Janet Wilson 7

Introduction: The Act of Inter-viewing: A Network of Creative Lives in the South Asian Diaspora Chandani Lokuge Chris Ringrose 9

Genres, Languages, Voices: Rukhsana Ahmad in Conversation with Maryam Mirza 21

The Aesthetics of Fragmentation: Michelle Cahill in Conversation with Chris Ringrose 29

Writing One Reality, Returning to Another: Shankari Chandran in Conversation with Birte Heidemann 44

In a State of Indifference: Amit Chaudhuri in Conversation with Pavan Kumar Malreddy 56

Poetry as Radical Resistance: R. Cheran in Conversation with Aparna Halpé 74

An Infinity of Traces: Suneeta Peres da Costa in Conversation with Reshmi Lahiri-Roy 92

The Delicious Indulgences of Writing: Sulari Gentill in Conversation with Angela Savage 105

"An Island Is a World": Romesh Gunesekera in Conversation with Susheila Nasta 119

A Highbrow "Hijra": Kaiser Haq in Conversation with Mohammad A. Quayum 136

Nomadic Thinking: Tabish Khair in Conversation with Pavan Kumar Malreddy 154

Reading Writing and the Contours of Power: Mridula Koshy in Conversation with Maryam Mirza 171

"To Want to Know the World, to Look Outward": Neel Mukherjee in Conversation with Anjali Joseph 180

Before the Battle: Karthika Naïr in Conversation with Laetitia Zecchini 192

Remapping Canada: Mariam Pirbhai in Conversation with Maryam Mirza 212

"I Ground Myself in Multiple Spaces": Sehba Sarwar in Conversation with Maryam Mirza 221

The Processes of Fiction, Theatre and Life: Rajith Savanadasa in Conversation with Alexandra Watkins 235

Where Politics and Climate Meet: Sungchuk Kyi in Conversation with Ruth Gamble 247

Places and Proximities: Samrat Upadhyay in Conversation with Prakash Subedi 262

About the Editors 275

Editorial Reviews

While readers may not have encountered the work of all eighteen writers featured in this impressive collection, Chandani Lokugé and Chris Ringrose offer a rigorous introduction to each writer's particular concerns. Since the range of writers explored here is so vast, even those readers with a special interest in South Asian writing will find unfamiliar authors here, not to mention the unfamiliar German press (for Australian readers), to whom thanks have to be given for publishing a collection with such astonishing scope. As both editors are based in Australia, it is crucial to mark these transnational publishing connections—connections that further promote the value of reading, writing, and producing literature from multiple linguistic and cultural standpoints.

ariel: A Review of International English Literature - David Callahan

The freedom in the act of inter-viewing, of seeing each other, is splendidly exploited in this collection of exchanges with South Asian Diasporic Writers. They happily take advantage of the informal settings to give insights into their literary lives and works that are continually negotiating the in-between.

Klaus Stierstorfer

This is an immensely valuable collection of theoretical, political, and personal reflection. Brimming with critical insight, the conversations articulate a richly textured transnational/diasporic sensibility. Highly recommended.

Avtar Brah

This is an immensely valuable collection of theoretical, political, and personal reflection. Brimming with critical insight, the conversations articulate a richly textured transnational/diasporic sensibility. Highly recommended.

The freedom in the act of inter-viewing, of seeing each other, is splendidly exploited in this collection of exchanges with South Asian Diasporic Writers. They happily take advantage of the informal settings to give insights into their literary lives and works that are continually negotiating the in-between.

From the Publisher