Rajeev S. Patke

Provides a fresh account of modernist writing in a perspective based on the reading strategies developed by postcolonial studiesNeither modernity nor colonalism (and likewise, neither postmodernity nor postcoloniality) can be properly understood without recognition of their intertwined development. This book interprets modernity as an asymmetrically global phenomenon complexly connected to the course of Western imperialism, and demonstrates how the impact of Western modernism produced new developments in writing from all the former colonies of Europe and the US. These developments constitute the afterlife of Western modernism.The various ways in which the aesthetic ideologies and writing strategies of Western modernism have been adapted, transposed and modified by some of the most innovative writers of the twentieth century is demonstrated in the book through a set of case studies, each of which juxtaposes a canonical modernist text with a postcolonial text that shows how modernist modes metamorphosed in interaction with the turbulent and volatile realities of colonies and new nations struggling to arrive at a modernity of their own in contexts marked by colonial histories. Thus Kafka's allegories are juxtaposed with the use of allegory in writers like Salman Rushdie and J.M.Coetzee; the gendered modernity of Virginia Woolf is juxtaposed with the disturbing and powerful fictions of writers such as Jean Rhys and Katherine Mansfield; the intellectualized and urbanized spirituality of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land is re-read in the revisionist contexts created by the brilliant and troubled urban spirituality of writers such as Arun Kolatkar from India and a text such as The Woman Who Had Two Navels, from the Philippines.

Modernist Literature and Postcolonial Studies

This book demonstrates the variety of ways in which the materiality of islands is intertwined in a symbiotic relationship with the capacity of the imagination to make islands the site and embodiment of a host of recurrent human desires, anxieties, and hopes.

Materiality and the Creative Imagination

Poetry and Islands

"Postcolonial Poetry in English provides a comprehensive introduction to the development of English poetry in all the regions that were once part of the British Empire. In showing how diverse poetic traditions in English evolved from dependency to varying degrees of cultural self-confidence, the book answers two broad questions: How is postcolonial studies relevant to the interpretation of poetry? How does poetry contribute to our idea of postcolonial writing?"--BOOK JACKET.

Postcolonial Poetry in English

Philip Holden

Associate Professor Department of English Language & Literature Rajeev S Patke

The Routledge Concise History of Southeast Asian Writing in English traces the development of literature in the region within its historical and cultural contexts. This volume explores creative writing in English across different genres and media, establishing connections from the colonial activity of the early modern period through to contemporary writing across Southeast Asia, focusing especially on the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. In this critical guide, Rajeev S. Patke and Philip Holden: interweave text and context through the history of creative writing in the region examine language use and variation, making use of illuminating examples from speech, poetry and fictional prose trace the impact of historical, political and cultural events engage with current debates on national consciousness, globalization, modernity and postmodernism provide useful features including a glossary, further reading section and chapter summaries. Direct and clearly written, this Concise History guides readers through key topics while presenting a unique, original synthesis of history and practice in Southeast Asian writing in English. It is the ideal starting point for students and all those seeking a better understanding of Southeast Asian literatures and cultures.

Rajeev S. Patke

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